Pauline Rowson reveals her six rules for writing


Writing is a tough game so to make it easier here are my six rules to successful writing!

1. Travel by public transport as often as you can.  If you’ve got a free bus pass so much the better, you can stay on the bus all day and save on heating bills at home.  You see and meet some great characters for novels.

2. Be nosy. Listen to other people's conversations in cafes, bars, buses, trains and on their mobile phones.  People watch for body language, gestures and mannerisms.

3. Write for yourself rather than trying to write to suit your publisher, your agent, your readers, friends, relatives or reviewers because if you do the latter then you’ll end up with something watered down and weak that nobody loves least of all you.

4. Don't read reviews, or if you do learn to take the rough with the smooth and then carry on writing for yourself and for enjoyment, not to please the woman from Woking who claims your novels are utter tripe.

5. If you get to the stage in your novel where you're bored with the story, then your reader will almost certainly be bored too. Chuck it out and start again. Or as Chandler once said, bring in a man with a gun.

6. Marry someone rich. It helps.  If you can’t then accept that writing is hard work.  You don't get a pension plan, and you don't get a regular salary cheque. Nobody is forcing you to do this, so don't moan, enjoy it and if you don't enjoy it, don't do it. 

PS And don’t spend too much time drawing up lists otherwise you’ll never get any writing done.

Happy writing and now it's time for me to get back to my own writing!




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