I'm Always Telling Myself As I Write

I Don't Mean To Be Insolent. I'm Truthful. I Tell The Truth And The Truth Sometimes Hurts. For Instance, You Have Bad Breath, Lieutenant. I Can Smell It From Here. It Must Offend A Lot Of People. That's The Truth. But How Many People Have Told You That? Instead, They Either Lie Or Try To Avoid Your Company.

Family Life Was Wonderful. The Streets Were Bleak. The Playgrounds Were Bleak. But Home Was Always Warm. My Mother And Father Had A Great Relationship. I Always Felt 'safe' There.

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.

I Find That Most Books That I Don't Like Are Those In Which The Authors Have Indulged Themselves. I Can Almost Sense When They're Writing Something For Themselves.

I Don't Like To Think In Terms Of Writing Ten Or Twelve Pages A Day. Usually I'm Writing A Scene, And It's Always With The Idea, "i Wonder What Is Going To Happen." Or Sometimes I Write About Something That Affected Me Emotionally The Day Before And That I Don't Want To Lose. I'm Very Unorganized At First; But Finally It Comes Into A Structure Where Consciously I'm Working On A Novel Per Se.