I like to think the FIRST step, it to learn one thing. Write what only YOU can write. Examine yourself mentally. Who are you. What do YOU like. And choose a subject!
I find you can skip the step of FINDING out who you are by just writing on paper whatever random thing your brain ejaculates. That way it's really you, and not you emulating yourself.
Watch the movie "Naked Lunch", there's a bit in the first few minutes with two writers discussing self-censorship which is quite interesting, dunno if it's from any of Burroughs books or if Dave Cronenberg just threw it in. No-one can tell you how to write. You have to learn, to train yrself. You have to go through an evolution of trying really hard, giving up, doing something else in the hope that you will magically become a better writer, giving up properly, doing something else, going back to your old writing, thinking it's great, writing again, realising it isn't... well, you get the picture. If you're really uninspired, do what "The Book Group" advised: Do a bit more living.
If you want to write well, picture yourself at a bus stop talking to a person you don't know, fully aware that any minute your bus will pull in. This way, you can keep your writing personal and to the point. The last thing you want is to come off boring. Write like one talking with limited time to tell the story.
thats very good advise i would have to say that usually its a good idea to read a lot of different books with different styles of writing, for me this helped me to find the type of writing that best suited me...i also payed attention to others works, and tryed to better myself by learning from them...but when it comes to ideas, its best to write what u know, cus then u no the facts, and the true emotions that go into it since ull have felt them first hand...
