GENE WOLFE'S TOP FIVE PIECES OF WRITERLY ADVICE

1.) Get up early and write.

2.) Read what you're trying to write, for Godsakes! (Don't read enormous fantasy series if you're trying to write short stories.)

3.) Remember that it is characterizing that puts your story heads and shoulders over the others in the slush pile.

4.) You do not characterize by telling the reader about the character. You do it by showing the character thinking, speaking and acting in a characteristic way. You simply show it and shut up.

5.) Do not start a story unless you have an ending in mind. You can change the story's ending if you wish, but you should always have a destination.

Excerpted from:

"And It Goes On From There..." An Interview with Gene Wolfe