Isaac Asimov wrote 468 books and became one of the three greatest science fiction writers of the late 1900s. His best-known book is probably “I, Robot” (1950). On the other hand, few of his books have made the jump to second editions and are now slowly disappearing from libraries as I write this in the 2020s.
Some tips based on his own advice as well as observations made by me and others:
- Write every day. Whether you feel like it or not. He did not believe in writer’s block. After all, his father ran a candy store in Brooklyn and never suffered from “shopkeeper’s block”. Asimov got up at 6am and worked from 10am till 8 or 10pm, Sunday to Saturday – about 80 hours a week. But he did more than simply write: he was his own secretary, typist, proofreader, research assistant, literary agent, and did most of the work of an editor. But even so, he still produced about 1,800 published words a day.
- Avoid distractions. His window in Manhattan faced a brick wall.
- Get plenty of sleep. When he sat down to write, the words just flowed. He thinks that is partly because his mind did most of the work subconsciously. What others might call a muse.
- Be your own typist. Something he had in common with Tolkien.
- Write in a clear, simple, informal style. Use short words and short sentences. Do not try for literary effects. Being clear matters way more. This was a huge reason he could write so much. That and his workaholism. Therefore:
- Do not listen to critics. Instead: Do you.
- Write what interests you.
- Write more than one thing at a time. He worked on three to nine books at a time. That way if he hit a brick wall with one, he could move on to another one.
- No outlines. Instead think out the beginning and end and let the middle take care of itself.
- Know your English: spelling, grammar, vocabulary. They are the tools of the trade. “Someone who can’t use a saw and hammer doesn’t turn out stately furniture.”
- Read, read, read! Asimov recommends Dickens, Twain, and Wodehouse. Read writers you admire. “Read them, and others, but with attention. They represent your schoolroom. Observe what they do and try to figure out why they do it. It’s no use other people explaining it to you; until you see it for yourself and it becomes part of you, nothing will help.”
- Practice, practice, practice! There are parts of writing you can only learn by doing.
- Be patient. It takes time to be good enough to be published. But to get there you have to slog through all the rejections first. Do not give up! If you are meant to be a published writer (not everyone is) you will get there sooner or later. But:
- Do not quit your day job! Most writers, unfortunately, do make enough to live on. Even for Asimov it took 20 years (!!!) from the first story he sold till he quit his day job.
– Abagond, 2021.
Sources: especially Google Images, Dr Patricia Farrell, Jente Ottenburghs, New York Times archive, “Hints” (1979) by Isaac Asimov.
See also:
- Asimov
- Tolkien
- How to write like Hemingway, Orwell, Reader’s Digest
- Writing advice from Stephen King, C.S. Lewis, Zadie Smith, Jamaica Kincaid
- The 10,000 hour rule
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Abagond 
I needed this. Thanks!
I have three fully written books, which I’ve yet to publish. I also have several works in progress and two books currently for sale online. Writing isn’t my issue as much as is confidence in my own proofreading, editing and opinions. Asminov’s advice on not listening to critics– and that he was his own editor– inspires me.
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Write every day, whether you feel like it or not? Not necessary. I find it more important to have a clear idea if what I am doing before I do it. I’ve found lately that if I start something and run into a roadblock, if I wait two or three days the answer comes to me. This kind of method is antithetical to the “write everyday” .
Asimov’s method worked for him, but it shows in his work too.
Another piece of advice I have is to start a graduate program if you have a four-year degree. I just finished a master’s program in English literature at a state college. It took me not very long at all to realize that undergraduate education is a poison to the mind. Learning is a good thing, but undergraduate education confines you mentally in ways that you cannot understand until you have experienced something different. In past ages, people educated themselves to a graduate level without going to college at all. In the system of our society today, I am not sure this is even possible anymore. Over four decades subsequent to finishing college, I was never able to do it.
You do not even need to finish your graduate program and it doesn’t even have to be in literature. Any subject you like and have some ability in probably will do it for you. It won’t take long for you to get it.
Write everyday? I thought that was what the internet was for. If there’d been an internet in the 1930s, Hemingway would have worked off his daily hangover surfing here and there and posting comments instead of pounding out 5000 typewritten words which he, himself, admitted were almost always worthless tripe. If he could have written 5000 worthwhile words a day, he would have completed ten fully edited novels a year.
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Excellent. Thank you!
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Reblogged this on khushizn.
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