Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. Writing Routine I’m pretty obsessive once I get going. I tend to throw everything at it, and I’m generally rather happy if I’m making progress of 450 to 500 words a day. I work from 9:30 in
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, screenwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist. Writing tips Adams once wrote this “General Note” to himself, apparently to be read and re-read when the going got tough: Writing isn’t so bad really when you get through
Waris Dirie (born in 1965) is a Somali model, author, actress and human rights activist in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). At the age of five years, she suffered the inhumane procedure of female genital mutilation. This terrible crime against women is practiced worldwide by Muslims and Christians.
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. When I’m writing a book I get up at seven. I check my e-mail and do Internet ablutions, as we do these days. I
John Ray Grisham Jr. (born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist and attorney, best known for his popular legal thrillers. “The alarm clock would go off at 5, and I’d jump in the shower. My office was 5 minutes away. And I had to be at my desk, at
I don’t have any strange, occult practices. I just get up, go downstairs, and write. I’ve learned that I need to give it the first energy of the day, so before I read the newspaper, before I open the mail, before I phone anyone, often before I have a shower,
“I work 10- and 11-hour days because in long sessions I fall away more completely into story and characters than I would in, say, a six-hour day,” he explained. “On good days, I might wind up with five or six pages of finished work; on bad days, a third of
In a 2008 interview with The Paris Review, Ishiguro said he typically writes from 10am to 6pm, and tries not to check his emails or phone until at least 4pm. I have two desks. One has a writing slope and the other has a computer on it. The computer dates
The personal history of Stieg Larsson, the wildly successful Swedish author of the Millennium Trilogy, which begins with “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” is as intriguing as his fiction. In 2004 he died before ever seeing the success of his books. His life partner of more than 30 years,
In the mornings, he likes taking his time to drink a cup of coffee while listening to the culture programme from NRK, the public service radio station. He showers afterwards. Morning His working day never starts before 11 o’clock in the morning. “I know that many writers are busy at