Good novels are not written, they are rewritten. Great novels are diamonds mined from layered rewrites.

Truth is always duller than fiction.

Writing is a vocation and, as in any other calling, a writer should develop his talents for the greater glory of God. Novels should be neither homilies nor apologetics: the author's faith, and the grace he has received, will become apparent in his work even if it does not have Catholic characters or a Catholic theme.