Ava asked Kristen Ashley:

Hi, I've just been wondering, what is the key to writing a successful book? Being Twelve, my goal in life is to become an author. I'm kind of embarrassed, my friends tell me, 'what's the point of wanting to be an author if you don't know the first thing about it?' The truth is, my teachers tell me I'm an amazing writer, but I just don't know the key to writing a good book, maybe you could help? Ava X

Kristen Ashley Hello there, Ava,

Well, first thing to write a good book is not to listen to anyone telling you shouldn't write a book if you don't blah, blah or blah.

If you have the drive, the stories bubbling inside you, and the desire to go for it -- then go for it! I didn't know anything about writing or publishing. But I loved reading. I loved writing. I never thought I'd get anything out of my writing except my enjoyment of it. I never thought I'd get published. I certainly didn't think I'd make a career from it. And I didn't care about that.

Did I want that? Yes. Did I think it would happen. No.

I just loved writing. So I wrote.

And wrote. And wrote.

And the more I wrote the more I realized it was crucial to write for me. To write what I loved to write. How the stories came to me. What I loved to read. More and more, I threw out what I thought were the "rules" and just WROTE.

I think that every writer out there could give you a different answer to what the key is of writing a good book.

But I always go back to the EB White quote, "The whole duty of a writer is to please and satisfy himself, and the true writer always plays to an audience of one."

In other words, if you have a story to tell, tell YOUR story how it comes to you in the telling. Don't worry about what anyone will think of it. Don't worry if it'll get published. Don't worry about anything except if it's the story YOU want told and in the end, YOU love it.

If you can finish it and read it and it makes you happy, then you've written something good.

Good luck!

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