Esequiel Contreras Jr asked Steven Hildreth Jr.:

Hello Steve, How does one get started writing a book?

Steven Hildreth Jr. I think every book needs to start with passion. A driving force. I don't think a book is something the average person shrugs and goes, "Well, I guess I COULD write this." There has to be no doubt in one's mind that there is a story that NEEDS to be told.

Once that story is identified, it's a long path. Lots of reading. Lots of research. Lots of trial and error. One has to learn the basic mechanics of prose writing, and then learn genre tropes on top of that so that they may learn when to subvert them, when to invert them, and when to play them straight. Then they have to write, accept constructive criticism, then continue to improve their craft.

I started writing when I was 11 years old and I didn't publish my first full-length novel until I was 24. It's definitely a labor of love, and the process will definitely test one's conviction to the story inside of them. But, when the book is completed, there is a sense of accomplishment like none other.

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