The more you talk to people about being a writer, the more you’ll hear people share they too have a dream of writing a book. However, few of them actually get their idea onto paper.

Being a good writer also being means a good character in your life story. Four life-tips that will make you a better writer: live, steal, run, and think.

Prolific author Joanna Penn has a sign hanging on her wall that we all need to live by.

Writing is a lot like Thanksgiving: showing off, unity, over-indulging, and gratefulness are all important aspects in writing.

You’ve finally carved out a spare moment to write, you open up a blank document, and set your fingers on the keys. But then nothing comes. You check Facebook thinking maybe something there will be inspiring. No luck. You wonder if your muse is hiding under the stack of dirty dishes so you clean every bit of grime you can find and still come up empty. You’re at a loss for ideas and your writing time is dwindling quickly.

It’s going to happen someday. You’re going to open your inbox, and it’s not going to be the headline that makes your eyes leap to that one email. Your blood pressure’s going to rise, and it’s going to seem like Chrome slows down in opening that email that’s going to change your life.

I’m not ready. I’m not good enough. That’s not my book to write. That book’s already been written. What if they hate it? I’m scared.

Decide whether or not to finish reading a book based on whether or not you are learning from the author.

Two simple things required of all writers in order to find their voice.

The truth is we all have hidden expertise we don’t think about. There’s something you do regularly you know more about than most of your friends.

Hidden within that expertise you consider mundane is a story the rest of the world has yet to hear.

There’s nothing original in the world. Good writers are always stealing ideas from each other and recycling stories. It’s expected. And it’s natural.

While using names is funny in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, it’s not as funny in your novel.

Write for ten minutes. There must be a sandwich included in your story.

The scene’s clear in your head. The characters are running around creating drama, making their own lives difficult but yours easier with every passing word. Until you realize you don’t know the name of that brown-eyed beauty and her Prince Charming lacks an identity of his own.

Dialogue is one of those tricky things that can make or break your book.

Writers often waste words rather than perfecting their prose.

I don’t want to be a writer anymore. Why should I bleed on paper just for some editor’s red pen to bleed all over it? My ideas aren’t that good and no one ever reads my work. No publisher’s ever going to like it. Besides, it’s giving me tendinitis. No, I’m done with writing. I’m going to find a career with a steady income and consistent job description.

Every item has a set purpose. Sometimes that purpose is merely entertainment or wonder. Other times the purpose is intrinsic and habitual. But what happens when an item is re-purposed?

Are you on Twitter? If you’re a writer and you’re not using the social media source, you should probably change that.

A fellow writer tweeted that she deleted 16 pages because she didn’t like the direction her novel was headed. You could hear the sense of accomplishment in her words. My heart stopped (ok, not literally).