If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Read the kinds of things you want to write; read the kinds of things you would never write. Learn something from every writer you read.
Just writing a lot doesn't necessarily make you a better writer. You have to hear yourself as a writer, and the best way to do that is to read your writing out loud.
Read. Read. Read. Read many genres. Read good writing. Read bad writing and figure out the difference. Learn the craft of writing.
My father told us all the time: to become a good writer takes writing. Because the more you do it, the better you get at it. It's like bull-riding. You can't do it once, you know. You've got to practice it and practice it.
I haven't always been a writer and I suppose I tiptoed around the idea of writing full time, because it's so isolating.
I often get asked how I write so much. As any writer knows, the answer is to write a lot more than you actually publish.
If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don't want to write, do something else. It's as simple as that.
Writing has been so much a part of my life that I'm really quite annoyed that I can't do as much as I used to.
If you want to be a writer, just write. There's no magic to it.
If you want to be a writer, don't worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles.