The internet is flooded with writing advice these days. Everywhere you look, someone’s preaching the ‘one true way’ to write – as if creativity could be bottled into a standardized formula. But here’s something you won’t hear from most writing gurus: Margaret Atwood’s handwritten manuscripts reveal she edits as she writes, completely contradicting the sacred ‘write first, edit later’ commandment.
This isn’t just about different preferences. We’re facing two fundamental problems with online writing advice: relentless repetition and factual inaccuracy. The same recycled tips circulate endlessly – ‘write every day,’ ‘kill your darlings,’ ‘show don’t tell’ – often shared by people who’ve never consistently produced quality work themselves. Meanwhile, genuinely useful insights from working professional writers get drowned in this sea of mediocrity.
Consider this: when 100 different blogs parrot identical advice, shouldn’t that make us suspicious? Great writing has always defied conventions. From Shakespeare breaking Aristotelian unities to Modernists abandoning linear narratives, literature advances when writers trust their instincts over rulebooks.
What if we stopped listening to self-appointed writing gurus and instead learned from actual masters of the craft? In the following sections, we’ll uncover:
- How Nobel-caliber writers like Atwood actually work (spoiler: their methods often contradict popular advice)
- Why cognitive science supports diverse writing processes
- How to identify the approach that matches your brain’s natural creative rhythms
The most dangerous writing advice isn’t what’s wrong – it’s what presents itself as universally right. As we’ll see, the only rule that matters is finding what works for you.
Debunking Three Writing “Truths”
1. “Write First, Edit Later” – The Myth of Imperfect Drafts
We’ve all heard this mantra echoing through every writing forum: “Just get it all out first! Don’t stop to edit!” While this approach works for some (looking at you, Stephen King with your 2,000-word daily drafts), Margaret Atwood’s manuscripts tell a different story. The Booker Prize-winning author famously crafts each sentence to near-perfection before moving forward, like a sculptor refining one section of marble at a time.
Why both methods work:
- Linear thinkers (King’s camp) benefit from maintaining momentum
- Detail-oriented writers (Atwood’s tribe) prevent cognitive dissonance by fixing as they go
Try this instead: Next writing session, experiment with both approaches. Spend 15 minutes free-writing without stopping, then 15 minutes polishing a single paragraph. Notice which method feels more natural for your brain.
2. “Write Every Day” – When Consistency Becomes Constraint
Franz Kafka would laugh at this advice. The insurance clerk turned literary legend wrote his masterpieces in frenzied nocturnal bursts between 11pm and dawn. Modern productivity gurus would shudder at his irregular schedule, yet “The Metamorphosis” survives their disapproval.
The reality check:
- Cyclical creators: Like Kafka, some brains need incubation periods
- Routine-dependent writers: Haruki Murakami’s 4am starts work for his biology
Pro tip: Track your creative energy for a week. Note when ideas flow easiest—that’s your true “writing time,” whether it’s daily or quarterly.
3. “Avoid Adverbs Like the Plague” – The Dogma That Dulls Your Voice
Open any Pulitzer-winning novel and you’ll find adverbs dancing across the pages. Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” uses them deliberately to create its hypnotic rhythm: “…irrevocably…exasperatedly…frightfully…”
When adverbs enhance:
- Atmospheric writing: Adverbs reinforce magical realism’s dreamlike quality
- Character voice: A nervous protagonist might “stutter nervously” precisely because their anxiety is the point
Smart practice: Highlight all adverbs in your draft. Delete only those that:
- Don’t change meaning when removed (“whispered quietly”)
- Clutter rather than clarify
The Common Thread
Notice how each “rule” fails spectacularly for some legendary authors? That’s because writing isn’t a single skill—it’s hundreds of micro-skills combined differently for each person. Your ideal writing process exists where these three elements intersect:
- Your cognitive style (How your brain organizes information)
- Your energy patterns (When your creativity peaks)
- Your project’s needs (What the story/article requires)
As we’ll explore next, understanding these variables matters more than any writing hack.
The Rebel Alliance: How Literary Mavericks Defy Writing Rules
While writing gurus preach standardized formulas, the most celebrated authors in history built their careers breaking every rule in the book. Let’s pull back the curtain on three dimensions where literary giants establish their creative sovereignty.
Chronobiology of Genius: Morning Larks vs. Night Owls
Ernest Hemingway’s legendary routine involved waking at dawn to write standing up, claiming morning light sharpened his prose. By contrast, Franz Kafka’s manuscripts emerged from midnight writing marathons, his insomnia-fueled sessions producing existential masterpieces like The Metamorphosis.
Neuroscience explains this divergence:
- Morning writers (Hemingway, Toni Morrison) capitalize on peak prefrontal cortex activity for structured narratives
- Night writers (Kafka, Jean Rhys) leverage default mode network activation for surreal, associative creativity
“I write when I’m possessed,” Kafka confessed in his diaries – a far cry from the “write daily” dogma.
Spatial Alchemy: Where Magic Happens
Friedrich Nietzsche composed Thus Spoke Zarathustra while pacing his writing stand, believing vertical positioning stimulated philosophical clarity. Meanwhile, Agatha Christie plotted her mysteries submerged in a Victorian bathtub, her waterproof notebook filled with crimson-inked clues.
Modern ergonomic studies validate these eccentricities:
- Standing desks increase blood flow to creative centers by 15%
- Aquatic environments induce theta brain waves linked to insight
Process Paradigms: Architects vs. Explorers
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale evolved through her signature “jigsaw method” – drafting scenes out of sequence like puzzle pieces. Contrast this with Haruki Murakami’s strict linear process, where each sentence emerges in perfect chronological order like a metronome’s beat.
Cognitive research identifies:
- Nonlinear writers (Atwood, David Mitchell) exhibit strong visuospatial working memory
- Linear writers (Murakami, John Updike) demonstrate superior verbal sequential processing
The takeaway? Your ideal writing environment and process should feel as natural as your breathing rhythm – not forced into someone else’s template. Tomorrow’s classic might be brewing in your current “imperfect” routine.
Pro Tip: Experiment with one unconventional element from these masters next writing session. Your unique creative fingerprint awaits discovery.
The Writing Brain: Neuroscience Behind Your Creative Process
Ever wonder why some writers thrive with structured outlines while others create masterpieces from scattered fragments? The answer lies in your brain’s unique wiring. Neuroscience reveals how different cognitive systems shape our writing processes – and why forcing a ‘standard’ method can actually hinder creativity.
Prefrontal Cortex: The Architect of Linear Writing
For writers like Haruki Murakami who work sequentially, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) acts as project manager. This executive control center:
- Maintains narrative continuity
- Organizes plot progression
- Manages grammatical structures
Brain scans show heightened PFC activity during linear writing. As neurologist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett observes: “The PFC doesn’t just organize thoughts – it creates the scaffolding that holds complex narratives together.” This explains why outline-dependent writers often struggle with improvisational techniques.
Default Mode Network: The Puzzle-Solver’s Secret Weapon
Margaret Atwood’s ‘patchwork’ writing style taps into the brain’s default mode network (DMN), which activates when we:
- Make creative associations
- Retrieve distant memories
- Combine disparate ideas
Stanford researchers found DMN dominance in nonlinear writers, with 73% showing stronger neural connections between imagination centers. “It’s like having an internal collage board,” notes creativity researcher Dr. Rex Jung. “These writers literally think in multidimensional fragments.”
Dopamine Rhythms: Timing Your Creative Peak
Your biological clock dictates optimal writing times:
- Morning writers (Hemingway) benefit from cortisol-enhanced focus
- Night owls (Kafka) exploit dopamine-driven idea generation
- Afternoon hybrids (Toni Morrison) use balanced neurotransmitter levels
A 2022 Cambridge study tracked writers’ circadian rhythms against productivity. Results? Participants writing during their natural peak times produced 42% more publishable content than those following arbitrary schedules.
Finding Your Neural Writing Profile
Take this quick self-assessment:
- When brainstorming, do you:
a) Follow logical sequences (PFC-dominant)
b) Jump between unrelated concepts (DMN-leaning) - Your ideal writing session feels like:
a) Building with Lego blocks (structured assembly)
b) Solving a jigsaw puzzle (pattern recognition) - Unplanned writing detours typically:
a) Frustrate your process
b) Spark better ideas
Most ‘a’ answers suggest PFC-driven linearity; ‘b’ indicates DMN-guided nonlinearity. Neither is superior – just neurologically distinct.
Remember: Great writing emerges when methodology aligns with biology. As neuroscientist David Eagleman reminds us: “Every brain tells its own story – literally.”
Discover Your Writing DNA: A Self-Assessment Guide
After exploring how literary giants break every writing rule in the book, it’s time to turn the lens inward. Your unique cognitive wiring demands its own creative process – let’s decode it together.
The 3 Thinking Styles That Shape Your Writing
1. Linguistic Architects
- Thrive on: Wordplay, dialogue, textual analysis
- Telltale signs: You highlight beautiful sentences in books, rewrite emails 3 times, hear rhythms in mundane conversations
- Process match: Sentence-perfectionist approach (like Atwood)
2. Visual Storyboarders
- Thrive on: Imagery, spatial relationships, color metaphors
- Telltale signs: You ‘see’ scenes before writing, doodle plot diagrams, describe settings vividly
- Process match: Puzzle-piece assembly (create scenes out of order)
3. Structural Engineers
- Thrive on: Outlines, logic systems, cause-effect chains
- Telltale signs: You create spreadsheet timelines, hate plot holes, analyze story structures
- Process match: Linear drafting (like Hemingway’s daily progress)
Workflow Diagnostic: How Your Brain Wants to Create
Take this quick self-assessment (score each 1-5):
- When stuck mid-scene, I typically:
a) Rewrite previous paragraphs (Linguistic)
b) Sketch character expressions (Visual)
c) Check outline continuity (Structural) - My ideal writing prep involves:
a) Reading exquisite prose (L)
b) Collecting image references (V)
c) Building chapter bullet points (S) - During revisions, I focus first on:
a) Sentence melodies (L)
b) Atmosphere cohesion (V)
c) Plot logic (S)
Scoring: Tally columns. Your dominant style scores 12-15, secondary 8-11, tertiary 3-7.
Customized Writing Blueprints
For Linguistic Dominants:
- Try the ‘Russian Doll’ method: Perfect one paragraph before expanding outward
- Tools: Grammar apps, synonym finders, audio recording to test rhythms
For Visual Dominants:
- Adopt the ‘Collage Technique’: Write disconnected scenes on index cards to physically rearrange
- Tools: Mood boards, location photos, color-coded revision systems
For Structural Dominants:
- Use the ‘Reverse Outline’: After drafting, create an outline to spot gaps
- Tools: Spreadsheet timelines, story structure templates, logic maps
Pro Tip: Most writers blend 2 styles. Margaret Atwood combines Linguistic precision with Visual spatial thinking in her ‘patchwork’ process.
Your Rebellion Toolkit
- Schedule Test
Track energy levels for 3 days. Night owls, stop forcing 5am writing sessions. - Environment Audit
Note where ideas flow best: cafes, beds, showers. Kafka wrote best in his noisy apartment. - Process Roulette
Next week, try:
- Monday: Write last chapter first
- Wednesday: Compose with pen/paper
- Friday: Dictate while walking
Remember: When a writing tip chafes, it’s not you failing the method – it’s the method failing you. As we’ve seen from literary legends, the only ‘wrong’ approach is one that silences your unique voice.
The Only Rule That Matters: Break All The Rules
Here’s the dirty little secret no writing guru will tell you: every masterpiece in history was created by breaking someone’s precious writing rules. From Shakespeare mixing comedy with tragedy to Vonnegut’s absurd chapter breaks, literary greatness has always worn rebellion as a badge of honor.
The Beautiful Chaos of Creative Process
Margaret Atwood works like a mosaic artist, crafting perfect fragments before assembling them. Hemingway chased sunrise with 500 pristine words. Kafka wrote through sleepless nights, while Toni Morrison carved writing time between making breakfast and school runs. These wildly different approaches share one truth – they fit their creators like tailored gloves.
Your writing process should feel as natural as your breathing rhythm. That midnight burst of inspiration? Valid. Those 3pm writing marathons? Legitimate. The need to edit each paragraph seven times before continuing? Margaret Atwood approves.
Your Turn to Rebel
We’ve spent this journey dismantling toxic writing advice together. Now comes the thrilling part – your creative rebellion. Maybe you’ll:
- Write your climax chapter first
- Compose dialogue in the shower
- Edit as you go despite everyone’s warnings
- Draft entire novels on cocktail napkins
Whatever your method, own it unapologetically. The world doesn’t need more writers following instructions – it needs your unique voice, forged through your personal process.
Interactive Challenge: Share in the comments – what’s your most rebellious writing habit? Let’s celebrate the beautiful diversity of creative processes.
Coming Next: We’re pulling back the curtain on famous authors’ bizarre writing rituals – from Victor Hugo writing naked to Truman Capote’s horizontal drafting method. You’ll never feel weird about your process again.
