What Vices Should New Authors Watch Out For? David Almond, Patrick Ness, Neil Gaiman and Lemony Snicket Answer The Question

A mild disclaimer: None of these answers were given specifically to be published - by which I mean the authors didn't know what I was going to do with the info. They're mostly spur of the moment, off hand replies, and not official or binding or, necessarily, true. They were all given in public forums, though, so I have no problem collecting them here. And they were all given as answers to my question - they're not just ripped out of context from other interviews. So, do with them as you will....