Goodreads asked Jessica Kirby:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Jessica Kirby Read, read more and read even more. Read as many genres as you can. Read news, research, magazines. Google. Wikipedia. Nothing beats seeing how others bring characters to life, build a plot and spin a yarn. Go to local writing classes. They're often free or very low cost. Finally write without any suggestion that you're creating a finished work. You won't be. You'll edit it at least 3 times; share it with trusted friends who'll make suggestions so more edits; get critique from publishers so even more edits. Your final book will be most likely entirely different from the first draft so don't stress about writing what you think is rubbish. You can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with the right editing and rewriting.

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