You might have seen some links from the Guardian floating around in the past few days; in a two-part series, the publication collected some tips on writing from some esteemed writers of our day, including Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman. In 2001, Elmore Leonard provided his 10 rules for writing to the New York Times. Among his mandates? Never use a verb other than “said” to attribute a line of dialogue, go easy on the exclamation points and go easy on the detailed character descriptions or landscapes. Inspired by Leonard’s advice, the Guardian compiled similar lists from other writers. You can read part one and part two at the Guardian’s Web site, but if you’re short on time, how about you just read this blog entry featuring the highlights?

Many of the surveyed writers pointed out that the most important thing is to write, and write often. While that may sound intuitive, it can be easy to plan and plan fiction without ever getting around to actually creating it. Many fiction guides will tell you to just start writing words for the sake of writing something down; you can worry about quality later (Roddy Doyle argues that this point comes at page 50). Half the battle, it seems, is just showing up. Write, write, write. Why are you still reading this? You should be writing. One way to start writing? Keep a journal or notebook of daily observations — several writers said this was good for ensuring their bank of ideas never went empty. Margaret Atwood recommended taking two pencils (one might break) and paper along with you at all times.

Though this is bad for my job security, several of the authors recommended staying away from anything with an internet connection, though breaks are O.K. — Margaret Atwood reminded aspiring writers to stretch, while Helen Dunmore and Hilary Mantel said that many difficult passages could be worked out on a long walk. The writers were divided, however, on whether booze made for an acceptable break. Also garnering mixed reactions? Whether insane, suicidal writers are good for inspiration — Roddy Doyle says no, Colm Toibin says yes. Richard Ford suggests not having children.

Most writers offered tips on the writing lifestyle, but a few writers offered their tips on technique as well. Jonathan Franzen, for instance, writes that the third-person perspective is preferable to first-person voice, unless that first-person point of view is immensely distinctive. Esther Freud advises cutting metaphors and similes (because most of these writers admit that you’ll have to cut quite a lot), while Geoff Dyer warns of the dangers of clichés. Helen Dunmore suggests reading pieces aloud, so that you’ll hear the clunky dialogue of characters you don’t completely understand yet.

Lastly, I’d argue that if you want to write fiction, you should stop reading columns about writing fiction, and well, actually write it. That goes along with the first tip that we discussed. But, then, what do I know? What do any of these writers know? As David Hare said to the Guardian, you should never take advice from anyone without a vested interest in your writing.