"Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going" William Zinsser, "On Writing Well"
"No one becomes a Tom Wolfe overnight.  Not even Tom Wolfe." -- I forgot who said that.
"The first draft of anything is shit." Ernest Hemingway
"I am not a good writer. But I am a good re-writer." James Michener