The rules of writing for writers by writers

23 February 2022

Ten rules for writing, put together by The Guardian, part one and part two, with insights from writers including Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Moorcock, Zadie Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Sarah Waters, and Will Self.

There’s a lot of good stuff here, such as this idea from Hilary Mantel:

Write a book you’d like to read. If you wouldn’t read it, why would anybody else? Don’t write for a perceived audience or market. It may well have vanished by the time your book’s ready.

Particularly relevant for someone like me who writes at a glacial pace. And then this nugget from British poet Andrew Motion:

Decide when in the day (or night) it best suits you to write, and organise your life accordingly.

Thank you. I’ll go for later in the day. This coming from someone not of the school of thought you must wake at 4AM to achieve anything.