Vincent Lam's Three Rules for Writers.

1) Commit in the deepest possible way to the integrity of the project. This is the only starting point and the only end point that will give a writer any real satisfaction. Also, it is the only thing that will s...ustain the writer through the difficulties of actually getting the project done. There is nothing else.

2) Draft with exuberant and staggering hubris. Revise with obsessive and maniacal self-criticism. Know which to do when. (Yes, that's three in one, but they only work when practiced together.)

3) Write when you feel like it. Write when you don't feel like it. Write when you have something to say. Write when all you have is hope that working will help you know what to say. Write relentlessly. Make it your life... and here's the tricky bit: strive to write and live beautifully.