I still don’t know what great writing looks like. At times I forget an author is a world-class communicator due to the lack of connection I have with their work. What is it worth if I am not involved in this story, in the roller coaster? So what makes someone a great writer?

Special effects, grandiose marketing, TED Talks, and the like. The absence of the work is still present. Hovering over all of this. Close to 90% of the energy was spent on shenanigans and not the writing. Can great writing make noise even without amplification?

I paraphrase writers I like. They’re in my head, in my thoughts as I attempt to write. They’re telling me to be honest, to let my guard down. ‘‘Oh how difficult,’’ I reply to them. That’s what sticks with me - how easy they make vulnerability look.

One must be of great talent if they can make the treachery of being vulnerable pleasant.

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