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Hi Sarah, thanks for the video very interesting and helpful information, I subscribed as i want to hear hear more of your thoughts. If I may I would like to ask you a question. I am a chef with a good background with lots of accreditation and awards to a very high level. I specialise in pastry, baking and chocolate and I have well over 1000 recipes of my own creation covering every aspect of this type of cooking. As a literary agent which is likely to be more interesting to you. A specialist book on one subject like say 100 biscuits & cookies or a blend of recipes covering desserts, chocolate, biscuits, breads etc etc? The thing I am worried about is pitching completely the wrong type of book and it being a shut door immediately. Is there a rule or gut feeling about this from a literary agents side? I could easily write either with my own personal style so neither is harder than another to write but if there is any reason to go one way or the other I would love to know your thoughts on this. Thanks in advanced Kind regards Tim

The only rule is there are no rules. What works for one writer might not work for another. For example, William Gibson said when he's writing a novel he goes back and starts from the beginning and edits EVERY DAY and then picks up where he left off. That method might not work at all for most of us. But for some people, they are going to be so bothered by what they wrote the day before that it might distract them from what they are trying to write today. So it might make sense to go back and review yesterday's writing--ONLY yesterday's writing and edit before they get started on today's writing. But saying, "It depends on what you prefer" won't get as many views as here are THE RULES of writing. So take all this with a grain of salt.

Hello fellow South African. Thank you for the advice

When i do writing projects, i write between 3-4 hours a day, every day until i'm done...i do not edit...i use an outline...usually i finish a draft in a month...last project i did took 5 weeks...i'll put the first draft aside for three or 4 months, then go back and rewrite it by hand, then set it aside again for three or four months, then rewrite it again...I always type the third draft.....

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This is fantastic advice! I know why my writing has stagnated. The more I learnt about the process the more critical and judgemental I became and that stood in the way of the storytelling. I know what I have to do to keep my story moving now. Thank you so much!

This is the best advice I've heard on the whole of UA-cam, I can tell you're an independent original thinker and couldn't agree more

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You have made some great points Sarah, and i must add your voice and accent is adorable :)

Thank you so much Sarah! As someone who didn’t major in English or Creative Writing, I feel very ignorant with my way of words. I decided to finally write the story that’s been in my head for many years, and my outline is 8 pages like (over 3000 words) and I’m starting to think I’m overdoing it, right? Idk what to do so I’m bouncing between videos and channels, and your video here is now going to make me just begin the prologue and actually start writing. So, thank you!

This is amazing advice and some of your points have really changed my life. I can't think you enough for sharing your wisdom and words of encouragement.💗

iam writing my first novel and this information was so relevant to me. Despite im from South america. Greetings from the butt of the world.

Before you approach an agent, do you need the novel to be fully written?

I love listening to your short clips of advice. It is very encouraging ❤

Thank you for sharing, I believe your rules will lead to a more efficient process. The rules will take a bit of self-discipline. I would disagree as I believe reading other authors can always be enlightening.

Extremely useful information. Thank you. Do you also do podcast?

I like your no nonsense, straight to the point style. Always actionable guidance 🙏

this is incredible advice - thank you!

I’m shocked how many stubborn writers are in this comment section, and I cringe at the thought of them receiving actual criticism of their beloved stories. I appreciate the forthrightness and the information, Sarah. Twenty years ago, much of this remained a secret of circumstance, but information can be shared so freely now. Thank you. I don’t understand why any prospective author would be so quick to dismiss the pragmatism of an industry professional. If scrivener works for someone as a writing tool, great, but there’s a pretty obvious parenthetical around, “don’t use scrivener for your rough draft.” She’s telling us to simplify. People are out here creating mood boards and playlists and downloading multiple programs. The point is: the only thing we need to write and to write well, is whatever implement will get the words on the page. A pencil and paper is as effective for Neil Gaiman as an old computer is for GRR Martin. Everything else can easily become a distraction or excuse. “I need to do more research,” or “I need x tool to do y,” or “I can’t start until,” are all versions of the writer’s dearest friend-procrastination. Let’s not be so defensive toward our allies in the industry. If the ideas work for you and get words on the page, sew them into the fabric of your workflow. If not, discard them. Simple.

Great! Thank you so much!!!

Thanks a lot for the videos! Your help is really valuable, please keep it up! Thanks and cheers from Brazil!

Thanks for posting this video. I'm originally from Cape Town though living in Spain for the past 11 years. I have an 8-book romance novella series that I intend to self-publish on KU this July/August under a new pen name. I'm thinking of hiring an editor from Cape Town. Where does one go (online) to shop for a South African editor?

Sorry, these don’t apply to me.

hearing you say it also takes magic put a smile on my face, thank you :-)

Always so inspiring ❤

thankyou! great video, straight to the point. I agree that one should not worry about bad writing at the mere start / first draft of their book… and, having read some comments before watching, at first I was quite displeased with the rule of not reading other books in your genre while writing, but when I actually got to that part of the video, and heard your reason why, I found it very reasonable indeed. Now that you mention it, it has indeed happened to me more than just once, that I have read or watched something new, and then I have looked at my own work, and thought, „really, I should make my story more like that”… I really like your sentiment of preserving one’s artistic integrity. Am going to write now. Great video. DANKE

You’re a great teacher. Thanks so much. Triage! Not nitpicking. I get it.

interesting video! i find the "why do you want to write?" question very difficult to answer. instinctively i want to say that i just want to create and share stories that are interesting and fun to read, but that i would also love to write something with greater meaning, and stuff that would make people think. but why do i want to do that? no clue. i have no idea how to unravel my motivations, and every time i think i have an answer, it feels like it's "not good enough".

Sarah, thank you for this input, I really appreciate that you share your wisdom and experience with aspiring writers.

First time writer here. I have this excruciating urge to write a book out of nowhere. Through this book I want to help people navigate some of the challenges I have faced. I am currently writing, but have no idea what to do once I'm done.

Thank you so much, this is so helpful for me

Thank you for the encouragement! I am inexperienced, but think I have a wonderful story idea. Love your videos ❤

I use both Word and Scrivner. Scrivner is a useful tool as a single source of character information, world building, research, and all the other underpinnings that aren't in the story itself. Writing in Word (and then pasting into Scrivner) lets me focus on just the writing of the draft itself without all the ancillary functionalities when sitting down to write. That said, there are a lot of gems to take from this video. Like with any gems, the art is in you polishing them to fit your vision.

Thanks that’s exactly what I needed to hear 💝💝💝✨

Rule #5 Do not read any similar books to yours for the entire duration of your writing process. What happens is those ideas and voice may begin to creep into what you are writing... I don't know about you, but I don't want this. I do the same when I'm writing a song.

- I use Livingwriter, which keeps my total word count. It's way easier to navigate than a single text document. I would avoid Scrivener due to all the horror stories of losing manuscripts, even with backups to Dropbox turned on. I prefer a native cloud editors like Livingwriter, Reedsy or Google Docs, with an occasional backup to Dropbox. - I agree with the frequent advice of not editing as you go. - It's an interesting idea not to consume media in your genre while you write. I found myself doing that naturally because it seems to pollute my vision. - Being very clear about my structure is very different from knowing what genre I'm writing in. I'm a pantser, though I prefer the term discovery writer. I certainly know my genre and my characters so far, but my best writing has come from discovery, not from structure. I don't think knowing what genre you're writing for" is the same thing as "structure". - "No such thing as good or bad writing" - I'm going to disagree with this one, too. In your explanation, you seem to revise this statement to more of a, "don't worry if it's bad writing, just focus on good story", which I agree with.

I found this short video enormously helpful. I applause your brevity. For the past two weeks I’ve adhered to all ten rules. The result? I’m smoking fast through that first draft. The ‘don’t look back’ rule was particularly helpful. Many thanks, Sarah.

Lots of fans of Scrivener getting salty. But for your first draft, your very first draft, notepad will suffice. Even pen and paper. Anything more can be distracting. If you have been writing for a long time, this video clearly is not for you. Lol

At first some of this advice seems strange. But I remind myself that she is talking about first draft only.

Heading just completed my first novel I now find myself wondering where to from here? After watching this video I can't help but feel that writing the book was the easy part. Regardless thanks a lot for the insight.

After following two dozen supposed gurus over the years, I find your approach to writing the first draft most helpful. And I love your commanding confidence and clarity in delivery of the subject matter. Lastly, you have all the attributes of a true blue teacher I've been looking for.

Such great tips regarding book titles - thank you!

Have really been finding the advice in your videos so informative - thank you Sarah!

Nowadays authors speaking as if littérature was not a thing. As if it has never existed. Books are about stories, yes, maybe, but littérature is about form

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation has a grade-school style prose but it’s a foundational (lol) and respected science fiction book nonetheless

Great advice

Thanks for sharing 😊