Andrew Cattanach
Booktopia
booktopiaadministration
John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru
booktopiaguestblogger
Haylee Nash
hayleys2013
Toni Whitmont
I interview writers every week here on the Booktopia Blog. My Ten Terrifying Questions have been answered by over 250 published authors ranging from mega selling global stars like Jackie Collins and Lee Child to brilliant, relatively unknown debut authors such as Favel Parret and Rebecca James.
In each of these interviews I ask the following question:
Q. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
Now, for the edification of aspiring writers everywhere, I will pull together answers to this question from three very different writers and post them here once week. Some will inspire, some will confound but all will be interesting and helpful in their own way…
DRUSILLA MODJESKA
“A young writer – any writer – needs courage, and also patience. Courage to write from the heart, patience to return to draft after draft.”
Click here to buy The Mountain from Booktopia Australia’s No.1 Online Bookshop
JENNY LAWSON (Aka The Bloggess)
“Find your voice. Trust your editor. Don’t become a hermit and die alone because your cats will eat you.”
Click here to buy Let’s Pretend This Never Happened from Booktopia Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
SHAMUS SILLAR
“If you’re sitting at your desk and the words aren’t coming, don’t give up. Stare at the screen or the page; move some sentences around; change a few adjectives; keep tinkering with your text. (Don’t go online.) Invariably, things will start to gel; it might take an hour, or even half a day. With a bit of luck, you might even find yourself in “the zone” – a glorious, almost frenzied state where every idea is gold and words pour out like water from a burst dam. If that happens, do not move from your chair. Ignore the sun going down and the house plunging into darkness. Don’t go to the fridge for a snack. Don’t answer the phone. Just type like the clappers.”
Click here to buy Sicily, It’s Not Quite Tuscany from Booktopia Australia’s No.1 Online Book Shop
For more advice from published writers go here
Filed under: Author Interview, Writing tips Tagged: | Advice for Writers, Authors, Books, Drusilla Modjeska, Jenny Lawson, Shamus Sillar
Nice to hear some fresh advice. Thank you for posting.