1. I like to switch between the serious novel and the high school play and the mystery story and back to the romantic novel. None of them ever feels like work, because I always work refreshed and interested, instead of feeling “forced” to finish one item.
2. I start a new project every time a hot idea hits. As a minimum, an outline is produced and characters are sketched out. Otherwise, the idea is lost.
3. If you are nervous, you have no business in this business. Or any other.
4. One of the best parts of writing is that you are not punching the time clock — so don’t quit just because it’s “time”. Never, never stop when you are on a roll! Lose the momentum and the work suffers.
5. True.
6. “Cement, not fertilizer?” I have no idea what he meant by this. What kind of writer are you when people don’t know what you mean?
7. Right on. People are your best inspiration for plots, dialogue, and characters.
8. Sometimes there is no pleasure in writing, for example, when you aren’t satisfied with the “ring” of the prose, or you feel that the events of the plot are contrived. You have to work without pleasure to fix it.
9. I agree with “exclude” if by this he means “edit ruthlessly”.
10. Nonsense! You have to think of future books! You cannot place all your interest, hopes, and dreams on the current one, just as you can’t rely on a single other person or event. Contingency plans rule.
11. No. If all you do is write, you aren’t much of a person. Which is more important in the long run?