20 Tips for Aspiring Writers, by Terry Macmillan

Terry Macmillan, author of How Stella Got Her Grove Back and Waiting to Exhale, has 20 tips for all you frustrated novelists out there:

Terry Macmillan

1. Write as if no one is ever going to read it.

2. Try not to read, revise or rewrite what you've written until you've had a chance to let it simmer.

3. Don't believe your family, friends or lovers when they tell you: "It's great!" What else are they going to say?

4. Try not to think of an idea for a good story. In fact, leave your brain out of it.

5. Write about what frightens you. What you find perplexing. Disturbing. What breaks your heart. And what you wish you could change.

See the rest of her advice here.