Read a lot, listen well and deeply, and write a lot. […] If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. - Natalie Goldberg

I went home with the resolve to write what I knew and to trust my own thoughts and feelings and to not look outside myself. I was not in school anymore: I could say what I wanted.

Don't worry about your talent or capability: that will grow as you practice. […] If you want to write a novel, write a novel. If it's essays you want or short stories, write them. In the process of writing them, you will learn how. You can have the confidence that you will gradually acquire the technique and craft you need. […] We learn writing by doing it. That simple.

If you want a room to write in, just get a room. Don't make a big production out of it. If it doesn't leak, has a window, heat in the winter, then put in your desk, bookshelves, a soft chair, and start writing.