On Writing - The Monogatori

"A story, a monogatori, is not something you create.  
It is something that you pull out of yourself.
The story is already there, inside you.
You can't make it, you can only bring it out....

You have to believe you have the ability to tell the story,
to strike the vein of water, to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Without that confidence, you can't go anywhere....

I believe in the power of the story.
I believe in the power of the story to arouse something in our spirits, in our minds -
something that has been handed down to use from ancient times."

-- Haruki Murakami