TIPS FROM FAMOUS WRITERS
G'day folks,
Time to present some more tips for you writers from folks who should know about this business.
David Hare
1 Write only when you have
something to say.
2 Never take advice from anyone
with no investment in the outcome.
3 Style is the art of getting
yourself out of the way, not putting yourself in it.
4 If nobody will put your play on,
put it on yourself.
5 Jokes are like hands and feet
for a painter. They may not be what you want to end up doing but you have to
master them in the meanwhile.
6 Theatre primarily belongs to the
young.
7 No one has ever achieved
consistency as a screenwriter.
8 Never go to a TV personality
festival masquerading as a literary festival.
9 Never complain of being
misunderstood. You can choose to be understood, or you can choose not to.
10 The two most depressing
words in the English language are "literary fiction".
PD James
1 Increase your word power. Words
are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective
your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and
most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
2 Read widely and with
discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.
3 Don't just plan to write –
write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own
style.
4 Write what you need to write,
not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.
5 Open your mind to new
experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens
to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
AL Kennedy
1 Have humility. Older/more experienced/more
convincing writers may offer rules and varieties of advice. Consider what they
say. However, don't automatically give them charge of your brain, or anything else
– they might be bitter, twisted, burned-out, manipulative, or just not very
like you.
2 Have more humility. Remember you
don't know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep
pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life – and maybe even please
a few strangers.
3 Defend others. You can, of
course, steal stories and attributes from family and friends, fill in filecards
after lovemaking and so forth. It might be better to celebrate those you love –
and love itself – by writing in such a way that everyone keeps their privacy
and dignity intact.
4 Defend your work. Organisations,
institutions and individuals will often think they know best about your work –
especially if they are paying you. When you genuinely believe their decisions
would damage your work – walk away. Run away. The money doesn't matter that
much.
5 Defend yourself. Find out what
keeps you happy, motivated and creative.
6 Write. No amount of
self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly
obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.
7 Read. As much as you can. As
deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good
things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes.
8 Be without fear. This is
impossible, but let the small fears drive your rewriting and set aside the
large ones until they behave – then use them, maybe even write them. Too much
fear and all you'll get is silence.
9 Remember you love writing. It
wouldn't be worth it if you didn't. If the love fades, do what you need to and
get it back.
10 Remember writing doesn't love
you. It doesn't care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity.
Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on.
Clancy's comment: Well, I hope some of these have helped you emerging writers.
I'm ...
No comments:
Post a Comment