Writing ought to be a way of challenging oneself.  The words ought to poke back at you, cause you to sit up straight and ask yourself — is this really what I mean?  Does this sentence really makes sense following that one?  Does that word really signify what I’m trying to get across?  But it appears that many people think they just have to transcribe the noise that rattles between their ears.  And noise is most of what comes across.

—T. Scott