Frances Whiting

You know, I'd love to write a book.

And a lot of people always come back with, you know what, if you want to write, you've just got to write.

It's the discipline of whether it's per word per day, which is like, I'm going to do 300 words per day or time per day, a million hour per day.

But when I wrote The Nocturnals, I don't know, I just had this little moment when I thought something.

It's weird, you know, The Nocturnals is by far my most successful book, but it was also the easiest book to write.

And I think one of the reasons, I just had this thought before I wrote it.

So now this is what I say in answer to this question, rather than, oh, just sit down and do it.

Like, what's wrong with you?

Like, just sit.

So I just had this moment of realizing that

Writing fiction is the only time in your life, the only place, the only space where no one can tell you you've got it wrong.

There are no rules with fiction that you can't be marked on it.

It's not an arbitrary thing.

No one can say, well, you wrote that sentence wrong.

They just can't.

And that gives you a freedom, I think, to just enjoy the process, whether it ends up as a book or a short story, whether it ends up published or just something for yourself.

Just thinking to yourself, you know what?

is wrong.

There is no score sheet on this.

And I found that very freeing.