Write stories that please yourself.

When the New York Times asked O. Henry if he had any advice for young writers, he wrote: "I'll give you the sole secret of short-story writing, and here it is: Rule 1. Write stories that please yourself. There is no rule 2. The technical points you can get from Bliss Perry. If you can't write a story that pleases yourself, you will never please the public. But in writing the story forget the public."
- O. Henry, born William Sidney Porter