I read these remarks by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va) in the Washington Post. I'm posting them because they are so true.
"The most disciplined thing I've ever done in my life is probably the act of writing a book -- and novels are harder than nonfiction. People tend to think, Oh, novels, you just start writing a story, and, you know, let the muse take you. But there's enormous discipline in writing novels. I wrote my first one cover to cover seven times. I wrote, I wrote, I wrote, and then I couldn't get it published. When I was on my, like, fifth draft for the book, I was able to get it to a guy named Ted Purdy, a really renowned editor. Anyway, I was sitting here inventing conversations between people who never existed in a room by myself -- and Purdy called me and said, "I'm going to work with you on this." This is a guy who had edited some of the greats, the true greats. And he made me believe. ... Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to write something that I believe is really good. Writing is what I will always do, no matter what. My mind always writes. You never stop writing if you're a writer."