I sit there and struggle, putting words on the screen, any words, no matter how hideous. I must not leave my computer. If I give up and leave my computer for any reason, for any task no matter how vital (such as polishing the doorknobs), I make the block worse. Every time I walked away in despair and disgust, I built that wall a little higher.

I read some advice from Hemingway that proved invaluable. First, never stop when you run out of things to write that day. You'll start the next day with a problem. Always stop when you have something you're raring to get down, something you can't wait to write. The next day will start like a dream.

Second, I always begin the new day by revising. That helps me work up head of steam to carry me into the harder task of writing on the black screen.

I was complaining to Michael Korda, my old editor at Simon & Schuster, about how horribly my last book had sold and wondering which bridge I should jump off. He said, "Doug, it's not a book. It's a career."