I Have Lived A Thousand

A Terrific Sadness Swept Over Jerry. As If Somebody Had Died. The Way He Felt Standing In The Cemetry That Day They Buried His Mother. And Nothing You Could Do About It.

We All Start Out With The Same Alphabet. We Are All Unique. Talent Is Not The Most Important Thing --- Discipline And Dedication Are. Craft Can Be Learned But Desire And Longing Are Innate. Despite The Demands Of School And Just Being Young, Try To Write Something Every Day --- A Description, A Captured Emotion, A Simile, A Metaphor. Read, For Crying Out Loud! A Writer Must Read The Way A Ball Player Must Go To The Ballfield Every Day To Practice. Everything Is Possible In This World Of Ours--- And So's Publication.

Archie Became Absolutely Still, Afraid That The Rapid Beating Of His Heart Might Betray His Sudden Knowledge, The Proof Of What He'd Always Suspected, Not Only Of Brother Leon But Most Grownups, Most Adults: They Were Vulnerable, Running Scared, Open To Invasion.

I'm Always Telling Myself As I Write That I'm Not Really Writing A Novel; I'm Just Going To Fool Around With A Character Or An Idea.

A Man I Know Who Writes And Aspires To Be A Novelist Does Very Little Reading, And He's Not That Successful. But I Think It's Because He's Like The Kid Who Wants To Be A Ballplayer And Never Goes To The Ballpark Or Tries To Hit A Ball. So I'd Say Reading Is The Most Important Thing That I Do, Besides The Actual Writing. I'm Always Asking As I Read, "how Did The Writer Do This? Why Do I Suddenly Have Tears In My Eyes? Why Am I Crying?"