Goodreads
Goodreads asked Stephanie Osborn:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Stephanie Osborn READ! Read classic literature -- you know; Shakespeare, Shelley, Doyle, Wells, Tolkien, whatever classics are in the genres you like. Because when you've been reading the classics, it tends to soak into your psyche. Then it's a lot more apt to distill back out into your own writing.

Have you ever heard the saying, "You are what you eat?" Well, I think there's a variant: "You write what you read." So if you read junk, what you write will tend toward poor style. If you read classic literature, your writing will tend toward those classic styles. There is, after all, a reason they're classic -- they've held up across the years.

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