I've been writing big stories of history, but there are a lot of fascinating little stories.
There is both a skill factor and an effort factor in dream recall. People can develop dream recall skills, such as lying still in the morning and writing down whatever comes to mind.
I worked probably 25 years by myself, just writing and working, not trying to publish much, not giving readings.
I find writing songs hard, because it does not come naturally to me. I never set out to be a songwriter or a singer.
A lot of times, real life is more surreal than writing.
Once you are a proper, serious law-maker, you can't break the laws you're writing.
Making a mix CD - albeit slightly old school - is generally a pretty cool gift and something I like to receive, or giving someone a book that moved you. Writing an inscription inside makes it even better.
I had a long period of writing what I think of as 'save the world' novels. 'Fledgling' was a chance to play.
When I was younger I used to get my best writing done at night, but now it has to be during the day. I usually finish work at half past seven, then go back to the house to open a bottle of wine, have dinner, and then read or watch television.
When I'm writing I just think there's only the page and me and nobody else.
Getting your writing criticized can be a lot like getting skinned, and you respond to it just as enthusiastically.
I enjoy the writing process and producing; I enjoy seeing an idea come to fruition. I'm driven by very complex characters. You look at the pilot of 'Breaking Bad,' where there's so much depth to the character, you can't help but be invested when you watch.
I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for art.
When I became a parent and hit my thirties, I got my hands on an acoustic guitar. I started writing quiet, simple songs at home and, with a little encouragement, I got more courage and found my voice. I have people and movements who have inspired me to carry on, but I try to write about things I know, nothing too complicated, really.
I'm not a compulsive writer. I wish I could be compulsive about something. I have no regular writing routine.
My writing ability all stems from the blues.
Writing is a fine therapy for people who are perpetually scared of nameless threats... for jittery people.
I started writing the one-sentence stories when I was translating 'Swann's Way.' There were two reasons. I had almost no time to do my own writing, but didn't want to stop. And it was a reaction to Proust's very long sentences.
Whosoever, in writing a modern history, shall follow truth too near the heels, it may happily strike out his teeth.
I've been doing my big theater projects, which take years, and writing a song here and there.
Diplomacy in a sense is the opposite of writing. You have to disperse yourself so much: the lady who comes in crying because she's had a fight with the secretary; exports and imports; students in trouble; thumbtacks for the embassy.
My dream would be producing, maybe directing - definitely not writing - one feature film.
When I first began to write, I was writing on bass, because I was thinking more Public Image, more dub.
So much emotion goes into writing fiction.
I love writing. Writing has been very good to me.
From a writing point of view, you now have teams of screenwriters working with a director. What's lost in the process is the power of that one heart, brain, gut and soul that makes something an original piece of writing.
I really wish I knew what I was doing because I'd be writing hit songs every minute.
The act of writing... is the act of trying to understand why my opinion is what it is. And ultimately, I think that's the same experience the reader has when they pick up one of my books.
The problem with writing a monthly book is that you're going through your work like a man running for a bus, red-faced and out of breath. There isn't time for reflection or critical self-examination.
The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes.
After struggling for so long in the industry and writing so many failed songs and hearing 'no' for so long - I'm so grateful every time I hear a song that I was a part of on the radio.
The rich and famous expect to get a lot for their story, whether they are writing it themselves or not. It's not that they need the money, of course; it's a question of ego, like catching the biggest fish.
Teaching writing over the years intrudes on your own writing in important ways, taking away some of the excitement of poetry.
But with writing, all you need is a pad of paper.
I started writing and photographing for different publications and finally ended up being the correspondent in South Asia, for the Geneva-based Journal de Geneve, which at one time used to be one of the best international newspapers in Europe.
Writing and Painting are the same for me.
