They're just writers - they can't help themselves

Terry Teachout has a nice quote today from James Gould Cozzens' Pulitzer-winning novel, Guard of Honor:

Nathaniel Hicks said: "Look, Bill. I've worked with writers for years. I know a lot about them. When he writes, Edsell ... just sees a situation he thinks he can write a story about. Then he dresses it up and twists it around to make it a story. That's what they pay him for."

That little squib covers an awful lot of pop history.