Giving yourself your word to do something ought to be no less sacred than giving your word to others. -Andre Gide

Letter-writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company. -George Gordon, Lord Byron How do you enjoy “good company” when you write a letter to someone? Does a telephone conversation combine “solitude with good company”? What advantage does letter writing have over telephoning?

Letter-writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company. -George Gordon, Lord Byron How do you enjoy “good company” when you write a letter to someone? Does a telephone conversation combine “solitude with good company”? What advantage does letter writing have over telephoning?

… One can never be alone enough when one writes… there can never be enough silence when one writes… even night is not night enough. -Franz Kafka

If you can’t write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don’t have a clear idea. -David Belasco State Mr. Belasco’s thought in another way, beginning with “A clear idea…” Have you ever discovered, through writing or talking that you hadn’t worked out an idea enough to express it clearly? Explain that…

Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. -Gene Fowler If you can’t annoy somebody, there is very little point in writing. -Kinsley Amis What is writing like for you? Agony? Fun? Like a confidential friend who helps you sort out…

…Words are more powerful than perhaps anyone suspects, and once deeply engraved in a child’s mind, they are not easily eradicated. -May Sarton

Silence propagates itself, and the longer talk has been suspended, the more difficult it becomes to find anything to say. -Samuel Johnson Has anyone ever punished you with the “silent treatment”? How did that make you feel? What is the silent treatment intended to do to its “victim”?

Language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move to stars to pity. -Gustave Flaubert Language sometimes fails us when we try to express deep feelings. Words can’t match the power of our emotions. When this happens, what other…