"Naps are essential to my process. Not dreams, but that state adjacent to sleep, the mind on waking."
— William Gibson, one of many in The Daily Routines of Famous Writers
Ooooh dear, these are for purchase on Etsy.
(Source: ianbrooks, via disco-golf-balls)
"James Leer: The doors made so much noise!
Grady Tripp: Is he all right?
James Leer: It was so embarrassing! He had to be carried out.
Terry Crabtree: He’s fine. He’s narrating.
James Leer: They were going to the restroom. But would they make it in time?"
Grady Tripp: Is he all right?
James Leer: It was so embarrassing! He had to be carried out.
Terry Crabtree: He’s fine. He’s narrating.
James Leer: They were going to the restroom. But would they make it in time?"
— Wonder Boys
Author Zadie Smith’s Rules for Writers
1) When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
2) When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
3) Don’t romanticise your “vocation”. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle”. All that matters is what you leave on the page.
4) Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.
5) Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.
6) Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.
7) Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.
8) Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.
9) Don’t confuse honours with achievement.
10) Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.
As with all “rules for writers,” I agree with some of this and disagree with other bits. But all in all, I respect the hell out of this woman, and would love to have her Cinderella Story of success.
"Write until you bleed, and if you bleed, do it beautifully."
— Recorded only as “Tom.” Source lost.
