“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
writing advice
Writer’s Wisdom: Dialogue
Always get to the dialogue as soon as possible. I always feel the thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a big slab of prose at the start. ~ P. G. Wodehouse
Writer’s Wisdom: Writing from the Heart
Others may write from the head, but he writes from the heart, and the heart will always understand him.” ~ Washington Irving
Writer’s Wisdom: P.D. James 3rd of 5 Writing Tips
Don’t just plan to write—write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style. ~ P. D. James
Writer’s Wisdom: 1st of 5 Writing Tips by P. D. James
P.D. James 1st of 5 Writing Tips
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. ~ P. D. James
Writer’s Wisdom: Neil Gaiman’s 8th of 8 Writing Tips
Tip #8: The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. ~ Neil Gaiman
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Write About What You Know
Write about what you know personally, limited though it may be. Get your facts right. Try to write a story with a beginning, middle, and an end. ~ Frederich Forsyth
Writer’s Wisdom ~ George Orwell’s 3rd of 4 Questions to Guide Writing
What image or idiom will make it clearer? ~ George Orwell
Writer’s Wisdom on Finding Your Style
The more you keep in first person and true to yourself, the sooner you will find your style: “Sell yourself, and your subject will exert its own appeal. Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. ~ William Zinsser
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Someone Needs Your Story
“We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write.”
Source
― Neil Gaiman
