In 1970, after I’d written J’s the Novel, and a number of poems, (with no formal training in creative writing), I decided to spend a year studying and reflecting on what makes good writing, including where I had succeeded, and where and why I felt I had come up short. (Section one). Section Two offers examples of “masters at work” from my perspective. Section Three reflects on “Why Write” and Section Four briefly discusses other art forms, followed by “An Authorial Postscript.” and these comments were written then, and echoed again now.