[Writing] is edit, edit, edit. It's almost like getting a boat ready to go to sea. You've still got a countless number of things left to fix, but you've just got to go, "O.K., everybody get on the boat. We're going, ready or not."

It is easier to produce ten volumes of philosophical writings than to put one principle into practice.

There is nothing like writing to force you to think and get your thoughts straight.

In writing songs I've learned as much from Cézanne as I have from Woody Guthrie.

A BIG PART OF SONGWRITING, like all writing, is editing-distilling thought down to essentials. Novice writers often hide behind filigree. In many cases the artistry is in what is unsaid. As the old saying goes, an iceberg moves gracefully because most of it is beneath the surface.

Writing for other artists helped me figure out that magic you have to capture to make everyone connect with a song.