According to my own observation, every writer must have six essentials at his command. Some are born with them. Others must develop them over many years, or hire a professional to provide them.⁷ They are…
1. empathy
2. the willingness to endure solitude
3. the belief that the world cares about what you have to say
4. the ability to describe facial hair accurately
5. a large desk in a quiet room of your own in which to chase your demons (preferably a circular room, so that the demons have no place to hide.)
6. special stationary with pictures of typewriters and/or quills on top.
________________________
⁷This is most common for “empathy” and it is not unusual for even the finest novelists to hire a ghost empathizer for their third or fourth book.
—The Areas of My Expertise, John Hodgman
