Photo: Elizabeth Coleman

"At the beginning of a novel, a writer needs confidence, but after that what's required is persistence. These traits sound similar. They aren't. Confidence is what politicians, seducers and currency speculators have, but persistence is a quality found in termites. It's the blind drive to keep on working that persists after confidence breaks down."
— Walter Kirn

Read a review of Walter Kirn's book, Lost in the Meritocracy


What keeps you writing? Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year? Share what drives you to write.