Rules for Writers… What are Yours?

As a die-hard fan of Elmore Leonard—the guy who created the world of JUSTIFIED, my new favorite TV show—I was fascinated by this article, also inspired by him: 10 Rules for Writing Fiction.  (Special thanks to Mayreen at the SFFWorld forums for the link.)

In the article, some great names give their top advice on how to keep noses to grindstones and more.  What I realized, upon reading and reflecting, is that my own list gets smaller each year.

Here it is… and I would love to hear yours, too:

1. Write, even if what you write sucks. Just write every day possible.
2. Never delete anything.
3. Publish. Even if you go KDP or Smashwords. Don't leave ANY manuscript you liked at the end sitting in a bin, on a dusty flash drive, or under the bed just because it didn't "find its niche."
4. Don't blow money on a career that isn't making money. See number 3.
5. If you go to conferences take notes on what the big names do while falling down drunk and keep a glass of ginger-ale in your hand at all times so they think you're drunk, too. (Consider showing up incognito if you’ve lost weight or changed your hair.)