A Brazilian lyricist and novelist by the name of Paulo Coelho wrote a series of comments to aspiring authors, which were then collected by a Filipino blogger, Jerome. I have probably read this list quite a few times and it never seems to get old. The words resonate something in me that I cannot express. This list should serve as sort of the 8 commandments of writing--no joke.
On Confidence:You cannot sell your next book by underrating your book that was just published. Be proud of what you have
On Trust: Trust your reader, don’t try to describe things. Give a hint and they will fulfill this hint with their own imagination
On Expertise: You cannot take something out of nothing. When you write a book, use your experience.
On Critics: Writers want to please their peers, they want to be recognized. Forget about this. Who cares? You should care to share your soul and not to please other writers.
On Notetaking: If you want to capture ideas, you are lost. You are going to be detached from emotions and forget to live your life. You will be an observer and not a human being living his or her life. Forget taking notes, what important remains what is not important goes away.
On Research: If you overload your book with a lot of research, you are going to be very boring to yourself and to your reader. Books are not there to show how intelligent you are. Books are there to show your soul.
On Writing: I write the book that wants to be written. Behind the first sentence is a thread that takes you to the last.
On Style: Don’t try to innovate storytelling, tell a good story and it is magical. I see people trying to work so much in style, finding different ways to tell the same thing. It’s like fashion. Style is the dress, but the dress does not dictate what is inside the dress
After reading this I urge you to read the 2-paragraph biography of his life on wikipedia: Click Here.
Paul's wattpad can be found HERE.
On Confidence:You cannot sell your next book by underrating your book that was just published. Be proud of what you have
On Trust: Trust your reader, don’t try to describe things. Give a hint and they will fulfill this hint with their own imagination
On Expertise: You cannot take something out of nothing. When you write a book, use your experience.
On Critics: Writers want to please their peers, they want to be recognized. Forget about this. Who cares? You should care to share your soul and not to please other writers.
On Notetaking: If you want to capture ideas, you are lost. You are going to be detached from emotions and forget to live your life. You will be an observer and not a human being living his or her life. Forget taking notes, what important remains what is not important goes away.
On Research: If you overload your book with a lot of research, you are going to be very boring to yourself and to your reader. Books are not there to show how intelligent you are. Books are there to show your soul.
On Writing: I write the book that wants to be written. Behind the first sentence is a thread that takes you to the last.
On Style: Don’t try to innovate storytelling, tell a good story and it is magical. I see people trying to work so much in style, finding different ways to tell the same thing. It’s like fashion. Style is the dress, but the dress does not dictate what is inside the dress
After reading this I urge you to read the 2-paragraph biography of his life on wikipedia: Click Here.
Paul's wattpad can be found HERE.
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