Answer for yourself the questions in this quote: "What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?"

Consider the point made in the quote from p. 73, and discuss both why and what you read. What do you get from reading a novel? What do you think makes a novel, or a piece of writing, successful? What makes it unsuccessful?

What is your experience of writing? Do you agree with the writer that solitude is necessary? Why or why not? Do you agree that it's often difficult, sometimes even painful, to help a project find the shape it needs?

Have you ever had an experience of a piece of writing taking on a life of its own? If yes, describe that experience. What kind of struggle was...