1. To succeed in writing, you absolutely have to join a critique group or take a class.
2. People with writing degrees have a better chance than people without them.
3. No matter how hard you work as a writer, you’ll always struggle financially. Always.
4. You’re not a real writer until you’ve published a book — the “traditional” way.
5. Anyone can start a blog, so being a blogger doesn’t count.
6. If you don’t write every day, you’re not really a writer.
7. The only way to get as much writing done as possible is to wake up at 5 a.m, even on weekends.
8. Real writers NEVER discuss their ideas with anyone, EVER.
9. You can never work on more than one project at a time.
10. You can’t move on from one project to the next until the first one is worthy of publishing.
11. “Making it” is mostly a matter of luck.
12. Getting published is the only thing that makes a writer successful.
13. If you don’t write 12 hours a day, every day, you don’t stand a chance.
14. Reading about writing is a total waste of time, don’t even bother.
15. Everything you publish online has to be perfectly polished, even your tweets. Real writers never make mistakes.
16. If you don’t follow my advice exactly, well — you’ll never accomplish what I’ve accomplished.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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