Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ten Rules for Writing Fiction


I had a completely different post in mind for today, but then a friend posted this link on Facebook and I thought it would be more fun to share what a variety of different writers had to say. From the U.K. Guardian, here's the intro:

Ten rules for writing fiction

Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal dos and don'ts.

Follow this link to the first half of the article; the second half is here.


My favorite quote of the article is this one from Philip Pullman:

"My main rule is to say no to things like this, which tempt me away from my proper work."

You'll note that's his only quote in the article. Cheeky bastard. :-)

2 comments:

Morgan Mandel said...

Saying no to things like Facebook, maybe, and reading blogs?

I do get carried away at times.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Dana Fredsti said...

We all get carried away, Morgan. For instance, I spent a hell of a lot of time reading all the rules from the numerous authors in that article!