Tips

1. Write everyday.

This is the best advice I can give to anyone. If you want to be a writer, write everyday. It doesn't matter what you write. Just sit down and write something.

2. Discover your "gold"

Most writing resources tell you to write to find your "voice". That's part of it, but it's not all of it. You need to dig deep and combine your voice with a topic that you care about and that other people, like your readers, will find interesting.

3. Write about a subject that interests you.

This should be pretty obvious. If you don't care about a particular subject, how are you going to write about it? I am not saying it is impossible to write competently on a subject you don't like. Most of us spend more time doing that than we care to admit. My advice is to save your "gold" for something you care about.

4. Decide right now if you are writing for yourself.

I want you to stop right now and before you do anything else, ask yourself "Why do I want to be a writer?" Did you do it? Did you ask yourself that question? Did you come up with an answer? Did you come up with several answers? Was "I am doing this for me." one of the answer? It should be. If you are writing to be rich or famous or appreciated long after your death, your writing will never be as good as it will be if you are writing for yourself.

5. Find a place to write

Write were you feel comfortable and always start writing there. I say always start there, because sometimes you have to change locations to push through a block or get a different feel.

6. Try to feel what your characters are feeling

If you can capture the feelings of your characters, your audience will become engrossed. The most important thing about characters is whether or not your readers care about them. If your readers can't "feel" your characters, they won't read your stories.