I had no idea La Rowling was still writing anything - thought perhaps she’d retired to enjoy her income, but I suppose retirement doesn’t stop people from dishing out good ideas. This, below, from here, is, of course, immensely good - it’s amazing the number of people who think it’s OK to ring up for ‘a chat’ in the middle of a working day, or who turn up for a ‘cup of tea’ on the assumption that one can, of course, spare an hour from a day that’s planned to the nearest minute. Mind you, the best bit of writerly advice I’ve ever seen came from Zadie Smith who said, ‘Only ever write on a computer that’s got no internet connection.’ Well, yes… but where’s the fun in that?
Be Ruthless About Protecting Writing Days
Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have “essential” and “long overdue” meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg.
J.K. ROWLING
