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Isaac Asimov’s Writing Tips and Tricks
Love the art of writing, learn to juggle, be businesslike…and more
In Science Fiction legend Isaac Asimov’s book, Essays on the Past, Present & Future, I found an essay where he talks about Writing. I am a nervous and anxious person — especially when it comes to my writing career (who isn’t?) so, I got excited having discovered a resource from one of the most prolific and successful writers of all time. So out of the excitement, I want to share with all you writers and readers what I found relevant and share worthy.
First, he differentiates between a prolific writer and a chronic writer:
“prolific” seems to refer to little more than the quantity of written material, whereas “chronic” implies an abnormality, almost a sickness. A prolific writer may just be working hard, but a chronic writer (you might judge) can’t help himself because he is in the grip of a vitamin deficiency or a hormonal imbalance.
He then defines a ‘Successful Writer’ as someone who sells what he writes most of the time.
He shares a small business tactic for writers — if anyone manages to gain even a certain fame in nonliterary circles through the sheer quantity of output, their name becomes generally recognizable, and any books written may sell that many more…
