Writing is an art, a craft, a tool for exploration, and many other things besides. Writing is a skill, too, and if you want to improve your skill as a writer, you need experience. You must work, think critically, and consistently command yourself to focus on your writing for extended sessions—which can be a struggle even for best-selling authors.

But the tree does bear fruit. There is a path that leads to your writing dreams, and you can walk it. You can write stories that are worthy of best-...