@calunderlines
elmore leonard's 10 rules of writing (2001)
10 items
- 01Never open a book with the weather.
- 02Avoid prologues.
- 03Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
- 路路7 more entries
15003
Zadie Smith's ten rules of writing
Her list from The Guardian's 2010 series where they asked working novelists for their rules. (check the attribution) I'm just the fan typing them up
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01
When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
reread this one every time i talk to a parent about screen time
02
When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
03
Don't romanticise your 'vocation'. You can either write good sentences or you can't. There is no 'writer's lifestyle'. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
the coldest one on the list and probably the truest
04
Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can't do aren't worth doing. Don't mask self-doubt with contempt.
05
Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
days, not hours. i learned this one the hard way
06
Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing any better than it is.
07
Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
written in 2010, feels even truer now
08
Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
09
Don't confuse honours with achievement.
short and it stings
10
Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand, but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.
reread this one on bad writing days
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