10 Rules of writing

[Denis Hard]

It's not often you'll come across something that breaks down all the complex stuff into something simple everyone can understand. Maybe you've come across this list some place online but I'll share it anyway. Here's a link to the article.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/19/zadie-smith-10-rules-of-writing/

I loved the sixth rule best:

Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.

[Peninha]

Interesting article Denis, thanks for sharing. The sixth rule is a little of common sense no, I mean, who is going to write in the middle of a crowd? I do see a lot of people studying in cafes though, what is a mystery to me because I do need my silence to concentrate.

Point 1 is great too, I guess it's too late for me! 

[andre-nunes]

A bit of noise, the so called white noise is actually beneficial to concentration, that's why I like studying with ambient music.

[Channa]

A bit of noise, the so called white noise is actually beneficial to concentration, that's why I like studying with ambient music.

That is true I find that I am better able to study with the sound of a football game playing in the background and at one point I studied on a crowded bus and it forced my mind to block out every thing around me and focus.  :wacky:

[lizbeth19hph]

I am also a reader of Brain Pickings. I think I have come across with this article before. I agree with most of Zadie Smith's 10 Rules of Writing except No. 7 which says work on a computer that is disconnected with the internet. I can still write articles and compose poetry though I am online and surfing the net. I can also write with music as background and I have written and finished an article while at the center of a busy and noisy mall so No. 8 doesn't actually apply with me.   

[Denis Hard]

I guess the net can be distracting to many people. It's logical to assume that if you need to do some quick research, the page you land on after doing a Google search may not contain all the information you seek and quite naturally you'll get to click on more links. . .see? Most writers will actually end up doing more surfing than writing.

[Peninha]

A bit of noise, the so called white noise is actually beneficial to concentration, that's why I like studying with ambient music.

Some people can write with noise, I know a few, but it's not my case.

@Denis, the net usually is not distracting to me, I can be writing and when I feel my head is tired or about to burst ( :beaten:) I just switch to some mind waster online for a couple of minutes and I refresh and I'm ready to write some more.

[LivetoErr]

I do just about everything with the television on. When I'm watching TV I have to be doing something else. I can't do just one thing. I need noise to concentrate. If I need to, I can tune it out. If I'm not doing anything all that important, like surfing the net, I can fully comprehend and recall what happened on the TV program. I'd go insane if I had to focus on one thing only. I'd get bored and wouldn't complete the task at hand.