A few days ago i read the review of Why We Write by David Ulin in the L. A. Times – and the review was so interesting that I immediately sent him an email to tell him I was ordering the book cause of what he wrote.  It just arrived and now all I want to do is sit here and read it. I'm underlining like crazy, post-its on every other page. Twenty wonderful, successful writers on not only why they write, but how they get started, how they get stuck, and a section called "Wisdom for Writers".  

For instance – Susan Orlean's advice:  "You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it. You should read as much as possible. That's the best way to learn how to write."  And Walter Mosley's: "The people who fail at writing are the people who give up because of external pressures, or because they didn't get published in a certain amount of time. You've got to exert your will over the situation.  Writing is a long-term investment. If you stick with it, you'll reach the level of success that you need to."

Such wonderful stuff in this book. It's edited by Meredith Maran who has done a fabulous job of organizing and finding the best writers for it.