Notice how many of the ...

Notice how many of the Olympic athletes effusively thanked their mothers for their success? She drove me to my practice at four in the morning, etc. Writing is not figure skating or skiing. Your mother will not make you a writer. My advice to any young person who wants to write is: leave home.
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 Paul Theroux

Quotes from the same author

Friendship is also about liking a person for their failings, their weakness. It's also about mutual help, not about exploitation.
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 Paul Theroux
Many aspects of the writing life have changed since I published my first book, in the 1960s. It is more corporate, more driven by profits and marketing, and generally less congenial - but my day is the same: get out of bed, procrastinate, sit down at my desk, try to write something.
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 Paul Theroux
Loneliness in travel directs you and tells you about yourself. You don't become lonely unless you're alone.
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 Paul Theroux
If people are driving you around to look at animals, that's wonderful. That's educational, but it's not necessarily enlightening and you're not finding out much about yourself.
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 Paul Theroux
He regarded himself as an accomplished writer — a clear sign of madness in anyone.
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 Paul Theroux