Dominic Leung’s Reviews > The Book You Need to Read to Write the Book You Want to Write > Status Update

Finished "The Book You Need To Read to Writer The Book You Want To Write"

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - The pleasures of writing

"No matter whether good or bad, it is a delectable thing, writing! not having to be yourself, being able to circulate in amongst the whole creation that you are describing."

Gustave Flaubert

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - The pleasures of writing

If we want to write well we must take both our writing and our reading seriously, but our seriousness should go hand in hand with a keen sense of enjoyment - the enjoyment we experience ourselves and the enjoyment we offer our readers.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - The pleasures of writing

And writers write, among other reasons, because of the pleasure they have taken in reading, and the pleasure they hope to give to other readers through their own writing.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - The pleasures of writing

As writers we come to see that the pleasures of writing are often discovered through a protracted personal struggle with words and ideas, but they are pleasures noethesless; indeed, they may be all the keener for having been arrived at through hard work.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - Feed the compost heap

We need to observe life and to observe how others have written about life.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - Feed the compost heap

One of the pieces of advice most commonly and sensibly given by established writers to developing writers is simply to read books. Ready widely and regularly. If you think you don't have time for reading, make time. See the time spent reading books as a necessary part of your training as a writer.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - Stick at it

You have to want to do the work for its own sake and not be discouraged if your writing doesn't meet with universal approval. And remember that for some the journey to publication was a long one.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - Stick at it

Expect setbacks; learn to embrace them as part of the process. Expect to have to rewrite, even when you think you're done. Accept that your writing, even if published, may never get the recognition it deserves, or may not be recognised for years.

Finished chapter 13 - Publication and the writing life - Set achievable goals

Beware, however, of interpreting a failure to meet your own deadlines as a failure in your writing: deadlines may act as useful spurs to continued action but they mustn't be allowed to govern our thinking about our work.