A much better outlook on writing.
The wise & insightful eal, who always seems to know how to poke & prod me into productivity, has shared with me the four noble truths of writer Gail Sher. They make me a lot happier than the raincloud Annie Dillard poured on me yesterday (hey, don't get me wrong; I love Annie Dillard. But, man. Reading that, essentially, writer's block is caused by a fatal flaw in the plot of a work that is about to explode in my face doesn't exactly get me excited about writing, ya know?).
So, all my writerly friends, listen up (I am, in particular, looking at you, riverrocks, & you, aberrant1):
Writers write
Writing is a process
You don't know what your writing will be until the end of the process
If writing is your practice, the only way to fail is not to write
I don't know that I believe in such a thing as Universal Truth, but this comes pretty close to what mine would be.