Read.

That's pretty much it.

I see loads of posts around the interweb; 20 Things you never knew about Writing, Two Failsafe Ways to Hook Your Reader, Why Orangutans Read Erotic Monster Fanfiction (shut up Brian), or Why You Should Forget the 3 Act Structure. The list is endless.

But (waits for Brian to make the big butts joke...), I've always been of the firm opinion that you cannot write if you don't read.

I visited my eldest daughter's school recently and was very impressed by the library there. As you walked in there was a great display which mixed everything from Jane Eyre and World War Z, to Beano and The Farmer's Weekly. The librarian was a really nice lad who was very happy to talk about books and things, but he made the wonderful point that he didn't really care what the kids read, as long as they were reading something. He very much took the view that you hook 'em in with something they love, whether it be The Times or 100 Facts About Bacon, and then gently introduce them to other things.

But reading should be fun. As should writing.

If you want to write Science Fiction, read Science Fiction. If you want to write Romance, read Romance. If you want to write Fanfic, know your fandom. If you have no idea what to write, read anything you can. And in fact I think that should be the case anyway. Read everything and anything, as as a writer you never know quite where the next idea will come from.

But read.

Now, where did I put that book on Bacon...