Goodreads asked Alex Hughes:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Alex Hughes Writing is hard. It will break your heart a hundred times, show you mountains and valleys and the glories of other worlds before dropping you back down to earth, different than you began. It is a hard path, and one I would tell you to turn back from if you can. But if you can't be turned back, write, write a lot, and write from your heart. Then join a critique group and learn to bear fair criticism of your work--a lot of criticism. You'll learn what parts of your heart translated on the page and which didn't, you'll learn your own strengths and weaknesses, and you'll hone your internal editor through analyzing other peoples' works in progress. Expect it to be a long, hard road, and use the moments of heartbreak along the way to fuel your drive. Hold to the moments of joy and the reasons you set out. And lastly, and most importantly, I'll paraphrase Apex Magazine's guidelines from awhile ago: "If you get rejected, don't get angry [Alex adds: or stay depressed], become more awesome. Become so awesome that we can't help but publish you." Because the struggle--and the journey--is well worth it, for its own sake if not for the destination.

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