The best advice on writing I've come across in 40 years of reading about writing is a "pithy maxim" from Cato the Elder: Rem tene, verba sequentur. (Grasp the t

The best advice on writing I've come across in 40 years of reading about writing is a "pithy maxim" from Cato the Elder: Rem tene, verba sequentur. (Grasp the thing, the words will follow.) The best advice on being a writer is mostly reading how others did it and then avoiding their mistakes. Thus, I hope I don't end up kicking a can up a lonely road in Idaho or showing up drunk for an interview by Buckley or marrying my too-young cousin or winning any kind of prize. Edit: I forgot to say what I came here to say: "Being a writer" is socially awkward and a little embarrassing, especially in this society. I've had feelings similar to the author's and had to learn to deal with them. Almost no one talks about that part of writing.