I wanted to start writing fiction for years, but I never made much progress. The thing that finally got me going was the (implicit) realization that I'd been ce

I wanted to start writing fiction for years, but I never made much progress. The thing that finally got me going was the (implicit) realization that I'd been censoring myself, and that the kind of fiction I like to write isn't really what I thought it would be. > The remedy is simple, although it does involve a short, sharp shock of frankness with oneself. Stop lying about who you are, and write the things that are actually inside you. If, deep down, you want to write about misunderstood teen gymnasts with pet magic lions, your literary fiction about sad suburbanites will not easily come out of you, and it will probably not come off well. This is great advice. Maybe not so easy to internalize for people stuck on the other side of the wall, but worth thinking about.