I would tell the writer to avoid, as he would the plague, a too free use of words requiring a dictionary at the reader's elbow.
I would tell him to remember that America needs sanity, not ravings of a madhouse, and to write such things as would help her stand four square and solid before the whole of creation.
Nevil G. Henshaw: In all humility I'd say to the beginner—Write about what you know of with simplicity and repression.
Joseph Hergesheimer: There are none but the need of honesty.
Robert Hichens: Try to write each page as if it were the only page you would ever write. Make each page as good as you can. Don't give yourself up to some special effort later on in your book. Put forth your best powers. Don't be niggardly. Many writers are lazy-minded. That is fatal. You must be ready to take any amount of trouble over your book. Never think of money rewards or of the opinions of critics when writing. Try only to satisfy yourself thoroughly and don't worry about what others will think or say. Never imitate another writer.
R. de S. Horn: To the beginner I would say:
Remember that writing is as much a profession as banking or engineering; therefore don't try it unless you are prepared to give it the same study and effort that you would have to give these others to make anything of a success. Carry a note-book always and note anything that suggests a story. Write at least four hours every day, whether you feel inspired or not; the ideas will come after a little while. Don't get discouraged; success came to the biggest authors only after the most discouraging failures. Revise—and revise—and revise! And stick to the people, the things, that you know.
To a practised writer I would say:
Please don't write on your reputation. Write every new story just as carefully and conscientiously as though you were trying your first story on your first editor. It's so disappointing to pick up a poor story by a good author.
Clyde B. Hough: Read, study, absorb and dissect current fiction, take it apart sentence by sentence, word by word, even dissect the words and see why some other word would not have done better. As a suggestion to the practical writer—still study current fiction.