Our Grandiosities Die with Us

It's satisfying as it's happening: that moment of getting something down. You're looking for a way to say something, and you've finally managed it. But that emotion doesn't necessarily last very long. The better book is always the one you're going to do next. I'm wary, too, of giving too much credence to the emotions we have about our work. Flaubert is long dead, and whatever he says about Emma Bovary doesn't matter because there she is. Our grandiosities as writers die with us, thank God.

ANNE ENRIGHT