Writing tips

JK Rowling's 8 rules of writing.

JK Rowling's 8 Rules of Writing

by Ruthanne Reid |

Last month, I brought to your attention Neil Gaiman's rules of writing. He's not the only accomplished writer who ascribes to a set of rules. Today, I want to introduce you to JK Rowling's rules of writing.

JK Rowling's 8 Rules of Writing

You know who JK Rowling is. You know Harry Potter took the world by storm. You may even be aware that Rowling had trouble getting published at all. Nobody wanted to take a risk on Harry Potter (shock: publishers do not know everything).

Ms. Rowling knows the publishing world and can speak from both sides of victory and defeat. She's shared a lot of terrific writing wisdom, but in my opinion, these are her eight best rules.

Rule One

Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it.

This is especially hard for those of us with family. Our loved ones come first, and while that is true, our loved ones need to understand that we need time to write.

Setting reasonable boundaries with those loved ones is a crucial step for a writer-even if they're as simple as, "Mommy needs fifteen minutes of quiet time, okay?"

Rule Two

You've got to work. It's about structure. It's about discipline.

It's easy to forget that writing is a job.

We don't always feel like doing our job. We certainly don't always feel inspired. To be writers, we must train ourselves to sit down and write even when we don't feel like it. Those moments are the ones that really matter, even more than the shining, flying, writing moments.

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The muse works for you. You don't write at her beck and call-you train her to show up when you're writing.

Three

I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.

Yes, this is possible with another job.

Yes, this is possible with other responsibilities.

Are you a writer? (I know your inner critic snarled no, but I also know a tiny candle-flicker of unquenchable hope in you whispered yes with so much longing you could cry.)

You ARE a writer. That means you write.

A runner runs.

A painter paints.

A cook cooks.

You are a writer. You write. Accept this, fight to believe it, and be amazed how far that belief can take you.

Rule Four

Write what you know: your own interests, feelings, beliefs, friends, family and even pets will be your raw materials when you start writing.

This doesn't mean you need to experience aliens in order to write about them. It means that all goodstories have universal application. A great example is this month's Google Doodle. (Trust me. I'm going somewhere with this.)