“The six golden rules of writing are read, read, read, and write, write, write.” —Ernest Gaines

“Write about things that are important to you, not about what you think readers will want to read.” — William Zinsser

William Faulkner donated his Nobel Prize winnings to establishing a fund for the support and development of new writers.

  “For a man to commit his thoughts to writing when he can neither manage them nor bring any new light to bear upon them, and, indeed, when he has no attraction whatsoever to offer to his reader, is a senseless waste of time, and of paper, too.” Cicero

“Every man's memory is his private literature.” — Aldous Huxley

“Every man's memory is his private literature.” — Aldous Huxley

Short Story based on the Prompt:The Moment you seize to Believe is the Moment:

The Moment you seize to Believe is the moment Margaret was at.  She roller her walker towards me and asked what my name.
 "Patricia," I said. 
"Patty?"  She asked.
"No Patricia."
"Patty?"  She asked a second time.
"No, Patricia."  My voice raising, and my head coming closer to hers.  She smelled of baby powder.  She was smacking Juicy Fruit; probably the closest thing to anything she put in her mouth all day.  She couldn't weigh anything more than ninety pounds.  Her saggy skin was bunched up to hold together her bones.  She reached for a Kleenex and another piece of Juicy Fruit.
"Patricia, huh?" She said.  Finally getting it right that time.  She asked me if she could have my number.
Should I give it?  Should I give it?  I wondered.  Giving a woman with Dementia my number is a decision I could regret.

Alexander Pope was only four and a half feet tall.

I went to A pioneer History Museum recently

“The freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.” —Robert Benchley

“A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard.” —William K. Zinsser

 Samuel Beckett used to drive his neighbor, Andrea the Giant, to school every day.

 I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.” — Mark Twain

Emily Dickinson wrote over 1,800 poems. Only seven were published in her lifetime, all without her consent.

If you don't feel like you are writing somewhat over your head, why do it? If you don't have some doubt of your authority to tell this story, then you are not trying to tell enough.” — John Irving

“I am faced with a stark choice between being a bad correspondent and being a good novelist.” — Neal Stephenson

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” — E.L. Doctorow

“I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.” — Peter De Vries

“Every author, as far as he is great and at the same time original, has had the task of creating the taste by which he is to be enjoyed.” — William Wordsworth

trip to Chicago