Saturday, March 6, 2010

A writer's manifesto

Shannon Morgan, a middle-grade author, has a great blog called Daily Pie. She recently wrote a manifesto that rang true to me. Here's the start:

Yike. Manifesto. Sounds pompous, right? I agree, but manifesto is one word and declaration of intent are three. Efficiency wins.

Since I've decided to become a working fiction writer, I want to examine my goals and lay some ground rules for myself. I put them here in case they can help you, too. Feel free to add points in the comments, or link to your own writer's manifesto.

1. I'll write.
Regularly: I'll schedule time to write and honor that schedule. Freely: I'll write first drafts with the laptop screen down, using only lowercase letters and periods. Without excuses: I'll not postpone writing to feed a muse, because muses do not exist.

2. I'll keep my crap first draft to myself.
It's a three-eyed troll with dandruff and bad breath. It talks during movies. It farts in libraries. It is not ready for society.

3. I'll revise.
With flaming swords of grammatical righteousness and structural truth, I'll smite the crap. I'll add things, delete things, move things. I'll try not to overuse commas, as is my wont.
Check out the rest.