I'm a 30 year old novice writer, who has been seriously tinkering with the art of writing for the last 2 years. I write mostly comedy and satire and dabble in sci-fi and other young adult formats. I like red wine, long walks on the beach, and writing about whatever crazed and absurd experiences come my way. My view on being a successful writer is that you have to actually write, and you have to not only accept criticism but seek it out. You can't just call yourself a writer, you have to actually be one. It's like the Burgess Meredith quote, which is also my personal moto in life:
"You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills first" -Burgess Meredith
Doing trumps not doing.