And that's another piece of advice I'll give junior writers; when you get to the point where they take you to lunch, let the editor suggest where to go.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As a writer, you have to first of all write what you want to. Listen to advice, by all means, but don't get bogged down in it.
I like to encourage young talented writers to try and help them get published and so forth, but that's all. That's the best I can do.
My best advice for writers is: Have your adventures, make your mistakes, and choose your friends poorly - all these make for great stories.
For any writers at all, read everything you can and then put your butt in the chair and write. That's all there is to it.
The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is don't do it unless you're willing to give your whole life to it. Red wine and garlic also helps.
The single best piece of advice I give to aspiring writers is to always write about things that they know. I suggest that they write about people and places and events and conflicts they are familiar with. That way their writing will be real and hopefully readers will respond to it. I try to take my own advice.
I know I'm writing better now than I ever did for adults because I'm writing for an audience who know that they don't know everything.
Perhaps it would be better not to be a writer, but if you must, then write.
If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.
If you want to be a writer, just write. There's no magic to it.