How To Be A Writer
Extract:
His (Malcolm Gladwell’s) theory is that all great artists have practised their art for a minimum of 10,000 hours. The public perception of genius is that gifted people are different from you and me, and, while he accepts that talent is unevenly distributed across the population, he points out that, without exception, those who excel are those who work the hardest.
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Write every day.
Set yourself a low target – one friend of mine aims at five minutes. Every day. She usually exceeds it.
Take the pressure off. Write in odd places, at odd times. Don’t enslave yourself to routine.
Carry a notebook with you at all times, and try to catch lines of conversation, scenes, ideas, as you go about your daily business. This is the equivalent of an artist’s sketchbook.
Follow the example of Kate Long, author of The Bad Mother’s Handbook, and keep a notebook by your bed. If an idea strikes you at 3 a.m., write it down. You don’t even have to switch the light on.
Read voraciously, and don’t stick to just one genre.