Read and Write...A lot.

My reading list in no particular order.

READ

The picture above is my reading list.  Recently I've fallen out of the habit of following, perhaps, Stephen King's most important advice from his book "On Writing" - read... a lot.  He makes it very clear that in order to cultivate your skills as a writer you have to be a dedicated book worm.  King provides example after example of the time he spends locked up in his work room reading a new book, in his car listening to audio-books (he counts this as reading, I'm inclined to agree), and bringing reading material with him wherever he might be traveling.  Reading is an important function for any writer because;

It keeps your mind sharp and provides a constant source of inspiration.

The best book I've ever read about becoming a writer, any type of writer, is undoubtedly Stephen Kings "On Writing."  Don't read "On Writing" if you're looking for a magic silver bullet (get it?) about how to become a super-famous-mega-star-writer like Stephen King, David Sedaris, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown and Charlaine Harris.  There's only one of them.  Well... there are actually hundreds of famous authors.  But for every one of those famous authors there are thousands of people like you and I who dream of one day writing the next great novel or creating the next Huffington Post.  King's novel is a practical approach and more of a guide than a "how to" approach.

What "On Writing" did for me was teach me a valuable lesson about how to hone your craft before you try to strike it Stephen-King-Rich.  I don't want to spoil King's "a memoir to the craft" but I'll share with you a  couple more important ideas from his book:

"The road to hell is paved with adjectives."

King is hardly the first writer to offer advice on this topic.  There are famous quotes from Voltaire to Mark Twain and Ernest Hemmingway on the overuse of adjectives.  I am, clearly, not immune to their seductiveness.  But keep this in mind when you write: adjective = path to hell.  Maybe that will help.

Write. Write. Write. Write. WRITE MORE.

It seems obvious but look at King's body of work, he's written around 70 novels.  They are not all masterpieces but you have to write some crap, crap can be entertaining, to get to THE STAND.  Joyce Carol Oates has written more than 40 novels, 15 of those since 2000 alone!  Of course there are other prolific novelists whom I didn't mention, who have written even more than Oates and King.  Regardless,

remember that the key to having a career in writing is that you have to actually write.

These suggestions are important because they apply to virtually all types of writers.  From the novelist to the freelance writer, invest your time wisely.  If you really want to be a professional writer you need to spend 10,000 hours honing your skill - write (even if it's crap), read (even if it's crap).  Find time to practice your skills and eventually you'll find success.