There are three rules for writing a novel, unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
Somerset Maughan (1874-1965)
English playwright and novelist
“This quote inspires me to remember that novels are not written as a paint by number series and that no one can really tell you how to write your novel. Writing a novel is an adventure of discovery and imagination and it’s part of your being, your passion, and it comes deeply from within you. It comes from both the heart and the head at the same time. It’s play and if you’re not having fun writing, get a day job. I mean do something else because writing should not be torture, it should be a joy, it should be the same joy that creative artists always have in the moment of creating something. Your life may be horrible, you may be suffering in some way like Ranpo, the Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction. But I suspect that even Ranpo, at the moment of creation, was elated because there’s something in creation, for a second, that’s Godlike. You get to add to the structure, beauty, and coherence of the world. This quote reminds me that my novels are play, they’re not work. And the fact that I’ve actually gotten paid for them is a miracle.”
Mary Mackey, novelist, poet, and the author of the
Earth Song Series including the prequel, Village of Bones
