Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Jake Kilroy's Ten Rules for Writing

Jake Kilroy's Ten Rules for Writing
by Jake Kilroy

1. Read everything from western novellas to cereal boxes.

2. Let people know you write in your free time, so you appear deep and attractive, but don't boast enough to where they ask to read your stuff.

3. Don't date a writer that's better than you.

4. Briefly hate the entire activity of writing from time to time.

5. Have one moment in your life that you can definitely cite writing as something that saved you.

6. Impress someone you're attracted to with the written word every so often.

7. Write in different places and settings.

8. Be practically turned on by the sheer thought of publication.

9. Acknowledge that you're better than your peers, but not as good as the greats.

10. Steal.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

and the secret #11, of course.

Jake Kilroy said...

Naturally. What great writer never had a drinking problem?

E said...

I want to hear more about #5, please.

Jake Kilroy said...

Eyvette - There's been a handful of times I think writing saved my sanity. It's never saved my life, as I've never gone far enough down that road, but sometimes the people/events/womenfolk rumble your head so bad you don't know what's up or down and you have to keep writing something, just to stay grounded.