I’m running a series of posts of several authors’ Ten Rules for Writing Fiction. These rules were all published in an article in the Guardian, February, 2010. Can’t say I agree with all the rules, but it’s interesting to read—one writer’s bete noir is sometimes another’s signature prose. So don’t take them tooooo seriously:
Richard Ford
1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.
2 Don’t have children.
3 Don’t read your reviews.
4 Don’t write reviews. (Your judgment’s always tainted.)
5 Don’t have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night.
6 Don’t drink and write at the same time.
7 Don’t write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)
8 Don’t wish ill on your colleagues.
9 Try to think of others’ good luck as encouragement to yourself.
10 Don’t take any shit if you can ¬possibly help it.