Word count: 219 words
Reading time: Less than 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I share a piece of writing advice from Deborah Moggach in the Telegraph.
I have not read a single Deborah Moggach novel. But I have seen one of her movies (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). And via Facebook, I stumbled across her 12 “rules for writing” fiction, recently published in the Telegraph newspaper.
I’m not a novelist myself, and I suspect I might not like her writing (I found the Marigold Hotel funny but slightly facile) but I really like her rules.
Her best rule? Don’t go online until lunch. How I wish I could follow that one!
I also strongly endorse her advice about confidence. “However hopeless and inadequate you feel,” she says, “leave that self behind.
“Psyche yourself up until you’re confident that the world will be interested in what happens to your characters. Confidence is key.”
In order to write, we have to believe we’re capable of writing.
I’m going to try one of Moggach’s novel now, to see what I think. And if you’re an aspiring novelist, you might want to try reading her rules.
