It Is Always So Simple,

I Don't Care What Is Written," Meyer Landsman Says. "i Don't Care What Supposedly Got Promised To Some Sandal-wearing Idiot Whose Claim To Fame Is That He Was Ready To Cut His Own Son's Throat For The Sake Of A Hare-brained Idea. I Don't Care About Red Heifers And Patriarchs And Locusts. A Bunch Of Old Bones In The Sand. My Homeland Is In My Hat. It's In My Ex-wife's Tote Bag.

You Need Three Things To Become A Successful Novelist: Talent, Luck And Discipline. Discipline Is The One Element Of Those Three Things That You Can Control, And So That Is The One That You Have To Focus On Controlling, And You Just Have To Hope And Trust In The Other Two.

I Don't Think You Could Teach Someone To Be A Genius, But You Can Certainly Teach Them To Not Make Rookie Mistakes And To Look At Writing The Way A Writer Looks At Writing, And Not Just The Way A Reader Looks At Writing. There Are A Lot Of Techniques And Skills That Can Be Taught That Will Be Helpful To Anybody, No Matter How Gifted They Are, And I Think Writing Programs Can Be Very Good For People.

I Smoked And Looked Down At The Bottom Of Pittsburgh For A Little While, Watching The Kids Playing Tiny Baseball, The Distant Figures Of Dogs Snatching At A Little Passing Car, A Miniature Housewife On Her Back Porch Shaking Out A Snippet Of Red Rug, And I Made A Sudden, Frightened Vow Never To Become That Small, And To Devote Myself To Getting Bigger And Bigger And Bigger.

Procrastination Is Something You Do Yourself. You Know: "i Gotta Sharpen These Pencils Before I Start. I Got 20 Pencils, They're Looking Kinda Dull." Well, The Pencils Aren't Calling You And Alluring You And Inviting You And Offering You Anything. They're Just Sitting There. You're The One Who's Procrastinating.