If you haven’t already discovered this one for yourself, or stumbled on it while surfing over at the UK’s Guardian online, check out: TEN RULE FOR WRITING FICTION.
Not only is it a must-read, but there are some hilarious observations from some literary greats in there, like— Elmore Leonard: Using adverbs is a mortal sin.
Another good one from Roddy Doyle is— Do not search amazon.co.uk for the book you haven’t written yet.
And my favourite from Helen Simpson— The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying “Faire et se taire” (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as “Shut up and get on with it.”
Oh, and watch out for Margaret Atwood and her pencils, she’ll sharpen them on anything.
Quite a few excellent – and delightfully tongue-in-cheek remidners there. Thanks for sharing, Alex
Indeed, Sarah Waters has some interesting rules, and you gotta love Margaret Atwood, totally out there!