Scepticism before everything. I find myself often qualifying what I say, so I try to keep the qualification but leave out the hesitation and the appearance of circling around a subject. But always being sceptical. The writers I like most are not sermonisers or pronouncers of undying truths, but those who puncture other people's pronouncements - like Swift, who is a great favourite of mine, or, Conrad, where what seems to be clear really isn't so clear because it is surrounded by doubt and uncertainty about what you've seen. I like that very much.
Said