A swimmer swims, a writer writes, an actor... drinks coffee.

I have long admired Roger Ebert's writing. Due to a number of surgeries to treat his cancer Roger Ebert lost the ability to speak. In response, he seems to be writing more than ever. In addition to his regular movie reviews, he's started up a wonderful blog. In a recent post, he had this to say to an aspiring writer who wondered how to start:

Ebert: Actually, maybe I can help you. There is nothing you don't "get" because there is nothing to get. You are the writer. What you write is what is written. It is exactly right because it is exactly what you wrote. If someone else doesn't think so, fuck 'em. There is no objective goal, no objective right or wrong. Only the process. Your mind will set itself down in words. Do not criticize. Do not look back at every sentence. Just write. You have no idea where you are headed. Your words will lead you. This above all: Nothing is ever completed until it is started. Start. Don't look back. If at the end it doesn't meet your hopes, start again. Now you know more about your hopes.

So there you go folks. Get to it.

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As an aside: what is an actor to do? Acting without an audience or a partner seems an exercise in absurdity. What does the daily work of an actor consist of?