The Ten Commandments for Writers

Inspired by Rachna’s post, I churned out my own Ten Commandments writers must follow to become successful:

1. Thou shalt keep notepad handy at all times, for verily thy ideas will disappear before thine eyes

2. Thou shalt strive for conciseness in thy writing, lest thy reader fall asleep before thy article ends

3. Thou shalt always double-check thy spelling, for thou art not known to be a spelling bee

4. Thou shalt practice thy writing regularly, lest thee fall victim to writer’s block

5. Thou shalt avoid the oft-repeated cliché like the plague

6. Thou shalt read vigorously, till thy eyes bleed, for in suffering lies the key to success

7. Thou shalt maintain thy writing journal religiously, for therein lie the great ideas that wilt lead thou to immortality

8. Thou shalt not hound thy editors or postmen for swift replies

9. Thou shalt not check thy e-mail every ten seconds

10. Thou shalt not neglect thy family members and leave them to starve, for thy writing’s sake

Tell me any more you can think of!