Writer’s Desk: Larry McMurtry

Cowboy novels, screenplays, weepies, Larry McMurtry’s written them all. It’s a tossup as to what’s going to lead his obituary,Lonesome Dove orBrokeback Mountain, but either one is the kind of big-hearted and deeply-felt work most writers would kill to be associated with. He also runs his own bookstore, which is the sort of thing more writers should do.

A few years back, McMurtry—whose birthday was this past Friday—gave some writing advice toThe Daily Beast; herewith a few selections:

“If yo...