Once,
I asked a real writer
for some advice,
how the craft was done
& the answer was quite simple,
I was told to just
"Write."
And when I thought
I was finished writing,
to write some more.
Write in the morning
& in the day
& long into the night.
Use pen & ink
to spill your blood.
Don't ever let up,
keep the pencil to the paper
& bleed some more.
Bleed until you're bled out.
And when you're bled out,
squeeze your dried carcass
into words
that readers can understand.
Don't ever give up,
don't ever stop,
not until you drop,
leaving your heart behind.