John Williams: You teach writing in your home country. What are two or three principles you think it’s important to instill in young writers?
Chimamanda Adichie: This is what I tell my students: read widely, read what you don’t like and read what you like, and try not to consciously write like either. And writing has to matter in a deep way. You have to make the time to actually write — seems obvious enough, but I often hear from people who say they want to write but have no time. And finally I tell them not to think of family and relatives and friends when they write, otherwise they will censor themselves without even knowing it.
“Africans on Writing” is a collection of short remarks by African writers on writing and the writing life.
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