Creativity is often the result of taking risks. It requires stepping outside of your comfort zone and experimenting with new approaches. This can be intimidating, but it's important to remember that failure is a natural part of the process. In fact, some of the greatest innovations in history have been the result of failed experiments. By being willing to take risks and learn from your mistakes, you can develop your creative abilities and grow as a person. So, don't be afraid to try new things and take risks. The more you do, the more you'll learn and the more successful you'll become.

• Give as much thought to choosing your last sentence as you did to your first.


• Bring the story full circle: strike an echo of a note that was sounded at the beginning.


• The perfect ending should take your readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right.


• Don’t sell past the close. When you’re ready to stop, stop.

“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”

It doesn't work like a check-list: You can't check each item off, get to be happy and old for a couple of decades, then you die. Problems don’t go away, they change and evolve. And accepting life's imperfection is hard because it forces us to accept that we have to live with things we don’t like.