Ten Tips for New Authors
All the bloggers are doing their “ten rules for writers” at the moment. It’s the Guardian’s fault for publishing their tips from famous authors last week. They didn’t ask my author, but if they did she would have given them Philip Pullman’s first rule -“say no to things like this that stop me doing my real work" - and passed them on to me.
So I bring you the Muse’s ten tips the Guardian missed:
1. Find your muse (he/she doesn’t have to be a unicorn, of course, but it helps).
2. Feed your muse with plenty of books by lots of different authors. We need a balanced diet to stay healthy, just like you do. Some books are like ice cream – good fun but can make you sick if that’s all you read. Others are like spinach – good for you but taste disgusting. Life’s too short to read the spinach (unless you happen to be Popeye), but there’s plenty of other stuff inbetween.
3. Learn how to spell... and I mean text, not TXT!
4. Write about what really interests you, not what someone else tells you to write.
5. Get a room of your own and shut the door until your story is finished.
6. Don’t do it for the money.
7. Don’t do it for nothing, either.
8. Try not to take too much notice of what everybody else is doing.
9. Get a good agent who believes in you and your work.
10. Be willing to give up everything else to care for your muse.
Got your own tip? Let the Muse know!
So I bring you the Muse’s ten tips the Guardian missed:
1. Find your muse (he/she doesn’t have to be a unicorn, of course, but it helps).
2. Feed your muse with plenty of books by lots of different authors. We need a balanced diet to stay healthy, just like you do. Some books are like ice cream – good fun but can make you sick if that’s all you read. Others are like spinach – good for you but taste disgusting. Life’s too short to read the spinach (unless you happen to be Popeye), but there’s plenty of other stuff inbetween.
3. Learn how to spell... and I mean text, not TXT!
4. Write about what really interests you, not what someone else tells you to write.
5. Get a room of your own and shut the door until your story is finished.
6. Don’t do it for the money.
7. Don’t do it for nothing, either.
8. Try not to take too much notice of what everybody else is doing.
9. Get a good agent who believes in you and your work.
10. Be willing to give up everything else to care for your muse.
Got your own tip? Let the Muse know!