I've been thinking a lot lately about advice I've gotten concerning writing. The most recent came at Bouchercon, at the editors and agents panel. Every one of them said the same thing: Write the best book you can.
What does that really mean? The best book? Every book we write feels like the best book, or at least it should, before we start sending it out into the world. We write and rewrite and rewrite again until we've honed that sucker into something we think is publishable. We have to believe, otherwise there's no point, is there?
I have a writer friend who is still writing a book a year and he's now in his 80s. Tom Fleming writes historical fiction and nonfiction, lately mostly about the founding fathers. His books, both fiction and non, are riveting tales. He once told me, write four pages a day and you'll have a book in three months.
This advice is far more worthwhile than "write the best book you can." This is actually just "write the book." Because we can dream about writing the "best" book, or we can just hunker down and write the thing, turning it into the "best" when we've at least got some words to work with.
What do you think is the best advice you've ever gotten, either as a writer or not?
Karen
The most useful piece of advice I ever got was from my boss, when I was working as a lobbyist: "You need to think less about what you want to say, and more about what you want the other person to hear."
Posted by: Clair Lamb | November 11, 2009 at 08:50 AM
"Be interesting."
You decide if that was writerly or non-writerly advice.
Posted by: N | November 11, 2009 at 09:45 AM
Write every day.
Or as Nora Roberts said: I can fix a bad page, but I can't fix a blank page.
Be interested to hear what advice other FOFO's take to heart :)
Posted by: Lori Armstrong | November 11, 2009 at 10:26 AM
"The successful writer is the writer too stupid to quit."
OK, not so much advice as an aphorism.
Posted by: David Terrenoire | November 11, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Keep on truckin'
Posted by: Patti Abbott | November 11, 2009 at 04:01 PM
Don't quit your day job.
Posted by: patty smiley | November 11, 2009 at 04:22 PM
Don't plug a cigarette lighter into your USB port.
Posted by: J. Carson Black | November 11, 2009 at 05:53 PM
"Giant robots."
You're welcome.
VG
Posted by: victor gischler | November 12, 2009 at 06:57 AM
"There are assholes everywhere. Get used to it." - A Friend's Dad
Posted by: Jeff Shelby | November 12, 2009 at 08:06 AM
"Boil corn on the cob for three minutes, not twenty."
- Karen E. Olson
Posted by: AlisonGaylin | November 12, 2009 at 08:14 AM
"Never fry bacon naked."
Posted by: David Terrenoire | November 12, 2009 at 08:57 AM
I think I should just shut up and listen to Mr. Fleming! ;-)
Posted by: John | November 12, 2009 at 03:44 PM