But writing and making theater are all-consuming. ... It's primarily a question of energy. The right kind of energy for writing can be dissipated, especially by teaching literature or drama, by looking at it in an entirely different kind of way.

Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.

The theater is a communal event, like church. The playwright constructs a mass to be performed for a lot of people. She writes a prayer, which is really just the longings of one heart.

Human beings innate complexities resist reduction into simple sentences and neat paragraphs. The stories that come nearest to expressing the ambivalent nature of people are textured and occasionally inconsistent and express waves of inner uncertainty. A simile and a metaphor are not literally true. A figure of speech, symbols, and allegories are mere expressions that when interlinked with other text assist explain facts, ideas, and emotions. Useful facts are elusive; we must look for them, and then express them using whatever mechanism proves most authoritative. We can never directly describe emotions; we resort to metaphors to describe emotions and other illusive thoughts. Ideas by virtue of their untested nature are often untrue or at best rough approximations of truth. Lyrical writing is equivocal; it is never exactly true or precisely false. Lyrical language attempts to express and connect sentiments through extrapolation and misdirection. The writer’s task is to melt away durable facts, breakdown the symbolic depictions of solid reality, and discover the liquidity of a passionate inner life that provides the hot breath to our steamy humanness.

A writing tablet evidences the writer’s mind shadows, the dark twin that sketches the meandering of our conscious mind and taps into the hidden resources of our unconsciousness.

Writing is an effort at truth telling, but each person’s version of truth and his or her means of conveying it are unique. Writers’ talent and styles vary widely. Talent is more than merely raw ability; it also includes the quality of a person’s education, their knack for creativity, curiosity, openness to new ideas, personal experiences, and willingness to devote the time and self-discipline to their chosen field of interest. A writer’s style reflects the beating of a wild heart, the fire, and restless force to inquire. Writing style is ultimately a product of personality, praxis, and cultural history. Writing styles change throughout history because human knowledge increases with each passing era. New styles in writing and other forms of artistic expression must reflect changes in human comprehension.