To practice - write each and every day if possible - then try to attend professional writer's conferences where you can learn your craft, get to know fellow writers, and meet editors and agents.

Write for yourself. That's it. And write every day.

Try to meet as many authors, agents, and editors as you can.

Oh my God, I never really tweet, but there's a moment every day I write one and then delete it.

My personal opinion is that, if you're a professional writer, that you do have quotas. So every day I do try to write 800-1,200 words. I don't always achieve it, and the reality is that a lot of the words I write will end up on the cutting-room floor.

I need to learn every day.