Writing Advice from Phyllis Whitney
The basics of storytelling is the one element that can be taught. No one can give you the drive to write.
Work... wait... learn.
Life will never leave you alone. Develop the habit of observation and analysis... there is never enough time for everything -- but isn''t that the best way to live?
It takes as long as it takes, and we are different people when we write different books.
One of the most useful things to remember about surprise is that it satisfies the reader.
Forget the "rules." Lose yourself in the story, let it flow. In the first writing, you give your story life. In the second, you get it right.
Writing Advice from Mark Twain
Write without pay until somebody offers to pay you. If nobody offers within three years, sawing wood is what you were intended for.
Don't say the old lady screamed . . . bring her on and let her scream.
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.