Goodreads
Goodreads asked H.L. Roethle:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

H.L. Roethle No.1: Write. Everyday, whenever stuff comes into your brain, whether it's the middle of the night or while you're busy eating lunch. If something pops into your head, write it down.

No.2: Read. Read as much as you can, in every kind of genre that you can. The more you read, the better you write.

No.3: Ask for help. Anyone who has ever written a book has needed to start somewhere. Trying to go it alone will only hurt you, because (especially if it's your first time,) you have no idea what you are doing. Maybe this isn't the case for everyone, but I know when I first started to try and write a book, I didn't have a clue how to do it. I thought you just wrote a bunch of stuff down and then handed it to someone else who would clean up the grammar and slap a cover on it and yippie here's my book! Yeah, no, it's not like that AT ALL. The writing community is vast, and for the most part very friendly and more than ready to help with any question, any problem, literally anything where you need help. So ask, and don't be afraid to ask. We're all in this together. :)

No.4: Never give up. Writing a book can seem like a daunting task, but it is so rewarding. The process might seem long, and there might be times when you ask yourself if it's even worth it. My answer? Yes, it's worth it. It's worth every tear, every sigh, every smile as a spark of imagination hits you, every mind bomb that shatters your original ideas, every word, every sentence, every crazy idea that may or may not work.../it's worth every bloody bit of it./ So keep at it, and don't give up. Your readers will thank you one day. ;)

More Answered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more