I got a very nice e-mail from a kid called Kevin, who I met recently on my USA tour:

I went to one of your Seattle book signings. I would like to thank you. I love writing, so I asked you for some tips for young writers, such as myself. You replied "Don't right away try to write a big book and get it published. Start with short stories and eventually you will be able to write longer ones as you practice." This little piece of your wise advise was the best advice I have ever heard.  I tried what you told me to and it worked! I wrote a one page long short story and it was okay. Then I kept writing more short stories and more and more until now, I can write five page long stuff. Your wisdom has changed my life and I just thought I should thank you, Darren.

I get asked for advice from young would-be authors all the time, and really there's not much I can tell them except write often, keep writing, and gradually improve as you go along. Writing's a long, slow process and there aren't any shortcuts -- the more you practise, the more you learn and the better you get. I think a lot of those who ask are dissatisfied with that answer. They think there's some magical advice that I'm holding back which would allow them to make huge leap forwards if I shared it with them. And I can totally understand that -- as a teenager, I thought and hoped for the same thing too!!! But there is no magic in writing, just hard work and luck -- if you work hard, you'll improve and learn to write to the best of your abilities, and if you're lucky, people will want to read what you've written and you'll make money out of your work. (Not all good - even great - writers get lucky. Many top-notch writers make very little out of their books, simply because they never get a lucky break.)

Kevin has taken a vital step forward -- he listened when I told him it was all about hard work, and has made the decision to put the hard work in. It's a long road he's started down, and there's no telling if he'll keep going to the end -- many lose heart along the way, when they realise how tough it is. But he stands a chance. He's going in the right direction. And if any of the rest of you want to stand a chance too, you should follow Kevin's example, start small, work hard, build slowly ... and keep doing that for the next five, ten, fifteen years and beyond.