10th July 2016 | for Creatives | create for YOURSELF, artist integrity, writing, Anne Rice, feedback/criticism/rejection, break the rules |
"I was discouraged very early in my college years by people who told me I wasn't a real writer because I didn't write every day. Things like that should not be said. And anybody who says anything to you like that, you have to ignore them. You know, there are no rules."
"No matter where you are in your career, whether you're published, unpublished or just starting out, walk through the world as a writer. That's who you are, and that's what you want to be, and don't take any guff off anybody."
"Writing is a subjective sport, I'm afraid. Strap on your helmet and flash your skinned knees with pride. After all, only those with the courage to submit can be rejected."
"Of all the things I've learned about writing, this is the most important: There's a domain of excitement and eagerness and delight that can be astonishing. It is a place of commitment and discovery and wonderment. It is the far side of passion. It is totality of purpose, an inspired obsession. I like to call it stardrive. It's the engine at the center of your personal starship. It's your heart of brightness. It is who you really are. It is simply you—you are the source."
"Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that—but you are the only you."
"Out-of-category authors have begun a journey that I wish all novelists would take: a journey away from what is comfortable and convention-bound to fiction that is free, courageous, inventive, and influential because it's utterly unique. It's a place where novelists don't obey genre rules, but summon them when they're useful and bend them to their own purposes."
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