Writing Advice from American Author/Historian David McCullough

This weekend, we caught a bit of an old Charlie Rose show in which he interviewed American author/historian David McCullough. McCullough whose books include 1776, shared some practical writing advice. He explained that he does 60 per cent of his research before he starts writing a book. Then he researches as needed. I thought this was interesting because I've heard other writers say they sometimesget too caught up in the research stage. McCullough also advised writers to READ ALOUD. "You can hear mistakes you wouldn't hear otherwise," he said. I'm also a big believer in the reading-out-loud method. Finally, and this was my favourite part of the interview, McCullough said, "Writing is thinking clearly. That's why it's so hard. But I've never equated ease with happiness." Way to go, David McCullough!!