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Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 6 other novels

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August 5, 2011 By Meg Waite Clayton

Anne Tyler on 1st Drafts

“I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them – without a thought about publication – and only in the last draft to consider how the work will look from the outside.” – Anne Tyler

Amen to this, which comes from Anne Tyler’s Q&A in the back of A Patchwork Planet. I think it’s true for the experienced writer as well. Even writing under contract, it’s so important to hold true to the story you want to tell, rather than worrying about what the market wants to read.
And now I feel steeled to get through revisions to the last pages of my first draft, in hopes of having a second draft by the end of today. – Meg

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Filed Under: Meg's Posts, Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun Tagged With: anne tyler, first drafts, novels, patchwork planet, writing

Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eight novels, including 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

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