A Writer, I Think, Is Someone Who

The Truth Of History Crowds Out The Truth Of Fiction - As If One Were Obliged To Choose Between Them.

You Can Include Essay Elements In Fiction; This Is A Very Nineteenth Century Practice.

But When We Are Nostalgic, We Take Pictures

Do Stuff. Be Clenched, Curious. Not Waiting For Inspiration's Shove Or Society's Kiss On Your Forehead. Pay Attention. It's All About Paying Attention. Attention Is Vitality. It Connects You With Others. It Makes You Eager. Stay Eager.

Self-censorship, The Most Important And Most Successful Form Of Censorship, Is Rampant. Debate Is Identified With Dissent, Which Is In Turn Identified With Disloyalty. There Is A Widespread Feeling That, In This New, Open-ended Emergency, We May Not Be Able To 'afford' Our Traditional Freedoms.