The Complete Bullshit-Free and Totally Tested Writing Guide How to Make Publishers, Agents, Editors & Readers Fall in Love With Your Work

Not-writing is just as important as writing. Maybe even more so. It’s the process of figuring out what not to put on paper.

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

So don’t give up. And don’t settle, under any circumstance, for a sentence that is less than your absolute best.

When it happens, we feel as if we’ve found a secret, peaceful path to the top of Everest. And when we’re not-writing—figuring out what not to put on paper—we feel as if we’re stuck in a storm, doing nothing at base camp. It feels unproductive. You can almost hear your life passing by.

To me, writing is like putting together a five thousand piece puzzle. The pieces are no bigger than a quarter and you only have the faintest idea what the final picture is supposed to look like.

As I read through what I’ve written, I thank the gods I wrote when I did because there’s no way in hell I’d ever be able to do it as well again.

That’s why you’re going to separate yourself by assuming your audience is slick and a step or two above. Trust me, they’ll love you for it.

How do you write from the place in your gut where love dwells? The Sufi poet Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

First, take a few deep breaths into your belly. No work of genius can come from shallow breathing. Secondly, set your intention to receive and you will. I promise you will. Trust these two steps as you trust yourself when you’re in love.