It is only a seeming paradox that a search for the nerve to say it your way can be served by a parallel search for guidance. You find your way through others. When he encountered Kafka, Garcia Marquez experienced what Melville said he encountered when he read his mentor Nathaniel Hawthorne: "the shock of recognition." It knocked him out of bed. This "shock of recognition" usually hits when it is least expected, and the jolt it delivers is a signal event in the life of any artist. Whenever it strikes, it is invariably telling you something vital about yourself. Do not confuse it with mere liking for another writer's work, or even with respect or reverence. The shock of recognition is a moment of excitement that shakes the soul. It may be hard to describe, but like other forms of love, you will know it when you feel it. Whenever and wherever you experience it, something important has occurred in your artistic life.
~ Stephen Koch
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