"That, I think, explains how you got so damn good (with "the tools", as
you've
put it) so damn fast. Practice, practice, practice, they say---and you
can't
stop."

Yep. Especially the Can't Stop part. I've written an average of 10 pages
per day, every day of the year but 3, since I was 17.

I also think that working in journalism has helped a great deal; you can't
walk into the office, a story needed by noon, and say, "Y'know, I just
don't feel the muse today." The next thing you'll feel is your butt on
the concrete sidewalk. You learn a certain discipline there that has
helped me greatly over the years.




jms