I very nearly couldn't get the copy of Rolling Stone with the Gary Trudeau interview and the Tom Wolfe excerpt.

Well, the terrible truth about writers is, they create characters and then they put them in harm's way. That's what drama is about. As a writer, I don't have an emotional link to the characters. I have to summon them up -- I have to pull them out of the toolbox and put 'em to work. They don't live in my head. --- Gary Trudeau

Yes, I should spend more time pulling things out of my head instead of just cramming it with... stuff.