The Fifteen Commandments

I. Thou shalt think like a professional starting now.
II. Thou shalt begin and keep going till you're through.
III. Thou shalt take your efforts and desires seriously.
IV. Thou shalt call it work.
V. Thou shalt write for yourself, not the market.
VI. Thou shalt not wait for visits from the muse.
VII. Thou shalt not ask whether you are good enough.
VIII. Thou shalt not intimidate yourself by comparing your writing with a
published and polished work.
IX. Thou shalt not worry whether your idea is new enough.
X. Thou shalt not talk your idea away.
XI. Thou shalt not self-censor at all during the first draft.
XII. Thou shalt not risk writer's paralysis by looking for the precise word
or being afraid of sounding dumb.
XIII. Thou shalt not believe that if writing's hard, you must be no good.
XIV. Thou shalt not set yourself up for failure with impossible goals.
XV. Thou shalt not believe in writer's block.

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The two most common things in the Universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
(Harlan Ellison)

Richard Adkins
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