We sneer. We lampoon and ridicule the sniveling little oaf before his peers…. We imply that even to have voiced such a question places him irretrievably in the same category as the common pencil-sharpener…. The reason why we do this is pretty straightforward. Firstly, in the dismal and confused sludge of opinion and half-truth that make up all artistic theory and criticism, it is the only question worth asking. Secondly, we don’t know the answer and we’re scared that somebody will find out.

Alan Moore (b. 1953) British writer

Behind the Painted Smile (1983)

(on writers being asked "Where do you get you get your ideas from?")