{"id":26450,"date":"2012-08-24T17:31:02","date_gmt":"2012-08-24T17:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/08\/24\/1-take-a-pencil-to-write-with-on-aeroplanes-pens\/"},"modified":"2012-08-24T17:31:02","modified_gmt":"2012-08-24T17:31:02","slug":"1-take-a-pencil-to-write-with-on-aeroplanes-pens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/2012\/08\/24\/1-take-a-pencil-to-write-with-on-aeroplanes-pens\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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1.<\/strong> Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can\u2019t sharpen it on the plane, because you can\u2019t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> If you\u2019re using a computer, always safeguard new text with a memory stick.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> Hold the reader\u2019s attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don\u2019t know who the reader is, so it\u2019s like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What fascinates A will bore the pants off B.<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there\u2019s no free lunch. Writing is work. It\u2019s also gambling. You don\u2019t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but \u2013 essentially you\u2019re on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don\u2019t whine.<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You\u2019ve been backstage. You\u2019ve seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.<\/p>\n

9.<\/strong> Don\u2019t sit down in the middle of the woods. If you\u2019re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And\/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.<\/p>\n

10.<\/strong> Prayer might work. Or reading something else. Or a constant visualization of the holy grail that is the finished, published version of your resplendent book.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Margaret Atwood<\/strong>\u2019s 10 rules for writing fiction<\/a>, a fine addition to our ongoing archive of sage writing advice<\/a>. (via explore-blog<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can\u2019t sharpen it on the plane, because you can\u2019t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils. 2. If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-uncategorized","post_format-post-format-quote"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.augustwritesabook.com\/tumblr-backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}