Which rules of writing must every writer follow? No, seriously. What are they? Because I have no idea.
I could write essays on the virtues of editing, but you’ve probably heard that a million times. Constant reading is a must, but I have to assume avid reading became your gateway to the writing circle in the first place. Otherwise, why are you here? Sure, you can search online and find dozens of different rule lists from various respected authors, but how helpful are they really?
The one thing every writer can seem to agree on is we’re all still learning the craft. They say it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. Obviously, that isn’t good enough for us. From authors of beloved classics to those of $2.99 ebooks, we’ll never fully perfect our work no matter how long or how successful we are in the business.
The One Unbreakable Rule of Writing, then, is to never stop writing. Get words on paper, even if it’s just one sentence. We can’t all reach the 2,000-a-day mark. They don’t even have to be the best words. That’s where editing comes in. But they do need to be on the page before you can do anything with them.
Get out your notebook or laptop or phone app and get to it. We may not be able to reach perfection, but we can get close if we keep at it.
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Good advice.
Great words for a writer to live by.