Write a book: advice from a master, Bernard Cornwell

Wonderful writing advice from Bernard Cornwell.

He says:

“… you have to get past the horrid stage of not enjoying it, and that is usually caused by a lack of confidence.  Is the stuff we’re producing up to snuff?  Is the style all right? 

Style seems to be a stumbling block for many first novelists, and the only advice I can offer is to tell you how I overcame it.  Which is not to claim that I have a fine style, only that I no longer worry about it. 

But when I was writing Sharpe’s Eagle I spent hours reading and re-reading the typescript, and every time I got hopelessly depressed thinking that it was no bloody good because the style was so clumsy, and so finally I tried an experiment. 

I typed out three pages of a Hornblower novel, substituting Sharpe’s name for Hornblower’s, and then I put the pages into a drawer. 

After three days I read those three pages (which looked exactly like my own typescript) and, to my relief, discovered that I was just as critical of Forester’s style as I was of my own. 

But he was published.  More, he was successful, so clearly I was being too critical.  The experience freed me of that worry. 

Try it yourself.  Reproduce three pages of a Sharpe novel on your own typewriter or word-processor, then come back to it and see just what rubbish can get published!”

(The formatting on the site’s page is non-existent, but bear with it, it’s worth the effort to decipher it.)

His advice works for more than books, too — just write whatever it is you’re writing.

Regarding style, writers often approach me worrying about their “voice”, which makes me giggle, because it’s so precious.

Just write what you’re writing: get the images and feelings you have ONTO THE PAGE, and the “voice” will take care of itself.

Cornwell’s home page.

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