Goodreads asked Marissa Harrison:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Marissa Harrison Read the book you want to write, and write the book you love to read. When I first began writing my debut novel, Rain City Lights, I had no idea what I wanted to accomplish (aside from writing a book as amazing as The Night Circus, which was the inspiration and catalyst for me to finally take the plunge). All I knew was I had this male lead character whom I became utterly obsessed with, and that I wanted to dive into the eighties to uncover all the mysteries that occurred when I was too young to understand them. But I had no idea where to begin, and found myself circling the drain of mediocre writing (this part is inevitable. The writing is always bad until it's good). So I read and read and read some more, stories that moved me and technical books on the craft itself. Then I started to write a book that fit in the genres of the books I most enjoyed.

There are so many more steps, but the first one is defining what it is you want to write, or will feel good about writing. And then write that book!

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