‘Working without inspiration is what separates the pros from the amateurs. To sit down and work when you feel like you’ve got nothing in you ... there are pleasures in that, too’

I’m scheduled to speak to a creative writing class over the phone, but need to take the call on Emily’s cell because I dropped mine in the toilet last week. The loss felt inevitable. Just as the Earth is on an inevitable collision course with the sun, so too was my iPhone with the toilet.

When the phone rings, Emily picks up. Turning to me, she says, “It’s for you.” The last time anyone said these words to me was probably 1998. The questions begin. They extend beyond writing, beyond my wisdom, but I do my best.

“What should I do with my 20s?” an earnest voice asks over a speakerphone.

“I’d suggest living life. Your 20s are for figuring stuff out and having experiences — the stuff you write about when you’re older. It can take decades to distill things down to their essentials. Memory has a way of being a pretty good editor.” “How do I know I have talent?” “You never do. But thankfully there’s more to life than talent. You also need to develop a good work ethic. It’s easy to dismiss the things you’re good at, to devalue them and not work at them. Edgar Allen Poe thought writing short stories was banal and that poetry was what really mattered, but his stories were groundbreaking — and made him famous. There’s a human tendency to dismiss the things that come to us easily, but those things should be respected, too.” “What if I can’t afford travel?” “Kafka wrote a book about America based on travel brochures. I think Hans Christian Anderson died a virgin. Actually, in his case, getting out of Copenhagen might have helped his romantic life. The point is, you work with what you have. A lot of life experience doesn’t guarantee great art or great stories. Great stories happen to the people who can tell them.” “What if I’m not inspired?” “Working without inspiration is what separates the pros from the amateurs. To sit down and work when you feel like you’ve got nothing in you ... there are pleasures in that, too. Working without inspiration takes the hocus pocus out of it.”

We sign off and I hand the phone back to Emily. “I’m really making a difference in young lives,” I say.

“You really need to get a new phone,” she says. I know she’s right, but not having one to distract me from the world has been inspiring. And while I know that inspiration in life isn’t mandatory, it sure does feel nice.