So you want to be a writer?

If it doesn't come bursting out of you
In spite of everything
Don't Do It!

Unless it comes unasked out of your heart
and your mind
and your mouth
and your gut
Don't Do It!

If you have to sit up for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your typewriter
searching for words
Don't Do It!

If it is hard work, just thinking about doing it
Don't Do It!

Unless it comes out of your soul like a rocket
Unless being still would drive you to madness
or suicide
or murder
Don't Do It!

When it is truly time
If you have been chosen
It will do it by itself
and then it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you
There is no other way
and there never was

-- Charles Bukowski