Goodreads asked Carmel Hanes:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Carmel Hanes I hardly feel qualified to answer this question, but these are the things that helped me, in the genre I wrote in. Read, read read; and then find your own voice and write your passion. What helped me was starting the process of taking notes on what I saw around me, or what struck me at a deep level. Those notes eventually knit together into a larger story in my head. When I started, I had only a couple of basic concepts in mind, but as I wrote, the story took on a life of its own and shaped itself as I went along. The best advice I ever heard was from "Bird by Bird" which convinced me I did not have to have the entire story laid out in my head before I began. I just began, and the rest followed, with much rearranging before done! So, read, read, read, and then write, write, write! And ask for feedback, because it is truly helpful to hear how things hit different readers.

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