If you are already a writer you might feel the need to gird your loins or fortify yourself with something before reading these; if you’re in the early stages of learning to be a writer then please don’t let the harsh realities contained within the quotations put you off. The good news is that all of us can get better.
With that in mind, I’ve distilled some of my experience of over 10 years teaching creative writing into mini-tutorials covering aspects of the craft such as plot, character creation, narrative & voice, dialogue etc. You can go to my crash course in creative writing now or read on and find it later in the Creative Writing category of this website.
Writing secrets. Number 2: tough love.
This little gem is by G.K. Chesterton. He may be brutal but, as all writers will find out at some time or another, he was right:
Hemingway always had something to say on the subject of being a writer:
Fannie Hurst was obviously a woman after my own heart:
Irving Wallace
Dorothy Parker
Dawn Powell
To end with the toughest guy of all. Raymond Chandler stalked more than one set of mean streets:
You can find some more wise words and inspiration here:
Writing secrets number 1: skills & craft
Writing secrets number 3: the writer as artist
Writing secrets number 4: the deep stuff
