The Novel Writer’s Creed

Published March 19, 2009 Literature , Writing 1 Comment

Know where your writer’s confidence resides: within, not outside of you.

Every novel is a first novel in that it is unique and original unto itself and would not exist except for your tireless devotion, your loving desire to breathe life into this particular narrative. Know this: the story will find itself in the telling. The process will define the story, the weave, the recipe. Do not fear false starts and rewriting and undoings. What may not at first feel directed will ultimately reveal an organic pattern and design.

Disengage from daily anxieties and reinvent yourself in your work. The work should become a fulcrum of limitless freedom. Never view yourself as unworthy of the novel. The novel—the shimmering narrative you are birthing—is itself desirous of being worthy of you.