Posted by In a bid to improve my writing, I soak up tons of blog posts and articles online hoping that they contain tiny little nuggets of advice that will prove useful for me. Let’s be frank – not just prove useful, I hope they’ll transform my writing and turn me into a Booker-winning author. Perhaps that’s just a teeny bit too ambitious, but a girl can dream, right?
Websites like Brain Pickings, The Guardian, Aerogramme Writers Studio routinely run a series of these compilations of tips from various bestselling authors. I’ve amassed a whole collection of them!
Check the resources below and let me know your favourites!
Rules of Writing from 35 writers
Elmore Leonard’s advice to writers
George Orwell’s tips for Effective Writing
Joyce Carol Oates’ 10 tips on Writing
Jonathan Franzen’s 10 rules for writing fiction
PD James’ 5 bits of writing advice
Hilary Mantel’s Ten Rules for Writing Fiction
Michael Moorcock’s Ten Tips for Good Storytelling
Michael Morpurgo’s Rules for Writers
Sarah Waters’ Rules for Writers
Zadie Smith’s Ten Golden Rules for Writers
The tips in Roddy Doyles Rules for Writers make sound sense:
1 Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.
9 Do not search amazon.co.uk for the book you haven’t written yet.
I like this one the best for the utter simplicity of the rules:
Neil Gaiman’s Eight Rules of Writing
Do you have any tips or rules that you always follow? Which is your favourite set of rules? And who’s the writer whose tips have helped you the most?
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