Goodreads asked Chris Westphal:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Chris Westphal Seek and consider productive feedback from trusted and accomplished outsiders. Feedback is not, "Oh! I loved it!" as your mother might say, or "I hated it," as you might hear from a friend who's always been oddly competitive with you. Useful feedback is thoughtful; along the lines of, "I didn't understand why the character was so angry in this scene," or "the character's casual behavior seemed out of place here, because he/she is in danger, and should recognize it." Explaining is futile, unless you plan to explain to every reader. Often, you can solve a problem of a plot development being unlikely by having a character point if out. "That seems impossible! But it happened."

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