Literary Birthday – 21 November – Freya North

Happy Birthday, Freya North, born 21 November 1967.

Freya North Quotes On Writing

1. In the early 1990s, I started my first novel because I wanted to write the type of book I wanted to read, but couldn’t seem to find in the shops.
2. Keep your synopsis short and tempting – akin to the ‘copy’ (blurb) you find on the back of a book and either submit your first three chapters – or your three best chapters.
3. It took four long hard years before I had a contract – hideous waiting time only for rejection to follow rejection, and I had to confront much negativity and really tactless comments from people who did not enjoy my work. Although this can be utterly demoralizing, try not to take it personally.
4. Keep writing. Just keep writing. Don’t bother to attempt this as a career if your sole ambition is to ‘be a writer’. Don’t have a romanticized idea of ‘being a writer’. Believe me, it’s often a lonely and isolating life and can be pretty tough and draining. You need to want to do this because you have to write.
5. Perhaps the greatest encouragement I can give you is that there really is NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO WRITE! And that’s a fact.
6. You will find the way that works for you. Immerse yourself in that sacred ‘zone’ – your characters are depending on you to tell their tales for them because no one else can!
7. To me, it is fundamental to think about WHY you want to write. I often have people contact me saying ‘I want to be a writer, how do I go about being a writer?’. To me, this is skewed. You should want to ‘be a writer’ because you want to write…you need to write!

Freya North is a British writer, who is known as one of the precursors of chick lit. Her successful novels feature strong female characters and their raunchy exploits. She is the author of 16 bestselling novels including her debut Sally, Pillow Talk (winner of the RNA award) The Turning Point, Richard & Judy Bookclub selection Little Wing, and her newest, The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne. She has degrees in Art History from the University of Manchester and the Courtauld Institute, London and she love teaching at writing workshops.

Source for image: Freya North’s Website Source for quotes: Freya North’s Advice Page

by Amanda Patterson

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