Maybe it goes without saying that if you want to become a famous writer before you're dead, you'll have to write something. But the folks in my classes with the biggest ideas and the best publicity shots ready to grace the back covers of their best-selling novels are also usually the ones who aren't holding any paper.
How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights (ed. Three Rivers Press, 2007) - ISBN: 9780307393807