Goodreads asked Elisabeth G. Wolfe:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Elisabeth G. Wolfe READ. As much and as widely as you can, especially old books (as in pre-1900). If you want writing advice, in particular, read:

The Defense of Poesy by Sir Philip Sidney
Tree and Leaf by J. R. R. Tolkien (and also The Monsters and the Critics if you want to write fantasy)
On Stories and Other Essays by C. S. Lewis
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor
and "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" by Mark Twain

Also, if you've got an idea that involves elements outside your area of expertise, research like crazy. Read better resources than Wikipedia. Ask real people your questions. Learn everything you can.

Next, sit down and write. Short story, long story, fanfic, original fic... whatever takes your fancy. Use a site like Written? Kitten! if you need a motivator. Just do it. Get the words on the page or screen. Take a break--maybe a few hours, maybe a few days--and read what you've written. Revise as needed. Repeat at least a couple of times, including the process of typing it up if you prefer to write longhand, but set yourself an upper limit. Next, find a beta reader or two who'll critique your work fairly (not your mother, unless you're as blessed as I am) and ask that person/those people to read it. Take the response graciously; everyone needs an editor, and you'll never improve if you're not teachable. Revise again as needed. If you've had to make major changes, send it out to the betas again, and repeat until you're all satisfied.

Then get your work out there. Fanfic is a great way to get your feet wet because there's usually a ready-made audience for what you're writing and a community that will give you feedback about what worked (and what didn't). It also helps you learn the nuts and bolts of storytelling not only because you're doing it but also because you're engaging with the source material, finding its intricacies and flaws and the spaces for gapfillers, what-ifs, outsider POVs, etc., far more actively than if you were just passively consuming whatever canon you choose. And if you discover that you don't want to tackle original fic for whatever reason? THAT'S OKAY! You don't have to be creating stuff you can get paid for to have worth as a writer. (Plus, in some instances, fanwriters can get hired on to help create canon or tie-in works, so it's not like there's never any money in it--but doing it for the love is by far the better motive.)

If you do want to publish original work, however, it's usually worth your while to hire a professional editor, unless one of your betas is a pro, and then research ALL the pros and cons of traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. Once you've come to a decision, research the living daylights out of each of your options for the avenue you've chosen; in the Internet age, there are plenty of resources out there to help you chart your course and avoid the scam artists. As Davy Crockett used to say, "Be always sure you're right; then go ahead."

But above all, never stop reading, learning new things, and writing. That's the only way to grow in this art.

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