I recently received an e-mail from a junior high English teacher who read Sing the Midnight Stars, book 1 of my Rift series. She said she had two seventh-grade students who were aspiring authors and that her class was working on an assignment that included “giving advice to someone in a particular field to help them become ‘great’ [and] specific and deliberate ways to practice [one’s] craft in order to achieve greatness.”

I was pleased that she asked me whether I’d be willing to give them some guidance, but her e-mail continued with some very disturbing information about the public school system. She related that schools are “moving away from stories and really focusing on informational text” and that the goal of becoming a writer was “not exactly encouraged in the educational system.” Considering the editorial wreck that is the state of many books, magazines, newspapers, etc—a direct result of our steadily degrading public education system—those admissions didn’t surprise me at all.

In any event, I gave her students the following advice:

Excellent writing stands on a foundation of solid editorial skills. Any aspiring writer must strive to master the mechanics of grammar and punctuation. They’re the bones and sinew of the written word, and if they’re weak, your writing will collapse. This is a good place to start your writing career, and you can learn these skills while you’re learning to write.

The art of writing stems from reading: reading great works by masters of the craft, and reading many of them. There isn’t a writer who ever existed who didn’t start by reading. Be careful what you read, though, because popularity doesn’t necessarily equal excellence. Stephenie Meyer’s stories draw huge audiences, but she’s a terrible writer. That statement’s subjective, of course, but writers such as Stephen King agree with my assessment.

What should you read? Because of the degeneration of our public education system, which started in roughly the late 1960s, it’s difficult to find books published after about 1980 that aren’t riddled with errors in spelling, punctuation, and usage; even J. K. Rowling’s books are full of mistakes despite how important they were to the world of young readers. It doesn’t mean stellar books aren’t still published, but be aware that they’re far more elusive than they used to be. Tell avid readers what you’re trying to do and ask them for recommendations. Read the classics. They’re not all easy to read, but you’ll expand your vocabulary and learn a little about older writing techniques, which you can use, although you might not think so at first. Once your grammatical skills are good, you’ll be able to judge outstanding writing for yourself.

When you write, emulate authors whose work you admire. Dissect a book to discover what made you love it (or hate it!). Was it the style, the use of imagery, the elements of the story, characterization, the way the plot was woven? Deconstruction can help you discover ways to improve your writing.

Practice writing in the style in which you hope to excel, and practice is the operative word here. Writing well is hard, hard work. Not just grammar and punctuation but also shades of meaning come into play. There are more than 600,000 words in the English language, three times more than the next-wordiest language can boast. I suggest reading a dictionary (what?!), but not as if it were a book (whew!). Develop the habit of reading a few random definitions a day. You just might find that it’s fascinating, and I guarantee that your vocabulary will increase, which is important for mature writing.

So what are the lessons here? Read. Write. Read. Write. Then do it all over again.