Never forget that you are practicing a craft with certain principles.

All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.

Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.

I try to make what I have written tighter, stronger and more precise, eliminating every element that's not doing useful work. Then I go over it once more, reading it aloud, and am always amazed at how much clutter can still be cut.

Finding a voice that your readers will enjoy is largely a matter of taste. Saying that isn't much help-taste is a quality so intangible that it can't even be defined. But we know it when we meet it.

But nothing has replaced the writer. He or she is still stuck with the same old job of saying something that other people will want to read.

Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and will shed the skin of the writer you imitated.