My students often told me they didn't have anything to say. They were silent. Empty. They felt anxiety. Panic. Terror. 'Good' I'd answer. 'You are a writer. You

My students often told me they didn't have anything to say. They were silent. Empty. They felt anxiety. Panic. Terror. 'Good' I'd answer. 'You are a writer. You are at the place from which writing comes.' -- Donald Murray in Shoptalk A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. -- Thomas Mann A writer is not so much someone who has something to say as he is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought of if he had not started to say them. -- William Stafford You have to sink down to a level of hopelessness and desperation to find the book that you can write. -- Susan Sontang