Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 7 other novels

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5 Funny Irish Writers on How to Write

Iris-Murdoch-Between-Saying-and-Doing_edited-1In case you need some good old Irish inspiration to set aside the green beer for the pen this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I’ve dug up five funny Irish writers to give us all a bit of advice:
“Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one’s luck.”
– Iris Murdoch
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde
“I don’t have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turning into confident ducks.”
– Maeve Binchy
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”
– Samuel Beckett
“The first 12 years are the worst.”
– Anne Enright (from a lovely list in the Guardian that I commend to you)
Happy writing! – Meg

P.S. Yes, that is Paris in the picture; I haven’t made it to Ireland yet.
 

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Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of nine novels, including the forthcoming TYPEWRITER BEACH (Harper, July 1, 2025), the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com