Now Begin In The Middle,

You Must Never Be Afraid To Go There.

Thank Your Readers And The Critics Who Praise You, And Then Ignore Them. Write For The Most Intelligent, Wittiest, Wisest Audience In The Universe: Write To Please Yourself.

Because The Chief Commodity A Writer Has To Sell Is His Courage. And If He Has None, He Is More Than A Coward. He Is A Sellout And A Fink And A Heretic, Because Writing Is A Holy Chore.

When You're All Alone Out There, On The End Of The Typewriter, With Each New Story A New Appraisal By The World Of Whether You Can Still Get It Up Or Not, Arrogance And Self-esteem And Deep Breathing Are All You Have. It Often Looks Like Egomania. I Assure You It's The Bold Coverup Of The Absolutely Terrified.

I Think [religion] Is Presumptuous And I Think It Is Silly, Because It Makes You Believe That You Are Less Than What You Can Be. As Long As You Can Blame Everything On Some Unseen Deity, You Don’t Ever Have To Be Responsible For Your Own Behavior.