A few quotes, worth sharing.
Cut! Cut! Cut! Your reader has a life.
Easy reading is hard writing.
When a writer chooses names for characters, she has to believe they couldn't be called anything else.
A novel gives you a legitimate way to have a little world of your own creation.
(Quoting Somerset Maugham)
"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are."
And my own personal favorite discovery this morning?
After about thirty pages, you should find your voice (or voices), and when you do, your characters will begin to speak and act on their own.
Whew. Thirty pages. Don't give up on those voices too soon.
Related post: Voice
