I suppose it was when I was an English major in college (although I had been writing poetry since I was a child). When I got a job as an editorial assistant at a magazine I really began to understand how writing for a popular audience (as opposed to an academic one) worked. It was then that I made my first feeble attempt at a novel. But mostly what I wrote was nonfiction for the assorted educational and religious magazines.

My advice is the same as what you usually hear: read a lot and pay attention to what the writers you admire usually do. For example, go through a book and highlight any foreshadowing that you see, or how the writer describes facial expressions.

For nonfiction, interviewing people and trying to work their remarks into a coherent narrative is a good start. And don’t forget Google, it can give you a lot of obscure info and even story starters. Try Googling [your name] is or [your name] should and run with what it tells you.

Some people recommend keeping a writing journal, but I prefer a blog as it keeps me on a schedule — I publish every Sunday. WordPress has metrics that tell you how many people read your writing, and so does Medium.

But the best advice I’ve ever heard is to write something that you would want to read.

Best of luck to you.