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I have very little writing advice to give anyone. I always feel like I am learning, myself. I like to listen more than speak. So this is not advice: the “you” here is me. But I have distilled my own thoughts down to just one concept — Respect.
1) Respect for the craft: Writing is hard work, demanding time and investment, sacrifice and an astounding amount of sustained commitment. Respect for this fact helps get you through hard days when nothing comes. We are makers of things that have never existed before.
2) Respect for the reader: Every story is a conversation between one writer and one reader. They are not obligated to be interested in what you say, or like the way you say it. To be complete, your story must find its way to right mind. Failure to connect is built in. Accept it.
3) Respect for the editor: These are the people without whom none of this would exist. They are human, overworked, fallible, guaranteed to make decisions that hurt and offend. Respect the difficulty of their day, their job, their life. Never send them “good enough” — it isn’t.
4) Respect for your voice: There is a core reason for your effort to speak. If you nurture it, it will hold. Protect it like you protect a flame. Limit how much you allow others and the market to influence you. Fear the loss of your voice more than rejection.
5) Respect for the voices of others. What is most important in writing is our ability to be visionary. This comes with risk, struggle, and failure. What they write may not appeal to you — but who are you? Not the one to make a final judgement. Move on.
6) Respect for the past. The present moment is just one more moment of our constant struggle for self-awareness. They were as important as you are. As are the voices from the past who are missing from the record.
7) Respect for uncertainty, and the hypercomplexity of human existence. Do not reduce: expand. Do no eliminate uncertainty. It is the core engine of creativity.
