Several authors hit back at the American novelist, questioning his logic and issuing their own mock advice

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

American novelist Jonathan Franzen has drawn the ire of fellow writers, who are mercilessly trolling him following an article in which he lists his 10 writing rules for aspiring novelists.

No stranger to controversy, Franzen often ends up in public spats after media tours for his new books. His most famous was in 2001, when he derided Oprah’s book club following her selection of his novel The Corrections – after which Oprah disinvited Franzen from appearing on her show.

This week Franzen published a new book of essays, The End of the End of the Earth.

Jonathan Franzen: 'Climate change isn't only reason for bird decline' Read more

Franzen’s 10 rules, published on Lithub, include: “You have to love before you can be relentless”, “You see more sitting still than chasing after”, “It’s doubtful that anyone with an Internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction”, and one that has particularly drawn the ire of library lovers: “When information becomes free and universally accessible, voluminous research for a novel is devalued along with it”.

New York Times best-selling author Chuck Wendig tweeted his own writing rules, parodying Franzen in a thread that quickly went viral, inspiring other writers to issue their own mock advice.

Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) 6. characters poop plot

7. maybe try saying something more than just what's just on the page, like, a lot of story is unseen

8. writing advice is bullshit; bullshit can fertilize

9. eat bees?

10a. fuck, I dunno, nobody knows what the hell they're doing

10b. have you tried napping

rachel syme (@rachsyme) hold on does jonathan franzen hate the library pic.twitter.com/vclzGsZnr6

Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) brb texting my friends jonathan franzen's writing tips without context

Nathan Goldman (@nathangoldman) say what you will about Jonathan Franzen but he's great at getting everyone on Twitter to talk about him without actually being on Twitter, meaning he is better at Twitter than any of us

Jodi Picoult tweeted that she was “delighted” to announce that she had broken every one of Franzen’s writing rules, stating later that while she wasn’t bashing Franzen, “his rules don’t work for me”.

Best-selling historical romance writer Tessa Dare re-tweeted the list, commenting, “In which Jonathan Franzen reveals himself to be that guy who mentions Ayn Rand in his tinder profile”, and continued: “It is evident that writing with no Internet connection nearby makes you 1,000,000 times more likely to lose your work, good or not.”

Jodi Picoult (@jodipicoult) I am delighted to tell you I have broken every single one of these rules. https://t.co/9eX6WJw4ZP

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt also published his own list of seven rules.

Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) My 7 rules for book writing

1. Spelling

2. Have a Frankenstein in it

3. Do not talk about Book Writing

4. Do not talk about Book Writing

5. It should take place on a boat

6. A scene where a guy splits a bullet in half with a sword

7. Have a nice plant on your writing desk

Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) ten writing rules

1. find exactly the right place to sit

2. better get coffee also

3. turn off the internet we're WRITING

4. but i have a question only the internet can answer

5. more coffee!

6. maybe i got an important email

7. how is the coffee shop closing

8. oh no

Christine Estima (@christineestima) Jonathan Franzen’s rules for novelists are all really ordinary and what you’d expect. Except for this one. Kafka was not a beetle. Can confirm. pic.twitter.com/xcA9vgOgRV

Non-fiction writer Jeff Pearlman tweeted, “God, Jonathan Franzen is one arrogant ****. I’ve written 8 books. Six have been best-sellers. And I can 100% promise you: Ignore this nonsense.”

He apologised for the tweet in a subsequent one:

Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) My Franzen tweet actually reads insanely arrogant. Which is embarrassing, because who the fuck am I? Apologies.

Following the publication of his writing tips, “Jonathan Franzen” trended in top 10 Twitter lists around the world, coming in at No 4 in America and No 7 in New Zealand.

Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) Jonathan Franzen hates Twitter because they've trapped one of his precious birds in their logo

regular skeleton (@Merman_Melville) I like that Jonathan Franzen is such a reviled figure in letters that he can trend in the United States just for writing an article that's like "do not use adverbs" and "challenge yourself"

• This article was corrected on 19 November 2018. The Franzen-Winfrey controversy was in 2001, not 2011 as stated in a previous version. Also, one of his tips is: “You see more sitting still than chasing after”, not “You are more …”.