I want to make it clear from the outset that I don't consider myself a guru on any particular aspect of writing. I have little doubt that a goodly number of people reading this have a larger vocabulary, a better grasp of grammar and spelling, are more creative and intelligent and can write rings around me.

What nobody knows better than me though, is my own experience over the last 30 years with this wonderful, but often-maddening, art/craft/business. What I've learned may be useful to others embarking on the same road.

The art aspect of writing is what draws most of us to the starting gate. Usually at an early age we become enamoured with the idea of transporting others with our words.

It helps to have some talent, usually born of a love of reading. Reading much, from an early age, imbues the would-be writer with a basic understanding of grammar and an intuitive appreciation for the rhythm of language.

A vivid imagination is a plus and the ability to empathize is mandatory, particularly for a fiction writer. The writer needs to imagine situations, even worlds beyond her own. More importantly, the writer needs to understand and feel what her characters inhabiting that world experience. Without that imagination and empathy even the most dazzling prose won't disguise a cardboard setting populated by two-dimensional people.

The writing just won't be true. And all good writing rings with truth, even the lies.

The field begins to thin.

Perseverance is next and this stage will claim its share of casualties. You'll want to quit, even before you get to the submitting stage. A story that sings when you write it at 2 a.m. stinks when re-read the next afternoon. A poem that artfully expresses the unique anguish of a first-broken heart is trite, sophomoric and embarrassing a couple of years down the road.

You'll realize, to your horror, that your insights are oldsights. You'll write your characters into corners from which they can't truthfully escape. You'll spend way too many hours staring at a blank monitor that accurately reflects your mind.

Take solace from this: Every good writer writes junk. Every great writer writes junk. The difference between them and you is they recognize what needs to be tossed and what can be salvaged with re-writes. That takes practice; which is where the craft part comes in.

Writing well consistently is not like learning to ride a bike. You don't fall a couple of times and then suddenly get it for the rest of your life. It's a long, ongoing process. Progress is slow and incremental but if you persevere it becomes noticeable.

By this point, I think we've lost about 70% of the starting field.