True story. One day a client said that to me. Honestly, I was surprised. It never occurred to me that so many other writers don’t Read More...
My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.
It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil, trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.
Thank your readers and the critics who praise you, and then ignore them. Write for the most intelligent, wittiest, wisest audience in the universe: Write to please yourself.
When writing a novel, that’s pretty much entirely what life turns into: “House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1,500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.”
Do not place a photograph of your favorite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.
The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home.
Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
Anecdotes don’t make good stories. Generally, I dig down underneath them so far that the story that finally comes out is not what people thought their anecdotes were about.
If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.
Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.
If the sex scene doesn’t make you want to do it — whatever it is they’re doing — it hasn’t been written right.
It is only natural to pattern yourself after someone. But you can’t just copy someone. If you like someone’s work, the important thing is to be exposed to everything that person has been exposed to.
Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk — away from any open flames — to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty.
You may be able to take a break from writing, but you won’t be able to take a break from being a writer.
It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.
If you have an idea that you genuinely think is good, don’t let some idiot talk you out of it.
Reading and weeping opens the door to one’s heart, but writing and weeping opens the window to one’s soul.

























