All Quotes By Tag: Writing-advice

“… The Book is more important than your plans for it. You have to go with what works for The Book ~ if your ideas appear hollow or forced when they are put on paper, chop them, erase them, pulverise them and start again. Don’t whine when things are not going your way, because they are going the right way for The Book, which is more important. The show must go on, and so must The Book.”

“Writing a book is a blood sport. If it doesn’t hurt when you’re done, you’re probably doing something wrong.”

“I’ve always loved the night, when everyone else is asleep and the world is all mine. It’s quiet and dark—the perfect time for creativity.”

“You are an author, a public figure. You are going to be judged no matter what you write, so live your life in a way that’s pleasing and congruent to your soul”

“The Author Promise: Determine what you are going to give the reader, deliver it and never break that promise.”

“it’s been my experience that most writers don’t talk about their craft–they just do it”

“Be prepared to work hard to be a writer.”

“We will need to find people who will provide a safe writing space for us, where criticism comes late and love and delight come early.—from Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing”

“I’m writing. The pages are starting to stack up. My morale is improving the more I feel like a writer.”

“Fiction—good fiction, anyway—is dream made flesh, given purpose and drive, and set on a quest to show us the best in us and to give us the power and the tools to dream beyond reality’s ‘merely good enough’ to a vision of what is truly great……and then to give us the stories of men and women of character who in turn inspire those of us who dare to reach for the truly great within ourselves.THAT is why you write fiction.”

“To be a successful fiction writer you have to write well, write a lot … and let ‘em know you’ve written it! Then rinse and repeat.”

“Writing starts with living.—Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing”

“Don’t start right off writing the ‘Great American Novel’, that’s too much pressure and you’ll get disappointed; start with porn, it’s fun and a good way to get your feet wet.”

“Don’t look back until you’ve written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the preceding day. This prevents those cringing feelings, and means that you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is all in … the edit.”[Ten rules for writing fiction (part two), The Guardian, 20 February 2010]”

“There is a ruthlessness to the creative act. It often involves a betrayal of the status quo.”