The joys of writing and its pains - Ernest Hemingway

After finishing writing a story I always felt emptiness, sadness, and happiness together, as if I had loved. And I knew deep inside that it was a special story, even though I had to read it the next day to make sure it was really a good work. Writing is a work that one can never do perfectly. It is a constant challenge, and it is harder than anything else I have ever done. Even when you reach the lowest depths, you must continue writing. Your only goal in the world of novels is to struggle tirelessly until you finish writing it. Writing, at its best, is a life built on solitude. Those organizations concerned with writers may be able to ease the burden of loneliness that the writer feels, but I doubt they make him a better writer. He may gain a prestigious social status by getting rid of his loneliness, but his career will often begin to decline. In my opinion, the writer must work alone, and if he is a skilled writer, he will have to face eternity, or its absence, every day.