I was asked today if I had any advice to share with aspiring writers. I thought about it all day.

Here’s my answer:

Don’t aspire to be a writer. Writers write. Be a writer if that’s what’s in your heart and mind to do. It will become an obsession. You’re already a writer.
You should aspire to be a better writer. Aspire to perfect your craft. Aspire to outdo yourself every day. Set goals and meet them. Read as much as you can.

That will make you a better writer in my opinion.

You don’t have to aspire to be what you already are in your heart. Build worlds no one but you has ever seen and share them.

Learn to create characters your readers will love and hate and cheer for and cry for and relate to in a way that makes them seem like living breathing beings. This is what we do.

We ARE writers. Storytellers. Escape artists.

Aspire to be a better writer than you were yesterday. That goes for any aspiration, not just writing.

That’s my advice, for what it’s worth.