A writer...

Photo courtesy of NYPL Digital Gallery

"A writer and nothing else:  

a man alone in a room 

with the English language, 

trying to get human feelings right."

 ~ John K. Hutchens

I love this quote, though I wish Hutchens had said "a person" instead of "a man" -- women and kids can be writers, too!  (And, of course, there are writers around the world telling their stories in languages other than English.) 

I know that different writers have different requirements for writing. Personally, I find it very difficult to write when other people are in the room with me, or when my surroundings are noisy.  I need peace and quiet.  I need to be alone in a room, listening only to the words in my head, so that I can set them down on paper and try to get the human feelings right.