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1 " Stay within the confines of your chosen topic. If you start to stray away from your topic and find an urge to showcase everything that you know, resist that urge. Remember that you are writing a book, not the book. "
― Gudjon Bergmann , The Author's Blueprint
2 " I started reading my manuscripts out loud, to hear what they sounded like. If the text flows with little effort, then I am satisfied, but if I keep stumbling and stuttering while I read, then I rewrite. "
3 " It is imperative that your work habits from school do not make their way into your book writing process. I am talking about the practice of typing the last words just before the deadline every time you would hand in an assignment, a paper, or even a thesis. Your book needs time to mature, and you must allow yourself the luxury of rewriting and editing until you are satisfied. "
4 " Motivated authors sacrifice TV time, sleep, hobbies, and even family time. "
5 " There is no such thing as lack of time, only unclear priorities and lack of motivation. It is better to abandon a project than to work on it half-heartedly for a protracted period of time. "
6 " Write a book, not the book. "
7 " It is not lack of ability, but lack of motivation, lack of focus, and lack of self-confidence that prevents most aspiring authors from finishing what they started. "
8 " You can’t take it personally when something you have written sucks. Just delete it and write something else. "
9 " An author who rewrites his own work must essentially be two people. One is the free flowing uncritical writer who creates the bulk of the material—the other is the extremely critical editor whose aim it is to make the book as good as it can become. "
10 " Writing is a psychological process. It is the process of taking what is in your mind and sharing it with others. "
11 " Are you giving the same advice over and over and over again to clients, patients, pupils, interns or friends? If the answer is yes, you should probably write a book about whatever it is that you keep repeating. "
12 " You must make a clear distinction between your creative mode and your critical mode. The two are like water and oil, they do not mix. "
13 " Do your best to maintain an authentic style of writing. If you are a serious person, be serious. If you are a comic, be funny. Do not choose a style or a tone that is different from the person you really are. "
14 " Get to the point. Don’t waste the reader’s time. "
15 " Write until you have nothing left to say and then stop writing. Focus on content and quality rather than word count. "
