Quote 85
I read on the back cover that [Ayn Rand] was born in Russia and came to America when she was young. She barely spoke English, but she wanted to be a great writer. I thought that was very admirable, so I sat down and tried to write a story. (4.7.2)
Charlie doesn't try to write a story because he really wants to, he does it because he thinks Ayn Rand's life story was pretty spiffy.
Quote 86
That was the first sentence. The problem was that I just couldn't think of the next one. After cleaning my room three times, I decided to leave [my character] alone for a while because I was starting to get mad at him. (4.7.4)
Only one sentence? That's an extreme case of writer's block. For a guy who writes 52 letters in a year, we're thinking he can do better.