One of the saddest sentences I know is "I wish I had asked my mother about that." Or my father. Or my grandmother. Or my grandfather. As every parent knows, our children are not as fascinated by our fascinating lives as we are.

Good writers are visible just behind their words.

Be wary of security as a goal. It may often look like life's best prize. Usually it's not.

Writers can write to affirm and to celebrate, or they can write to debunk and destroy; the choice is ours.

Writing wasn't easy and wasn't fun. It was hard and lonely, and the words seldom just flowed.

Get people talking. Learn to ask questions that will elicit answers about what is most interesting or vivid in their lives. Nothing so animates writing as someone telling what he thinks or what he does - in his own words. His own words will always be better than your words, even if you are the most elegant stylist in the land.

No one has something original or important to say will willing we run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either unskilled in writing or up to mischief