Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
Advice? I dont have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If youre writing, youre a writer. Write like youre a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and theres no chance for a pardon. Write like youre clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and youve got just one last thing to say, like youre a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for Gods sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that were not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or dont. Who knows, maybe youre one of the lucky ones who doesnt have to.
The writer must be in it; he can't be to one side of it, ever. He has to be endangered by it. His own attitudes have to be tested in it. The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.
Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
Advice? I dont have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If youre writing, youre a writer. Write like youre a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and theres no chance for a pardon. Write like youre clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and youve got just one last thing to say, like youre a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for Gods sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that were not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or dont. Who knows, maybe youre one of the lucky ones who doesnt have to.
The writer must be in it; he can't be to one side of it, ever. He has to be endangered by it. His own attitudes have to be tested in it. The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.
Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.