Something to avoid

"What happens with writers is they start repeating themselves, and they have less experience, they stay home all the time. They just get bogged down in their private lives, and then if they travel they're usually going to literary festivals or giving readings or lectures or whatever at universities. That's not going to give you a very broad sample of human existence. They tend not to take risks. They don't get into trouble, they don't do dangerous things, they're not really open. They become settled. And it's normal, because writing is a particularly sedentary, weird occupation where you have to be alone most of the time, sitting." - Susan Sontag