Goodreads asked Gary Jonas:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Gary Jonas Read, read, read, read, read. Then write, write, write. But also keep reading. Writers who don't read have no business writing. And read all over the place. Read different genres. Read literature. Read non-fiction of every kind. The more you load your mind with ammunition, the better your work will be. Also, kill the vast majority of adverbs (if you need to modify the verb, odds are you've chosen the wrong verb, and if you have to modify how something is said, your dialogue probably sucks). Speaking of dialogue, the word "said" is your friend. If people mutter, reply, pontificate, spit words, exclaim, proclaim, etc. you need to follow Bob Newhart's advice and "Stop it." Said is invisible, so the dialogue will read better. On last piece of advice: if you go down this path, write something, finish it, then move on to the next project. If you spend years polishing your words, you'll never get anything done. Nothing is perfect, and perfection is boring anyway. Make the story yours and yours alone. Your unique perspective worldview is what you have to offer the reader, so be the best you that you can be.

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