- Write the kinds of stories you like to read. If you don�t love what you�re writing, no one else will, either.

- Don�t tell people you want to be a writer. Everyone will try to talk of you out of choosing a job with so little security. Just keep it to yourself, and be sure to get a job to fall back on if your writing career doesn�t work out right away.

- You are not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you...or your story. Do not take rejection personally.

- If you are blocked on a story, there is probably something wrong with it. Take a few days off and put the story on a back burner for a while. Eventually, it will come to you.

- Don�t push too much pressure on yourself to get published by a certain age. I didn�t get published until I was 30, and I turned out all right, I promise.

- Write all the time. Never stop sending out your stuff. Don�t wait for a response after sending a story out...start a new story right away, then send that one out. If you are constantly writing and sending stuff out (don�t forget to live your life, too, while you are doing this) eventually somebody will bite.

- And above all, become a good listener. In order to write believable dialogue, you need to listen to the conversations of the people around you--then try to imitate them!