writing rules | Andrew Ferguson

Monday Motivation

Posted on November 9, 2020 Leave a Comment

Do or do not. There is no ‘try.’

10 Quotes About Writing

Posted on November 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’
– Maya Angelou

Monday Motivation

Posted on November 2, 2020 Leave a Comment

I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.

7 Deadly Writing Sins

Posted on November 1, 2020 2 Comments

There remain some lines we should simply never cross; some crimes we can commit as authors which are just unforgivable. And so, I’ve listed a few of them here for your enjoyment and instruction.

Throwback Thursday: Take a First Draft and Make it Better

Posted on October 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

It was still the worst story I had ever written. But that didn’t matter. It was a completed draft; a full blown story with a beginning, a middle and an end which more or less made sense. The difficult bit was now at hand: writing a redraft.

After the initial excitement of finishing the first draft wore off, I quickly found myself less than enthusiastic about the second draft. It can feel a little bit like you’re starting from scratch with something you’ve already spent weeks on. However, you’ll find it a whole lot more rewarding and enjoyable to do if you remember that the point of a redraft is to make your story better. In other words, it’s about taking a little time to identify and fix the problems with the first draft, rather than starting all over again.

Monday Motivation

Posted on October 26, 2020 Leave a Comment

Find something only you can say.

Throwback Thursday: Persevere With Your Idea

Posted on October 22, 2020 Leave a Comment

I never started writing with a bad idea. In fact, I’m not even entirely convinced there is such a thing as bad story ideas or good story ideas. There are just ideas, some of which are well executed, some of which are badly executed and some of which are never executed because the would-be writer cannot decide the best way to do it, or is unwilling to try (though I feel that in the interests of public safety, I should point out that this only applies to story ideas; other kinds of ideas, like deciding to use Tabasco sauce as an eye-drop, really are bad ideas).

So, why do the marvellous ideas we start with so quickly turn into half-finished manuscripts that we are unable to finish and are ashamed to have even begun?

I’m beginning to learn that it comes down to perseverance (or a lack thereof) and perfectionism.

Monday Motivation

Posted on October 19, 2020 Leave a Comment

Write every day even if it is just a paragraph

Throwback Thursday: What’s Your Story About?

Posted on October 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

One of the biggest dangers we non-planning writers face is that you can easily end up writing screeds and screeds of excellent work, only to realise you can’t finish because you don’t know what it is you’re actually hoping to accomplish by writing. This is a recipe for another unfinished manuscript. So, before you write forty odd chapters and suddenly hit an insurmountable wall, ask yourself this question: What is my story about?