How do you cope with knowing that the project you poured years of your life into is not quite setting the world on fire?

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in Essays One. * The following are just my personal pieces of advice.

The modern writing world is very much a blessing and a curse. 

At an anti-library closure protest, local magician and comics legend Alan Moore had some surprising words for those who hope to break into the wide world of published writing.

Every now and then I encounter people who can’t suspend disbelief. They ask how I can write about ‘such terrible things’

My seven-year-old daughter wants to become a writer when she grows up.

Careful is the enemy of extraordinary.

And how I have developed mine

The critic and author of the Charles Lenox series advises doing what Michelangelo did, but backward.

US writer Carolyn Meyer was "blown away" by Taryn Everdeen's fan letter.

The routine that allows me to stay prolific

Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell is to tackle the story of “the strangest British band you’ve never heard of” in his first novel for five years, Utopia Avenue. Announcing the book, which will be released next June, Mitchell quoted the maxim that “writing about music is like dancing about architecture”, saying that Utopia Avenue stemmed from it.

18 quick fixes to sharpen your writing

Some always outline; others never do. Some write in cafes; others don’t leave the house. Here’s a peek at the writing routines of authors on this week’s best-seller lists.

Why you can’t just write about whatever and should avoid the number six.

A syndication story five years in the making.

Use the SCRUB framework to craft powerful fantasies for your readers and customers

Where do we turn for content ideas that work, move, and persuade? In short, we steal them. Here are two of the most significant idea repositories on Earth.

When considering who gives out the best writing advice in the world, the first name that pops up might not be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But a decade ago, Schwarzenegger presented his “6 Rules of Success” in a now-famous commencement speech at the University of Southern California. And these rules just might hold the key to your success as a writer.

There is nothing more annoying for a writer than reading a list of rules that another writer has come up with and feeling if you don’t comply with them, that somehow you are failure. It is even more annoying when you try them and they just don’t work for you. What follows are just tips. You have my permission to dismiss every single one as nonsense but I hope you’ll find at least one thing helpful here.