Advice for Writers

As of today, four of my books have been published and a fifth comes out next summer. Inevitably, I am asked for advice. Most advice on writing is pretty poor but that hasn't stopped a whole industry from cropping up to pass it along. I don't want to be part of that. Writers should make their money off of readers, not aspiring writers. And yet I'm an opinionated fellow prone to lecturing others. If you ask, it's hard for me to keep my mouth shut.

In the past, I've devoted a lot of energy to writing about writing. If you're keen with your Google, you can probably find some of that stuff. Through experience, I've whittled my writing advice down to two points.

First, read lots of novels. 

Second, if that doesn't answer all your questions, read Stephen Koch's Modern Library Writer's Workshop. After that, read a bunch more novels. This won't solve all your problems, but it will save you having to ask other people for advice on how to write. Oh, and one more thing: Write.