William Cobbett Quotes

The only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself.

It usually helps me write by reading - somehow the reading gear in your head turns the writing gear.

A lot of young writers ask me about my process. They know what they want to write - but they need to know how. What's the right way? How do the professionals do it? What's the secret?

My method is, I just sit down and write a book.

I've learned never to try and force words to come.

Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself - it is the occurring which is difficult.

And once I know what the first page is, then the rest will come.

I don't want to talk too much about the nitty-gritty of writing. It's rather like a pressure cooker with a certain amount of pressure in it - the more you let out, the less you cook.

I never write in a linear way. And I tell students not to. You can only know so much about a book when you first start.

The point always is to be writing something - it leads to more writing.

I'm always looking at ways of shaking up the writing experience because I think it helps.

I'm not a believer that you have to write every day. If I felt industrious, I'd spend ten hours a week writing. The writing is going on all the time in my head; the trick is to capture it. Showers are great. Traffic jams are great.

Writing - not being a writer with interesting habits - gets priority.

I'm very interested in writing - it just takes so much discipline, whether it's short stories or novels.

I think when you're knee-deep in coming up with editorial plans, the desire to sit down and pencil something is pretty strong.

If you want to be a writer, just write. There's no magic to it.

Don't force yourself to write. Some people can write a novel in a few months, whereas for others it can take over a year. I'm lucky to be one of the former - but, even so, if I'm not in the mood to write, I won't. I'll go off, do something else and come back to it when I'm ready.

You can't sit down and decide what you want to write about.

My writing process is a mix of research, personal experiences, washing the dishes, raising kids while thinking - then writing.

Never sit staring at a blank page or screen. If you find yourself stuck, write. Write about the scene you're trying to write. Writing about is easier than writing, and chances are, it will give you your way in.

I write constantly about everything.

When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.

Any writer will be happy and good only if they know what they're doing and why they're doing it.

I am always trying to write.

Every day I fantasise about situations and little themes I see in front of me that would make a good beginning of a story. But one has to be disciplined and just sit down and do it.