the Most Amazing Libraries in the World, and Writers on Writing

Below are two items from Shelf Awareness that I found fascinating. I love libraries, and books, and writing, of course.


The Huffington Post

featured a slideshow of the "Most Amazing Libraries In the World Part
Two" in the wake of strong reader response to part one
last month, noting: "We're getting a lot of bad news about libraries
recently, as funding drops and major cuts are made, but these buildings
and collections remind us of how important libraries are, and how much
they are worth saving!"

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Writers, take note... or notes. Inspired by Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules
of Writing, the Guardian
http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3642037Biz9232106
asked authors to share their personal rules for writing fiction. A
sampling:

* Margaret Atwood: "You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary
grammar book, and a grip on reality."
* Roddy Doyle: "Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the
garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort.
Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, e.g.
'horse,' 'ran,' 'said.'"
* Geoff Dyer: "Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into
desire."
* Anne Enright: "The first 12 years are the worst."
* Richard Ford: "Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a
writer's a good idea."
* Jonathan Franzen: "When information becomes free and universally
accessible, voluminous research for a novel is devalued along with it."
* Neil Gaiman: "Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or
doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you
exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost
always wrong."
* Jeanette Winterson: "Enjoy this work!"