Were you hosed from Joyce Carol Oates’s Creative Writing class? Yeah, me too (signed in to an art history course second round…)
I guess I’ll apply again next year. In the meantime, we can all check out the CliffsNotes version of JCO’s seminar — her seven rules for writing fiction, as published in Saturday’s Guardian.
Here’re rules 6 and 7:
- Keep in mind Oscar Wilde: “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.”
- Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.
Write away!
