"So I grew up around this man who sat at his desk in the study all day and wrote books and articles about the places and people he had seen and known." (Introduction, Page xii)

"All I ever wanted was to belong, to wear the hat of belonging." (Introduction, Page xvi)

"All my life I've felt that there was something magical about people who could get into other people's minds and skin, who could take people like me out of ourselves and then take us back into ourselves. And you know what? I still do." (Introduction, Page xxvii)

"The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth." (Part 1, Section 1, Page 3)

"...we are going to concentrate on writing itself, on how to become a better writer, because, for one thin, becoming a better...