Goodreads asked Bob Rector:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Bob Rector First you have to learn the craft. This is true regardless of the profession you wish to pursue. Accept that this will take time. There are no shortcuts to mastering a craft. Reading hundreds of books and watching thousands of movies doesn't automatically make you a storyteller. You can't absorb the craft. You have to learn it. Secondly, take every opportunity to write professionally, even if it's just composing a company newsletter or writing a column for your neighborhood newspaper or a blog, whatever. Write for pay because then you will have somebody scrutinizing your work besides you.

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