“Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean you have to write for the Academy. Be true to your personality. Don't temper your personality down with words. Don't build defensive fortresses around yourself with words - words are your friends.” WritingFirstsMeanProblemBigsYoungAdvicePersonalityBeing TrueTemperAcademyPretentiousBig ProblemsFortressesYoung Writers Author:Gary Shteyngart
“The advice I continually give to young writers is this, "Learn to paint pictures with words." Not just once upon a time, but ... In the long secret dust of ages, beneath a blue forgotten sky, where trade winds caress the sun bleached shores of unknown realms ... See, as much as there are words in poetry, there is a poetry in words. Use it, stay faithful to the path you have set your heart upon and follow it.” GivingWritingHeartLongUseAgeYoungSecretSunPathSkyAdviceWindBlueTradePaintForgottenDustFaithfulRealmsShoreOnce Upon A TimeCaressYoung Writers Author:Brian Jacques
“It's not possible to advise a young writer because every young writer is so different. You might say, "Read," but a writer can read too much and be paralyzed. Or, "Don't read, don't think, just write," and the result could be a mountain of drivel. If you're going to be a writer you'll probably take a lot of wrong turns and then one day just end up writing something you have to write, then getting it better and better just because you want it to be better, and even when you get old and think, "There must be something else people do," you won't be able to quit.” PeopleIfsThinkingWantWritingDifferentEndsMightAbleYoungTurnsResultsToo MuchOne DayMountainQuittingAdviseParalyzedYoung WritersWrong TurnDrivel Author:Alice Munro
“The worst advice a young writer can get is "Write what you know." Imagination is more important than experience.” KnowsWritingImportantYoungImaginationWorstAdviceYoung Writers Author:Joe Haldeman
“Young writers if they are to mature require a period of between three and seven years in which to live down their promise. Promise is like the mediaeval hangman who after settling the noose, pushed his victim off the platform and jumped on his back, his weight acting a drop while his jockeying arms prevented the unfortunate from loosening the rope. When he judged him dead he dropped to the ground.” IfsWritingYearsYoungThreeActingArmsPeriodsPromiseWeightVictimSevenSettlingMatureJudgedPlatformsUnfortunateRopeSeven YearsYoung WritersHangmanNooses Book:Enemies of Promise Source: Enemies of Promise