"An abandoned story at page one or page 356 has the same value as a story you never wrote in the first place."

"The stupid conclusion that if he cannot write easily he has mistaken his career is sheer nonsense."

"Another source of restraint for the writer is the use of personal confession and the subsequent guilt that often arises from it."

"Sitting and writing, even on the awful days, is just a glorious thing to be able to do."

"This is why virtually all inexperienced writers end up in their heads instead of the unconscious: because the unconscious is scary as hell. It is hell for many of us."

"As soon as things get difficult, I walk away.  That's the great secret of creativity.  You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.  If you try to approach a cat and pick it up, hell, it won't let you do it.  You've got to say, 'Well, to hell with you.'  And the cat says, 'Wait a minute.  He's not behaving the way most humans do.'  Then the cat follows you out of curiosity: 'Well, what's wrong with you that you don't love me?'  Well, that's what an idea is.  See?  You just say, 'Well, hell, I don't need depression.  I don't need worry.  I don't need to push.'  The ideas will follow me.  When they're off-guard, and ready to be born, I'll turn around and grab them."

"A block may be a dam behind which creativity wells up, under tremendous pressure.  When it dissipates, the writer may experience a surge of creativity, or productivity, or both."

"The first use for propinquity is removing all the little barriers that will keep you from writing. The more of these exist, the less likely you are to write. Many of them are simple, and some so tiny you may doubt that they'll keep you from writing. But they will."

"If you interrupt the writing of fast narrative with too much introspection and self-criticism, you will be lucky if you write 500 words a day and you will be disgusted with them into the bargain."

"If you're in the middle of writing and you go blank, stop it.  And your mind says 'no, that's it.'  You’re being warned.  Your subconscious is saying 'I don't like you anymore.  You're writing about things I don't give a damn for.'" (artist)

"Protect your voice and your vision.  Protect it—and if going on the Internet and reading Internet reviews is bad for you, don't do it.  It's awfully rough right now.  It's a jungle out there.  Do what gets you to write, and not what blocks you."

"If you can write your way into a problem, you can write your way out."

"Cast off the fear.  I was terrified about writing stories about where I came from because I was embarrassed.  Truly great writers are not afraid to bare their souls.  Sometimes you may feel like: 'I shouldn't have put that in there, I don't want people to think it's about me or look at me differently.'  Toss those thoughts aside.  That's a mental block.  Don't think about it.  Just do it.  As long as you write from a place of purity, and it comes from your heart, you can't go wrong."

"People treat writer's block like it's this kind of mythical, mystical ailment.  It's actually a very specific problem, and that is that something is wrong with your story, or wrong with your scene, and you're tying to do something that is not motivated by your characters.  If your writer's block is so complete that you don't even know where to start, it's probably that you're not spending enough time at the keyboard.  It's all part of the process."

"I have been writing for 35 years and I have never experienced writer's block."

"Don't buy into the myth of writer's block.  Nearly every person I've ever met who swears to be stalled by it is actually encountering one of two common problems.  More often 'writer's block' is a result of writers trying too hard to write a perfect novel in the first draft.  Nobody—no-freaking-body—writes a perfect first draft."

"Sometimes when you get blocked, the road around the block ends up being more interesting than things might have been if the doors in front of you opened up.  Sometimes you find secret passageways.  You find work-arounds."

"Stop mythologizing the life of a writer.  Don't wait for the muse to whisper in your ear.  Don't cultivate an affected personality.  Put your butt in a chair and write.  A writer is no different than a plumber, a landscaper or a dental hygienist.  We are doing what we are called to do and what we are suited for.  You don't need to escape to a cabin and write in a parchment diary with a special pen. Sit at a Starbucks or at home or in the middle of traffic and just write."