“you’ll scare guys off with that feminist crap”
oh i’m sorry
you’re right
the kind of guy who has problems with me demanding that i be treated as his equal is totally the kind of guy i want to be in a relationship with
my mistake
June 2013
- When not all the books in the series are the same height.
- When books change covers with editions so they don’t all match unless you buy the series in one go.
- When some books are hardcover and some are softcover and it doesn’t match but you can’t find another copy.
- When some covers are different in certain countries so you don’t get the main one which also happens to look better than all the other varieties.
- Basically just books.
- God damn them.
women are taught to fear men—that if they don’t act this way, dress that way, speak properly—they will be attacked by men and it will be their own fault they didn’t listen. but when a woman says she doesn’t trust men, she is as bad as a misogynist and she is part of the problem? that’s bullshit
“
1. Don’t go out to lunch.
2. Don’t go online until lunch.
3. Don’t start writing your novel until you know your characters very, very well. What they’d do if they saw somebody shoplifting. What they were like at school. What shoes they wear. Spend days – weeks, months – being them until they thicken up and start to breathe. VS Pritchett said, “There’s no such thing as plot, only characters.” Once you know them well they’ll lead you into their stories. If you start too soon you won’t have a clue what they’re going to do and all is chaos.
4. However hopeless and inadequate you feel, leave that self behind. Psych yourself up until you’re confident that the world will be interested in what happens to your characters. Confidence is key.
5. Don’t “write”. “Writing” is about showing off, or imitating other writers. “Writing” mistakes solemnity for seriousness. Just write. Have courage, be truthful, be true to your characters.
6. Don’t be daunted. Writing a novel is a huge adventure; when it’s going well it’s more fun than fun. When it stutters to a halt put it aside. Go for a swim, go for a walk, take a week off. Don’t panic or be afraid; you and your characters are in it together. Trust them to come to your rescue. Of course it’s a long haul, but you always knew that, didn’t you?7. If a character stubbornly refuses to come alive, switch to the first person. Suddenly they’ll be speaking to you. Later you can change it back again if you need to.
8. I have to know the ending before I can begin. Map out as much as you need but don’t over-plot or you can constrict your characters. Let them change it as they go along.
9. You don’t have to know the ending.
10. In other words, you don’t have to listen to anyone’s advice. There are no rules to break. That’s the pleasure of it. Read The Paris Review interviews with writers – everyone has their own methods and if a novel is truly alive it will break all their rules too.
11. Discover the times when you’re most creative – mornings, nights, afternoons – and clear the time to work then. Many writers find the mornings are best, and the afternoons are only good for editorial corrections, or getting the washing done. Others can only work through the night, drunk.
12. Sort out your priorities. Don’t clean your home, other than as a displacement activity. There won’t be time. You’ll probably neglect your friends too, and even your personal hygiene. If you have children, however, try to keep them fed.
” —Deborah Moggach’s rules for writing. Complement with rule sets from Henry Miller, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Helen Dunmore, Zadie Smith, Kurt Vonnegut, David Ogilvy, and John Steinbeck, and wash down with the essential collected wisdom of famous writers. (via explore-blog)