A writer is, among other things, a professional liear. He
ornaments, enbroiders and refashions a germ of truth. It is more important to
caputer the emotion than to delineate the particulars... A college degree
cannot make a creative wirter out of you. In writing you have to blaze your
own path. Writing, like dying, is a very individual experience.

Source: Speech in the Chicago area, as quoted in a Pioneer Press article.
Date: 2001