Know Your Stuff

I’ve talked about the necessary things you need to write, and the most important thing is time. But if you are going to write about something other than what you're used to, you have to be able to write about it so that it makes sense.

For instance, if you're a construction worker, but you're writing about doctors in a hospital, you'd better be able to make it sound like you've been a doctor in a hospital.

Or if you're writing about a particular time in history, you’d better have a good understanding of how people lived in that time if you want it to be believable. It’s all common sense, really, so don’t take any shortcuts. Do your research.