Around the turn of the Century, the NY Times published a column titled “Writers on Writing” in which “writers explore literary themes.” In her turn, Susan Sontag, offered the following directions to writers:
“Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed.”
Now, the NY Times is home to some of the best writers on the planet, but they’re not in “Writers on Writing” because they don’t write fiction. “Writers” in the sense of this column means “fiction writers.”
That’s probably not you, or you wouldn’t be reading this blog. But Ms Sontag’s advice is good for any writer.
The craft of writing lies in re-writing. That’s how what is acceptable becomes good and what is good becomes great and where what is great becomes legendary.
No matter what sort of writing you do, Ms. Sontag’s advice is good advice.
Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.