7 Tips From Famous Writers On Getting Started

Sometimes beginning a writing project is the hardest thing you have to do. Here are 7 tips from famous writers on getting started.

Some days sitting down and getting started seems impossible, whether it is a fresh chapter, an edit, or a new book. Here are some tips and insights to help you get past that blank page.

7 Tips From Famous Writers On Getting Started

1. Mary Stewart: ‘I sometimes sit for half an hour before a blank page, longing to get up, but if I write something, however rubbishy, that gets the wheels turning and I can go on. And the next day it is always better than I thought.’
2. Graham Greene: ‘In periods when I can’t write, I keep a notepad beside my bed. When I wake up in the night after having a dream, I note it down at once. I’ve discovered dreams are like serials and the instalments sometimes carry on for weeks and in the end form a whole.’
3. Arthur Kopit: ‘I put on a big eight-cup percolator of coffee and sharpen about 35 pencils and I’m all set. I have to have sharp pencils.’
4. Ralph Fletcher: ‘Artists develop a love for the feel of their tools, the smell and texture of clay, wood or paint. Writers are no different. Writers love words. And while some writers get excited over a particular pen or word processing programme, words remain the most important tool the writer has to work with.’
5. Stewart Ferris: ‘Diaries make you write every day, so keep a diary. Once you’re in the habit of writing every day you become a writer. Keep going with that diary until you’re ready to start your book.’
6. Edwin C Bliss: ‘Change your attitude towards procrastination and you will have taken a major step towards overcoming it. Your goal is to wrench some bad habits loose from their moorings and substitute some good ones.’
7. James Herbert: ‘It’s no good asking for advice and just talking about it. You’ve just got to sit down and endure.’

 by Anthony Ehlers

1. The Inconsolable Writer – From Distraction to Inspiration In 4 Easy Steps
2. The Locked Room – A Simple Way To Test Your Plot
3. How Clichés And Jargon Ruin Your Writing
4. The Power Of A Series
5. How To Use The Seasons In Your Writing

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