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I realized that a writer's business is setting fire to Piggy Sneed - and trying to save him - over and over again; forever.
-- John Irving, short story "Trying to Save Piggy Sneed" (1982), from the collection Trying to Save Piggy Sneed (1993).
That one sentence, and the short story that precedes it, tells you a lot about John Irving's writing. It also makes you wonder about what it is we've gotten ourselves into when we start writing fiction. I commented in another thread about the idea that we seem to bang our heads (or our protagonist's heads - is there a difference?) against a brick wall because it feels good when you stop. If anyone has a more cheerful analysis/quote I'd be pleased to hear it about now.
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