1.Write daily, every day for a specified amount of time. You must establish in your mind as an unalterable truth that a writer writes. A writer writes. A writer who does not write will stagnate and implode and get cranky and possibly turn to drugs. I’m telling you, it is dangerous to ignore the need to write.

2.Get the important work done first: the work of writing. A writer is someone who writes, yes; a professional writer will also find a page-long list of side skills that must be fully developed in order to succeed as a writer. [There is also a page-long list of side skill that are NOT needed in order to succeed as a writer.] But the first and most important skill is the skill of writing. Do the important work first.

3.Ignore the voices in your head unless they are giving you a great story line.

4.Read as much as or more than you write.

5.Don’t disparage any type (genre) of writing as below you; you can learn from every experience if you are willing. Refuse only to write anything that is cheap, shoddy, half-done: and that part of the matter is entirely up to the writer.

“An artist cannot do anything slovenly.” -Jane Austen