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10 Rules for a Happy Healthy Writing Life - from Sterling Watson
1. If you can't get anything written, lower your standards.
2. If you write something you think is really good, raise your standards.
3. Read good books... Also, read bad books so that you can know the enemy.
4. If you get a little money, buy books. If you get a little more money, buy food.
5. Don't watch TV. If you do, it will take years to rid yourself of tawdy habits of storytelling.
6. Write every day, or as often as you can. Regular writing is different in almost every way from occasional writing. The results will astonish you.
7. Don't compare yourself to anyone but your earlier self. Don't waste time and energy on jealousy. Jealousy rots the soul.
8. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but not all opinions are of equal value. Opinions have value in direct proportion to how well they are articulated and supported by evidence.
9. You don't have to go on safari to be a great writer. As much great art has been made from the back yard as has been made from the outback. Or, as Flannery O'Conner put it, "If you can't make something out of a little experience, it's not likely you'll make something out of a lot."
10. Last, and most important of all, you don't have to self-destruct to be an artist. Some writers have been drunks and suicides, but more have been happy and healthy. Those in the second category write just as well as those in the first.
I like number 4 the most, hehe. My head is all over the place right now, but in a good way. An interesting opportunity has just come to my attention and I'm freaking out over it a littel bit. I'll write more about it later, once I get my thoughts together.
1. If you can't get anything written, lower your standards.
2. If you write something you think is really good, raise your standards.
3. Read good books... Also, read bad books so that you can know the enemy.
4. If you get a little money, buy books. If you get a little more money, buy food.
5. Don't watch TV. If you do, it will take years to rid yourself of tawdy habits of storytelling.
6. Write every day, or as often as you can. Regular writing is different in almost every way from occasional writing. The results will astonish you.
7. Don't compare yourself to anyone but your earlier self. Don't waste time and energy on jealousy. Jealousy rots the soul.
8. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but not all opinions are of equal value. Opinions have value in direct proportion to how well they are articulated and supported by evidence.
9. You don't have to go on safari to be a great writer. As much great art has been made from the back yard as has been made from the outback. Or, as Flannery O'Conner put it, "If you can't make something out of a little experience, it's not likely you'll make something out of a lot."
10. Last, and most important of all, you don't have to self-destruct to be an artist. Some writers have been drunks and suicides, but more have been happy and healthy. Those in the second category write just as well as those in the first.
I like number 4 the most, hehe. My head is all over the place right now, but in a good way. An interesting opportunity has just come to my attention and I'm freaking out over it a littel bit. I'll write more about it later, once I get my thoughts together.