Anne Rice's Advice to New Writers

"ADVICE TO A NEW WRITER: There are no rules in this profession. Do what is good for you. Read books and watch films that stimulate your writing. In your writing, go where the pain is; go where the pleasure is; go where the excitement is. Believe in your own original approach, voice, characters, story. Ignore critics. HAVE NERVE. BE STUBBORN.

"'Write about what you know' is tricky advice. If I'd followed it, I would never have written 11 books about European vampires, or books about a bewitched family of psychic people. I say 'Write what you want to write. Write the book you want to read. Write what delights you.'

"No, you don't need any formal education to be a writer. And remember nobody can stop you from being a writer. Just do it. And yes, ignore critics. You have to. Many great writers got scathing reviews from peers and critics. Forge ahead."

-Anne Rice, Facebook.com, 07 Dec 2009

I didn't get to do the interview, but apparently, I wouldn't be the only one asking...understandably so; she's definitely one of the five best writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, if not all time. (If you didn't pick it up for some strange reason, or if you just like to read my overkill explanations, I take no credit for interviewing her. This was something she did in response to all the other people asking for her advice).