Friday, August 17, 2012

on writing - roxane gay's tips for contemporary writers

1. Read diversely.

2. Write.

3. See items 1 and 2.

4. Accept that there is no one way to make it as a writer and that the
definition of making it is fluid and tiered.

7. Understand the actual odds and learn to love the slush pile. The
slush pile is not your enemy. It’s actually one of your best friends.
The truth is that a significant percentage of the slush pile, which I
prefer to call the submission queue, is absolutely terrible because
people are lazy and will submit any old thing. If you can write a
good sentence you are already heads and shoulders above most of
what is found in submission queues. You’re not competing against
10,000 submissions a year a magazine receives. You’re competing
against more like 200.  Those are still intimidating odds but they’re
also far more reasonable.

10. Ignore most of the atrocious writing advice that proliferates at
such an alarming rate.

17. Perspective is everything. Someone getting a book deal is not
taking yours away. Success is not as finite as it seems—it’s a matter
of luck, timing, and hard work.

Full article here.

By Yoko Tanji

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