Two more essays from The Writing Life :

A. Joanna Trollope: Looking for the Spark
1.The Roman poet Horace once said that the exceptional writer was one who could wield ordinary words so skillfully that , in his hands, the ordinary was made new.
2.Tolstoy: My task is to chronicle those little daily lacerations of the spirit.

B. James Michener: How to identify and nurture young writers
1.Learn to master the English sentence in all its richness of expression and variation in structure.
2.Acquire an individualized vocabulary on at least three social levels, including modern street lingo.
3.Familiarize yourself with the fine books that have already been published so that you can acquire a sense of where fiction or nonfiction is heading.
4.Use every device in the repertory to get to know people in the publishing business who might be of help later on.
5.Consider applying to one of the writing programs sponsored by a good university.