I believe, more than anything, that this grief of constantly having to face down our own inadequacies is what keeps people from being writers. Forgiveness, therefore, is key. I can’t write the book I...
Field after field after field, and not an inch of space wasted on something as decorative and meaningless as a tree. You’ve
The art of writing comes way down the line, as does the art of interpreting Bach. Art stands on the shoulders of craft, which means that to get to the art you must master the craft. If you want to wri...
Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God's own voice poured from her. How far she must have gone inside herself to call up that voice. It was...
Maybe there would be a bad outcome for some of the others, but no one was going to shoot a soprano.
Just because things hadn't gone the way I had planned didn't necessarily mean they had gone wrong.
I wrote the last sentence of in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful spring feeling panicked and amazed. There is no single experience in my life as a writer to match t...
I admire your patience.
Home, bed, sleep, mother--who knew more beautiful words than these?
Had I listened to no one, or only to the people who liked me, the workshop would have been a waste of time.
Why is it that we understand that playing the cello will require work but we relegate writing to the magic of inspiration?
The love between humans is the thing that nails us to this earth.
Sand, waves, beach roses
I saw it myself. An endless succession of mongrels and malingerers, the laziest dropouts who fancied themselves explorers. He made his policy clear: he was not responsible for their food, their shelte...
I don’t want to wind up some old woman who talks to her rabbit, she said to Rabbit, who was chewing so furiously he didn’t even bother to lift his head.
I carried him around for years, but one day, I don’t know, I put him down. I didn’t dream about him anymore. I didn’t think what he’d want for lunch every time I got lunch, I didn’t look at the guy ri...
Had she done something with her life no one would be asking her to make them cappuccino, and had she done something with her life she would be perfectly happy to make them cappuccino, because it would...
And what I think is that this belief I had was what ruined everything. That's the thing that kept me from going out and finding him, this idea that when he was ready he was going to come and find me....
You also have to find him or her at a time in life when you’re able to listen to, trust, and implement the lessons you receive. The
People need to talk, and often a willingness to sit and listen is the greatest kindness one person can offer to another.