Writing Advice From The World’s Most Famous Authors

Writers Write is a resource for writers. We’ve put together a comprehensive list of writing advice from the world’s most famous authors.

Over the years, we have featured many posts on the advice famous writers give. We’ve enjoyed collecting them and writing about them.

And now, links to these pearls of wisdom are available in one bumper post.

Scroll through the list to read what literary icons like William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway have had to say about writing.

Writing Advice From The World’s Most Famous Authors

1. Agatha Christie – Analysing The Best-Selling Novelist Of All Time
2. A.L. Kennedy’s 10 Rules for Writing Fiction
3. Alfred Hitchcock: 6 Things Hitchcock Can Teach You About Writing
4. Amitava Kumar’s 10 Rules For Writing
5. Andrew Motion‘s 10 Rules For Writers
6. Anne Enright‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
7. Anne Lamott On Life And Writing
8. Annie Proulx’s 5 Rules For Good Writing
9. Anthony Horowitz’s 4 Steps To Creating A Suspenseful Adventure
10. Anton Chekhov’s 8 Criteria That Define Civilised People
11. Barbara Kingsolver’s Top 8 Writing Tips
12. Bernard Cornwell: 6 Writing Tips
13. Beatrix Potter: 5 Things Beatrix Potter Can Teach You About Writing
14. Blake Bailey’s 5 Tips For Writers
15. C. S. Lewis’s 5 Rules For Writers
16. Carl Hiaasen On Writing
17. Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s 10 Captivating Quotes About Books
18. Cathy Hopkins’ Top 10 Writing Tips
19. Charles Dickens – 7 Bits Of Writing Advice From His Works
20. Charles Dickens – The Original Self-Published Success Story
21. Cheryl Strayed’s Advice For Beginner Writers
22. Chris Bohjalian: 10 Tips To Help Writers Stretch Their Fiction
23. Chuck Palahniuk: 13 Writing Tips
24. Colm Tóibín’s 10 Rules for Writing Fiction
25. Cornelia Funke’s Top 10 Tips For Writing Ghost Stories
26. Dashiel Hammett’s 24 Rules For Detective Writers
27. David Baldacci’s 5 Top Writing Tips
28. David Hare’s 10 Rules for Writers
29. David Ogilvy: Tips On Writing
30. Dean Koontz On Overcoming Self-Doubt
31. Dennis Lehane’s 10 Rules For Writers
32. Don Delillo’s Writing Guide
33. Dorothy Allison’s 5 Top Writing Tips
34. Dorothy Parker: On Writing
35. Douglas Adams: 10 Tips For Writers
36. Dr Seuss On Writing
37. e.e. cummings – on being nobody-but-yourself
38. E.B. White: Hang On To Hope
39. E.B. White On Writing
40. Edgar Allan Poe: 5 Tips For Writing Vivid Fiction
41. Elmore Leonard’s 11 Rules For Writing Fiction
42. Ernest Hemingway: 27  Gems On Writing
43. Ernest Hemingway: How He Changed The Writing Landscape
44. Ernest Hemingway To F. Scott Fitzgerald: Writing Advice Between Friends
45. Esther Freud’s Seven Rules For Writing
46. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 7 Tips For Writing Fiction
47. Geoff Dyer‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
48. George Orwell’s 6 Questions And 6 Rules For Writing
49. George R. R. Martin’s Writing Advice
50. Graham Greene’s Writing Process
51. Haruki Murakami On Writing
52. Helen Dunmore’s 9 Rules For Writing Fiction
53. Henry Miller’s 11 Writing Commandments
54. Hilary Mantel‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
55. Ian Fleming: 5 Writing Secrets
56. Ian Rankin’s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
57. Isabel Allende’s Writing Process
58. J.R.R. Tolkien: The Greatest Fictional World Builders Teach You To Write Fantasy
59. J.R.R. Tolkien’s 10 Tips For Writers
60. Jack Kerouac’s 30 Rules for Writing
61. Jackie Collins: 5 Bestselling Storytelling Lessons
62. Jaime Lowe’s 8 Rules For Writing Memoirs
63. James Patterson: 7 Invaluable Lessons For Writers
64. James Rollins’ 3 Tips For Writers
65. Jane Austen: 6 Lessons On Love, Life & Writing
66. Jane Austen: How Did She Learn To Write?
67. Janet Evanovich’s 12 Tips For Writing A Query Letter
68. Janet Evanovich: Making Time To Write: 4 Tips
69. Janet Fitch’s Top 10 Writing Tips
70. Jeanette Winterson’s 10 Rules for Writing
71. Jeffery Deaver‘s 10 Writing Tips
72. Jeffrey Archer’s Top 10 Writing Tips
73. Jennifer Egan’s Advice For Young Writers
74. Jennifer Niven’s Top 12 Writing Tips
75. Jodi Picoult’s Top 3 Writing Tips
76. Joe Eszterhas’s 10 Golden Rules of Screenwriting
77. John Grisham’s 8 Do’s And Don’ts For Popular Fiction
78. John Irving: On Writing
79. John Steinbeck’s 6 Writing Tips
80. Jonathan Franzen‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
81. Joseph Finder’s 8 Tips For Writers
82. Joy Williams’ 8 Essential Attributes Of The Short Story
83. Joyce Carol Oates’ 7 Rules For Writing
84. Keith Waterhouse’s 12 Ground Rules for Writers
85. Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Writing Tips (& A Letter Of Advice For The Future)
86. Kurt Vonnegut Explains The Shapes Of Stories
87. Kurt Vonnegut On Making Your Soul Grow
88. Laini Taylor: 5 Really Useful Writing Tips
89. Lev Grossman’s 7 Tips For Writers
90. Liane Moriarty’s Writing Tips
91. Margaret Atwood‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
92. Marian Keyes’ 3 Tips For New Writers
93. Marisha Pessl Answers 5 Questions On Writing
94. Martin Amis’s 16 Rules For Writers
95. Mary Hoffman’s Top 10 Rules For Fantasy Writers
96. Mary Karr’s Memoir Checklist To Stave Off Dread
97. Max Brooks’ 5 Writing Tips
98. Maya Angelou’s Writing Process
99. Meg Cabot’s Advice For Young Writers
100. Michael Moorcock’s 10 Rules for Writers
101. Michael Morpurgo’s 10 Rules For Writers
102. Neil Gaiman: How To Become A Writer – The Easy Way
103. Neil Gaiman – On Making Good Art
104. Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules For Writers
105. Nicholas Evans On Why Writing Is Like Going On A Hike
106. Nietzsche’s 10 Rules For Writers
107. Norman Mailer – 6 Writing Tips
108. Octavia E. Butler’s Writing Advice
109. Orson Scott Card On Building An Audience
110. Oscar Wilde – 10 Quotable Tips On Writing
111. P.D. James – On Writing
112. Patrick Ness’s 5 Main Tips For Fiction Writers
113. Paulo Coelho: 10 Writing Tips
114. Peter James’ 7 Top Writing Tips
115. Philip Pullman: On Writer’s Block
116. Philippa Gregory‘s Writing tips
117. Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Rules
118. Proust’s Questionnaire – 35 Questions Every Character Should Answer
119. R.L. Stine’s 10 Tips For Curing Writer’s Block
120. Richard Ford‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
121. Roald Dahl: 7 Writing Tips
122. Robert A. Heinlein’s 5 Rules For Writers
123. Roddy Doyle’s 10 Rules For Writers
124. Rose Tremain’s 10 Rules for Writers
125. Ruth Rendell On Writing Suspense
126. Sarah Waters‘ 10 Rules For Writers
127. Sebastian Faulks On Finding Excuses Not To Write
128. Simon Scarrow’s 6 Tips For Aspiring Writers
129. Stan Lee: 6 Superhero Writing Tips
130. Stephen King: 10 Bits Of Writing Advice
131. Stephen King: 13 Writing Lessons From On Writing
132. Stephen King’s Muse Is A Basement Kind Of A Guy
133. Sue Monk Kidd’s 10 Most Helpful Writing Tips
134. Susan Sontag: 7 Pearls Of Writing Wisdom
135. Tamora Pierce On How To Deal With Writer’s Block
136. Terry McMillan: 20 Writing Tips
137. Tess Gerritsen’s Writing Process
138. Toni Morrison: 6 Things You Can Learn
139. V.S. Naipaul’s 7 Rules For Beginner Writers
140. Virginia Woolf: 10 Writing Tips
141. Vladimir Nabokov’s 3 Qualities For A Major Writer
142. Walt Disney: 7 Tips For Writers
143. Warren Ellis’s 3 Questions To Find A Story
144. Will Self‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction
145. William Faulkner: 10 Things He Had To Say About Writing
146. William Goldman‘s 10 Commandments On Writing
147. William Safire’s 33 Fumblerules Of Grammar
148. Zadie Smith‘s 10 Rules For Writing Fiction

General Posts:

1. 7 Tips From Famous Writers On Getting Started
2. 7 Tips To Help You Write Like Neil Gaiman
3. 10 Elementary Tips For Writers From Sherlock Holmes
4. 15 Authors On The Best Writing Advice They Received
5. 17 Things You Probably Never Knew About Arthur Conan Doyle
6. Billy Collins’s 6 Elements Of A Poem
7. Billy Collins’s 6 Pleasures Of Poetry
8. David Foster Wallace – 3 Takeaways For Writers
9. Emily Dickinson – How to use her 4 Super Simple Writing Techniques
10. Ernest Hemingway – How To Write Like Hemingway With These 10 Easy Tips
11. Frank Herbert: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
12. George Lucas: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
13. Janet Burroway’s 3 Principles Of Effective Narrative Setting
14. Janet Burroway’s 4 Aspects Of Narrative Time
15. J.K. Rowling: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
16. J.R.R. Tolkien: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
17. Lewis Carroll: 10 Things Writers Can Learn
18. Neil Gaiman – 7 Tips to Write Like Him
19. Robin Robb: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
20. Rudyard Kipling’s 7 Rules For Life In London
21. Terry Pratchett: The Greatest Fictional World Builders
22. The Fascinating Writing Habits of 31 Famous Authors

We hope this advice from the world’s most famous authors inspires you to write.

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

by Amanda Patterson

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2. The Anatomy Of A Scene
3. Everything You Need To Know About Scenes And Sequels
4. The 17 Most Popular Genres In Fiction – And Why They Matter
5. Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language

TOP TIP: If you want fabulous writing advice, buy one (or more) of our writing workbooks.