Paul Theroux谈独处与写作，After 60 years and almost as many books, the novelist and travel writer, 83, will stop when he falls out of his chair.

The writer's profession is a life of self-indulgence. With luck and effort, you make a living. The only difficulty is its necessity for solitude. Writing is not compatible with anything — its utter self-absorption is generally destructive to family life and friendships - and yet I find it joyous. All creativity is uplifting; I finish a book in a mood approaching rapture.

It's a great mistake to think of the writing profession as a game.
People with dreary jobs usually stop. Writing is neither dreary nor a job. I see it as a process of life. When at last I fall off my chair, I suppose that will be my way of stopping.