1) Create an output goal (a story a week, or a story every other week. Or a thousand words)
2) Read 10 X what you write.
3) Read one level “up” from your writing goal.
4) Keep your stories circulating in the mail
5) Don’t try a novel until you’ve sold ten short stories.
6) Once you’ve finished your first draft, ask “what is the meaning of my story” and re-write from the beginning to sharpen this.
7) Model the healthy attitudes, actions and beliefs of the writers you admire.
8) Follow structure until you have mastered it (selling at least 10 short stories), then try freestyle. If you have problems, revert to structure until it is internalized.
9) Separate the “Flow” state from the “editing” state.
10) Develop a circle of writers and readers to evaluate your work. Choose the smartest, toughest critics you can find, and learn to take the discomfort.
Buzz Dixon wrote a big hunk of your childhood, from Thundarr to Tiny Toons, G.I. Joe to Jem, Transformers to My Little Pony, Batman to Chip & Dale -- and he ain’t done yet!
