RULES OF WRITING

1.       Write.

2.       Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3.       Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4.       Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5.       Remember: when people tell you something is 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.

6.       Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfections, you’ll have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7.       Laugh at your won jokes.

The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like (that may be a rule for life as well as for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly and tell it as best you can.