Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power.
I started writing poems, and when I first tried prose, I wrote bad articles and essays and columns, and I didn't have a handle on it. I didn't go to a school that really taught you how to write that stuff.
I wrote two plotted books, got some of the fundamentals of storytelling down, then... it's sort of like taking the training wheels off, trying to write a book that's fun in the same way without relying on quite such mechanical or external beats.
Once your mind is caught on the right snag, there's nothing so hard about the mechanics of writing.
It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.
When asked, 'How do you write?' I invariably answer, 'one word at a time.'
There are a lot of elements when you're writing, or when I'm writing, that are sitting in the back of your mind. I try to let them stay there, because they find their way in more naturally that way.
When you have good writing, the rhythm of the scene is very apparent. What the scene demands is very clear.
No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.
I think some aspects of writing can be taught. Obviously, you can't teach vision or talent. But you can help with comfort.
One mistake with beginners in writing is, that they think it important to spin out something long. It is a great deal better not to write more than a page or two, unless you have something to say, and can write it correctly.
A lot of times you get people writing wonderful sentences and paragraphs, and they fall in love with their prose style, but the stories really aren't that terrific.
I am a stickler for damn good writing.
By reading a lot of novels in a variety of genres, and asking questions, it's possible to learn how things are done - the mechanics of writing, so to speak - and which genres and authors excel in various areas.
Writing teaches writing.
I write in the most distressingly slow way in terms of punctuation and grammar.
I can't write - I don't even know how to punctuate.
I write the way I write.
If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write - as long as you know what you want to say.
The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart.
I'm always telling my students, don't - don't worry so much third person, first person. It doesn't make that much difference.
The real trouble with the writing game is that no general rule can be worked out for uniform guidance, and this applies to sales as well as to writing.
