Skill is know-how. It's the ability to use one's knowledge effectively in doing something. 

Great art is not by accident. If it were we would not appreciate it as we do. A great artist is a craftsman with great passion, an artisan in an occupation requiring special skills both physical and mental. All great artists are trained, practiced, developed and seasoned. 

1. Training: Why waste precious time? There are people who already know the answers. Why not learn from them? Why reinvent the wheel? If we want to find a shortcut to success find a great teacher. 

If you're in school take advantage of the opportunity you have to study all kinds of things. Expand your thinking. You already know what you think, how you feel. Study things that give you a different view of living. Later in life, you may look back at your school days and wonder why you didn't take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities on campus. Classes that may not be in your major may non-the-less serve you a plate full of delicacies that provide a catalyst for things in the future. 

Be opportunistic. Find a mentor. Find someone you admire and get close to them. If you can work for them, do it. Watch them closely until you know how they do what they do. 

All training depends on you. The greatest teacher and mentor in the world can not make you learn. Use your Passion to learn. Be willing to open your mind to possibilities your teachers and mentors offer you. Ultimately, all of us are self-trained by our ability to accept or reject an idea. Study all your life. It's one thing you won't regret. 

2. Practice: Practice makes perfect. So, practice everyday. 

Although my specialty is screenwriting, I have written short stories, novels, business plans and prospectives, essays, speeches and letters of all kinds. Each discipline requires new knowledge. Through practice I develop my abilities. Like exercising a muscle, my mind needs the exercise. I want to use my mind and body while I still have one. A pro football player only plays one game a week, but practices and exercises everyday, year round. A surgeon practices before he heads a team of surgeons in a major operation. I am thankful my dentist practiced for many years before he works on my teeth. Let's get real. Why would I think I could write a story and become a professional overnight? It doesn't make sense. I realize I must train and practice all my days. 

I realize more and more, I need to get down to basics - like practicing how to write a sentence. I pick up many books on grammar and practice. The results are rewarding. 

Here are some of my discoveries: Rather than using adjectives in descriptions, practice using active verbs. Practice placing the action word (verb), first. Place the most important word in the sentence, last. Understand, no one can rise above their skill. Develop all abilities to a high degree to achieve your goals. 

I used to think writing was hard work. Well, experience has taught me something different. It's harder for me to sweat digging in a ditch or cleaning toilets all my life than to write in a comfortable room near a kitchen and a cup of tea. I've learned to be happy in my work. 

3. Develop: Be adventurous! Explore the world before you die. In it, you will find many things and travel through many experiences that will help you live your art. While it is available, explore your library, your house, your back yard, your apartment, your neighbors and your mind and write about your explorations. 

For years I have ridden the bus and the Metro Rail that runs from North Hollywood through downtown LA to Pasadena and Long Beach. While I ride, I see many things and meet many people. I ask myself, who are these people? Where do they come from and where are they going? I observe their dress, shoes, jewelry and what they say or sing and listen to their silence. I use the techniques that Arthur Conan Doyle used in his character Sherlock Holmes - details details details. After I come to certain conclusions about people I observe, I talk to the people and ask them questions in a friendly way. By this method I find out if my preconceptions are accurate. Many times they are not. Either way, I write down little stories about these people. Over the years, I have slowly improved my observations. And I have hundreds of stories about these people and my travels. I call these stories Bus Stories. I have not tried to sell them. They are just one way to hone my skills. They are practice. And over the years they have helped me develop into a better writer. 

4. Seasoned: You may have been told an artist is born not made. The people who told you that were wrong. Potential is not enough. A diamond in the rough is not a priceless gem until it is fashioned by a trained eye and a skilled hand. 

Be observant. Put observations