Writing tips from Fiction Authors

I'm no expert, so I looked for advice from people who are classed as successful (and therefore, 'expert' at what they do).

*Read everything you can lay hands on. Michael Moorcock

Sound advice! A writer's mind is a tool that needs to be kept lubricated otherwise it can seize up.

*Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you. Zadie Smith

Personally, I can't write with too many distractions going on around me. If the only time you can get enough peace in which to write is when the other members of your household are asleep, you're going to have to write then. It's a sacrifice, but worth it.

*Always carry a note-book. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever. Will Self

How many times have you had a brilliant idea and NOT written it down, believing it was such a great idea your brain is sure to remember it? I have notebooks everywhere. I can put my hand on one wherever I am in the house or my car. If I go out, my bag has at least three (plus pens).

*Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless! Joyce Carol Oates

Good Luck with that! I've found writers who cannot take criticism from experts in the field and therefore believe their writing is outstanding - it usually is, but for the wrong reasons.

My slant on this piece of advice is to take criticism seriously - if someone is saying something isn't right (or absolutely wrong) even if they're not 100% spot on, there will be some basis for the criticism. Do yourself and your readers a favour and do not ignore the criticism.

Neil Gaiman says it better than I did...

Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong. Neil Gaiman

Finally:
*The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’ Helen Simpson

Remember this, it is impossible to edit a blank page, write, write, write and then write some more.

"I want to be a writer." - Well that's simple. Write and you've achieved your goal. If you want to be a successful writer, that takes determination, sacrifice (sleep usually), dedication and luck.

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