Eric Burns, in The Joy of Books, emphasizes the importance of life-experiences to a writer. He concedes that a writer may study English at a university if he chooses; however, insists that the author "must have lived abundantly before writing it."
"He must have scaled summits and sunk into abysses, completed marathons and stumbled at starting lines, mingled with the throngs and dwelt in utter isolation. He must have laughed and cried, bellowed and whimpered, censured and praised. He must have been sinner and saint, knave and hero and clown. This is not to say that his experiences should have been unique; rather, they should have ranged far in the realm of the typical. He must see clearly, but have had moments of blindness; hear acutely, but have gone through periods of intense silence...It is the quiet times in which a writer writes, but without tumult there is nothing to say."

Supporting this theory, Nobel Prize winner for literature, Sinclair Lewis, when asked how one should prepare for a life in letters, said, "Run a filling station."