Advice to writers: Skip the scenery: Recently, I was asked to speak to a class of writing students on what critics look for in debut novels. After canvassing my colleagues, I had a few answers -- a distinctive voice, an interesting perspective, strong writing and so on -- but they didn't seem especially helpful. Presumably, every writer already starts out with the most distinctive voice and interesting perspective he or she can conjure. How about telling them what to avoid instead?