7 Rules for Writers
(from a writer who doesn't believe in rules)
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This week’s post is all the things I’ve learned about how to stay sane as a writer/author, which I put together for a masterclass earlier this week. It is a build on a post from last year, as I have inevitably learned more as I’ve gone along.
While it is in the form of rules, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 55 years on this earth it’s that there are rarely any absolutes and so my rules reflect this truth (‘loose advice but only if appropriate’ is a less snappy title). I’ve also added one Substack specific bonus rule at the end - as it came up as part of the Masterclass Q&A.
As with any advice, take what is useful and ignore the rest
Rule 1. Take it seriously but not too seriously.
From the very beginning I took writing seriously. I behaved as though it was my job. I carved out the time for it, called myself a writer and invested in learning about the craft, long before I earned a penny from it. I went ‘all in’ and I have not regretted that for a second.
I’ve always been this way and have found that something about the quality of commitment and being ‘all in’ brings a different energy to whatever I am doing.
I have also learned when to step away from it and remember that there is a life outside writing.
It is important for me to remember that I am not out here curing cancer. I’m telling stories. Stories matter A LOT to me, but I am really not that important in the grand scheme of things, and I’d do well to keep a grip on that.
Every now and again when I’m caught up in the publishing drama-du-jour or worrying about how well I am (or not) doing, I spend time with non-writing people and remember that there is a whole world out there and for most people, this stuff just doesn’t matter a jot.
Rule 2. Learn the rules but listen to your instincts.
A hill I will die on as a writer is that you need to read and read widely. It doesn’t matter what you are writing you need to READ (in whatever form that takes).
Fiction, non-fiction, short-form, long-form, poetry, audio, graphic, it all counts.
My journey has been a relatively quick one, from putting pen to paper to having my first book published, but I did a 40-year reading apprenticeship. As Marian Keyes said, in a quote that inspired me to start my first novel The List of Suspicious Things ‘voracious readers learn to write by osmosis.’
Once I had started, I devoured every book I could on the topic from Stephen King’s On Writing to Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, Hattie Crisell’s In Writing and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. I read them all (in fact I listened to most of them on long journeys).
I got advice and feedback from industry professionals via the Curtis Brown Creative Course I did, and I cannot tell you how helpful that was. I learned SO much.
But I also listened to my gut.
