[h]ope Takes You By The Throat Like

Insights Don't Usually Arrive At My Desk, But Go Into Notebooks When I'm On The Move. Or Half-asleep.

Insight Cannot Be Taken Back. You Cannot Return To The Moment You Were In Before.

Once You're Labeled As Mentally Ill, And That's In Your Medical Notes, Then Anything You Say Can Be Discounted As An Artefact Of Your Mental Illness.

Much Historical Fiction That Centers On Real People Has Always Been Deficient In Information, Lacking In Craft And Empty In Affect.

Read Becoming A Writer By Dorothea Brande. Then Do What It Says, Including The Tasks You Think Are Impossible. You Will Particularly Hate The Advice To Write First Thing In The Morning, But If You Can Manage It, It Might Well Be The Best Thing You Ever Do For Yourself. This Book Is About Becoming A Writer From The Inside Out. Many Later Advice Manuals Derive From It. You Don't ­really Need Any Others, Though If You Want To Boost Your Confidence, "how To" Books Seldom Do Any Harm. You Can Kick-start A Whole Book With Some Little Writing Exercise.