As a writer, you’ve probably heard plenty of advice along your journey to publication. Advice can be very handy. It gives novices a framework of rules so they can improve on the craft. It gives intermediate writers a challenge. It even makes people feel as if they have come a long way in their writing once they’ve successfully followed the advice to the letter. But I’ve found at least five pieces of advice that are thrown around like so much confetti. And what I’ve realized i