“Writing is finally play, and there's no reason why you should get paid for playi…” — Irwin Shaw

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it.

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if he doesn't get paid.

In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.