Ellen Gilchrist's Writing Advice

Here is some writing advice/help from the writer, Ellen Gilchrist. It is from her excellent book, The Writing Life (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi; 2005):

--"The way you start writing is by writing. Over an over again I have proven this to myself but I always forget it the next time. I always believe I will never write again." (p. 65)

--"This is exactly what my students tell themselves that blocks them from writing. They tell themselves I DON'T KNOW IF IT WILL BE ANY GOOD OR NOT because it's true. They don't know and the only way they can find out is to do it." (pp. 66-67)

--"I believe young writers should be careful about what they read. I have read great poetry all my life." (p. 69)

--"Writing is rewriting. Write what you know. The reward has to be within yourself. Tell the truth about what you know and what you feel. Find out things. Read great literature. Then write." (p.79)