Three Writing Advice From Pulitzer Prize Winner Jennifer Egan
Writing is something that everyone should be doing at some level. No matter what makes you write with pen on paper, these three tips from Jennifer Egan will help you continue your writing journey.
In Why We Write, Jennifer Egan , author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit of the Hooligan Squad , shares some tips for all aspiring writers:
- Read at the level you want to write. Reading is the food that fuels the kind of writing you want to do. If you really enjoy reading y, you might find it difficult to write x.
- Exercise is a good analogy for writing. If you are not used to exercising, you should avoid them forever. If you are used to it, it will be awkward and weird not to. No matter where you are in your writing career, the same is true for a writer. Even fifteen minutes a day will keep the habit.
- You can only write regularly if you want to write badly. You cannot write regularly and well. Think of bad writing as a way to pump up the pump, a warm-up that allows you to write well.
Egan’s advice is simple, but clear and straightforward. Immerse yourself in the work you want to do and learn from it, make a whole day without writing feel strange to you, and allow yourself to be a bad writer. As with most skills worth pursuing, you need to be bad before being good.
Why We Write: 20 Famous Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do | Amazon via Brain Pickings