I was sorry to hear of the death of E.L. Doctorow in 2015. He’s one of my literary heroes. Try reading Ragtime or Homer and Langley, if you haven’t done so already.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/22/author-el-doctorow-dies-in-new-york-aged-84

He said many wise things about writing, including the much-quoted : 

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/22/el-doctorow-in-quotes-15-of-his-best