Octavia Butler’s Advice on Writing

There are no unread comments at this time. Good evening, writers, or good morning, good afternoon, or good night, depending on where on Earth you are. Tonight I want to talk about Octavia Butler. I've only read a little of her stuff (I'm reading Kindred and Parable of the Sower right now, in fact — well, no*), but I recently read about her rules for writing: I'm not sure about the copyright status or what permission Maria Popova needed or got, so I'll just summarize: First, Read Write every day (Forget about Inspiration) Forget about Talent (It doesn't matter) There's plenty more at the link . On reading, I've been doing a lot more of it so far this year than I usually do (part of a New Year's resolution), and I'm amazed at all the details and ideas I pick up as I'm reading others' works. It's very hard to sum up so I won't even try, but I'm sure you've all had the experience of reading something and thinking, exultantly, Oh, I need to try something like this, or, dishearteningly, Oh, this is so wonderful, I don't think I could ever write something like this. Naturally, the latter thought, unavoidable though it often is, is not to be heeded. On inspiration, she suggests that waiting for it can be just another excuse to procrastinate. If you have to be inspired in order to write, it gives you a good reason to put it off until a more seasonable time. However, on her last point, about talent, I think she underrates herself. Something else I found that she said about talent, though: [G]o to the bestselling lists and see who else doesn't have talent and it hasn't stopped them, so don't worry. I think that's great advice. I also really like this quote from this interview : [T]here will always come a time in writing a novel for instance, a long undertaking like that, when you don't think you can do it. Or, you think it's so bad you want to throw it away. I tell the students […]

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