Guru Coyote
Archmage
I just stumbled over this article about an Australian writer, and wanted to share his "rules for writers" advice.
Especially 4 and 5 I think are relevant.
1. Most people can learn to write. He used to say to his students, “whatever sort of writer you were going to be before you enrolled in this course you’ll be a better writer after you finish this course.”
2. Don’t give up your day job. “Make sure no one ever suffers on account of you wanting to be a writer.”
3. Don’t watch television. “You think of the average time the a person spends in front of the television set and multiply that by the days of the week, it’s a big bonus when you can give up something like that.”
4. Don’t think of publication when you write.
5. Write about the things that only you know about. He quotes Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Before I write a story I must have a conviction that it is a story that only I can write about.”
6. Don’t look at last year’s bestseller; forget what’s popular.
7. Write about what is important to you not what you think is important out there.
8. Choose a time of the day when you have a limited amount of leisure time and give yourself over intensely to that time.
9. Hope for the best
Here's the original article:
http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/vic-wimmera-86ow2sq/posts/gerald-murnane-15pr7qc
Especially 4 and 5 I think are relevant.
1. Most people can learn to write. He used to say to his students, “whatever sort of writer you were going to be before you enrolled in this course you’ll be a better writer after you finish this course.”
2. Don’t give up your day job. “Make sure no one ever suffers on account of you wanting to be a writer.”
3. Don’t watch television. “You think of the average time the a person spends in front of the television set and multiply that by the days of the week, it’s a big bonus when you can give up something like that.”
4. Don’t think of publication when you write.
5. Write about the things that only you know about. He quotes Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Before I write a story I must have a conviction that it is a story that only I can write about.”
6. Don’t look at last year’s bestseller; forget what’s popular.
7. Write about what is important to you not what you think is important out there.
8. Choose a time of the day when you have a limited amount of leisure time and give yourself over intensely to that time.
9. Hope for the best
Here's the original article:
http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/vic-wimmera-86ow2sq/posts/gerald-murnane-15pr7qc