Start by following Mary Robinette Kowal. “One must not put trust in novelists, Beth; they create worlds to fit their own needs and drive their characters mad in doing it.” “It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism.” “Perfection is different to every viewer.”

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid. My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company. A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.