Gogol himself was a very mixed bag as a person. He ended up his life as a politically conservative scold, repudiating his earlier, wilder, works of genius. So, I love this idea that we are not fixed, solid entities and will vary throughout our lives and that our best work will happen, possibly, at a time and place not of our choosing and will not necessarily be neatly designed Statements of Purpose but might actually be spontaneous bursts from we-know-not-where, that we’ll later be sorry about.

From https://lithub.com/george-saunders-on-the-best-writing-advice-hes-received/

The rest of it is golden insights into the creative process, but this I loved on the inability to plan or control your most powerful ideas.