Goodreads asked Steve Copling:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Steve Copling This one is simple: write. Just put words down on paper. Don't worry about grammar, run-on sentences, useless words, passive voice and all the other stuff that MUST be cleaned up later. No, the best thing you can do is simply write, write, write. After you have your story down on paper (or computer file), let it sit for a bit, a couple of weeks or so, to gain some distance from it, then go back and start your cleanup. There's a saying I heard once: A book isn't written, it's rewritten. So doing the cleanup is the key to success. That done, after you think it's ready to show to a few people for some advice or feedback, make sure your skin is thick enough to handle what you're being told. Do realize one thing though, there has never been a book written that somebody somewhere wouldn't have done a little differently somewhere in the book. So while you should value honest feedback, remember that it is your story to tell. Tell it. Write!

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