If you are interested in becoming a writer ... 1. WRITE. This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but there are a lot of people (and I was one of them for a very long time) who think that somehow they can become a writer without doing the work of writing. Make a commitment to yourself to write a little bit (a paragraph, a page, two pages) every day. 2. REWRITE. You can't sit down and expect something golden and beautiful and wise to spring forth from your fingers the first time you write. You can, however, reasonably expect a piece of writing to get better each time you rewrite it. I can't emphasize this strongly enough; writing means rewriting. 3. READ. You have no business wanting to be a writer unless you are a reader. You should read fantasies and essays, biographies and poetry, fables and fairy tales. Read, read, read, read, read. 4. LOOK—at the world around. Pay attention to details. Open your heart to what you see. 5. LISTEN—to people when they talk. Everyone has a story. Eavesdrop. Join in conversations. Ask questions. And pay attention when people answer them. 6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF—there is no right or wrong way to tell a story. This is one reason that writing is so wonderful and terrifying: you have to find your own way. Be kind to yourself. Listen to other people. And then strike out on your own.

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