Top three takeaways from Gay Talese on writer’s block:

1. “I mean it isn’t blocks so much as you want to rise above the ordinary, the mediocre, the easy to do, the functionary.”

2. “Sometimes writers write too much.”

3. “Look, it is a very satisfying profession to be in something called book writing, very satisfying, but it has its downside and the downside has to do with your relationship to yourself when you’re alone. It’s a solitary profession….when you’re a writer, you’re a solitary scrivener and only your own discipline will get it done.”

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