Michael, you have so many nuggets of wisdom here. I especially love your point that one of the toughest things to do as a writer is to give yourself "permission" to write that entire first draft. Giving yourself permission also means you must have the confidence to value yourself and your work enough to make time for it--no easy task in a world where there are so many things competing for our attention. I also love your reminder to "write hot, edit cold." So true! Even now, after having traditionally published six books and with a new book underway, I am amazed every time I revise that I can find more ways to improve a manuscript if I just let it sit for a few weeks or months. Thank you so much for this thoughtful post.
Thank you for reading and commenting! I love what you said about valuing yourself enough to give yourself time for it. So true. As you clearly know, given six books, writing is a craft, and it takes time, diligence and patience.
Michael, you have so many nuggets of wisdom here. I especially love your point that one of the toughest things to do as a writer is to give yourself "permission" to write that entire first draft. Giving yourself permission also means you must have the confidence to value yourself and your work enough to make time for it--no easy task in a world where there are so many things competing for our attention. I also love your reminder to "write hot, edit cold." So true! Even now, after having traditionally published six books and with a new book underway, I am amazed every time I revise that I can find more ways to improve a manuscript if I just let it sit for a few weeks or months. Thank you so much for this thoughtful post.
Thank you for reading and commenting! I love what you said about valuing yourself enough to give yourself time for it. So true. As you clearly know, given six books, writing is a craft, and it takes time, diligence and patience.
As someone writing his first book now, this was helpful to read. I love On Writing and might need to revisit it soon.
Glad to hear it, Jared! And yes, On Writing is fantastic.