What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

DP The basic answer is always to write. Naturally, if you want to be a writer you should write, but that's not everything. I was talking to a group of fourth graders when someone asked what they should do to become a writer. Good question for a fourth grader. My natural instinct was to tell her to write whatever she can, but that's not what I told her. I told her to read. Find out what she likes and read as much as she can.

Learning how to write comes from being able to learn how other people write what affects you. There are some amazing writers out there. Read their work. Find out what makes you laugh, what makes you cry, what makes you hate a character, and what makes you love one. How did they do that? If you find yourself affected by something you read, stop and read it again. How did they make you feel the way you felt? Study it! The greatest gift a writer can give is emotion. Enjoy it. Express it. Learn from it. Read!

Nobody starts out as a master of the craft. Writers learn from each other. Read what you love, then write something that affects you.

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