Andrew Motion’s 10 Rules For Writers

In this post, we share British poet and novelist, Andrew Motion’s 10 rules for writers.

Andrew Motion is a British poet, biographer, and novelist, especially noted for his narrative poetry. He was born 26 October 1952.

Professor Andrew Motion read English at University College, Oxford. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009. He also founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work.

His works include Keats, Silver, and The New World. He says: ‘My poems are the product of a relationship between a side of my mind which is conscious, alert, educated and manipulative, and a side which is as murky as a primaeval swamp.’

He wrote a memoir in 2008: In the Blood.

Andrew Motion’s 10 Rules For Writers

1. Decide when in the day (or night) it best suits you to write, and organise your life accordingly.
2. Think with your senses as well as your brain.
3. Honour the miraculousness of the ordinary.
4. Lock different characters/elements in a room and tell them to get on.
5. Remember there is no such thing as nonsense.
6. Bear in mind Wilde’s dictum that ‘only mediocrities develop’ – and ­challenge it.
7. Let your work stand before deciding whether or not to serve.
8. Think big and stay particular.
9. Write for tomorrow, not for today.
10. Work hard.

Source for image / Source for Writing Tips: Guardian

TIP: If you want help writing a book, buy The Novel Writing Exercises Workbook.

 by Amanda Patterson

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4. Cheryl Strayed’s Advice For Beginner Writers
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