People come and go as writers, as in any profession. The successful ones are tenacious. They are not the best qualified. The most intelligent. The most proficient. They are the most PERSISTENT!

To become a skilled craftsman in any endeavor takes 10,000 hours learning and application. If you’re putting in 30 hours a week, that is 333 weeks or almost 6.5 years.

The shortcut:

• Hire professional assistance in areas your lacking.

Do it yourself method:

• Education. Read everything on the subject.
• Join writers groups.
• Take classes.
• Hang out with like-minded people.
• Write, Write, Write.

And look up everything that you have a question on, styles, sentence structure, dialogue, grammar.

Between epic sessions on your book, write short stories. Quick, down and dirty, one to two thousand words. You will improve with every sentence you type.

Above all – DO NOT GIVE UP.