One of the best books about writing fiction is “Techniques of the Selling Writer” by Dwight V. Swain.

Speaking specifically about creating fiction, he writes:

So … no magic key. No universal formula. No mystic secret. No Supersonic Plot Computer.

It’s enough to plunge a man into despair.

-Not to mention frustration.

Yet there’s another way to look at your dilemma, and that way just may point you to salvation.

Consider: Do you really want to succeed just because you possess a magic secret?

For if there were some super-trick, some mysterious formula to puff away creative problems, the it stands to reason that said trick must be as difficult as the Indian rope illusion, multiplied by Caligostro and carried to the nth power, with Paracelsus, Appollonius of Tyana and Madame Helena Blavatsky thrown in. Otherwise 999 writers would already be using it and the world would be blessed with a great deal more good fiction.

I believe this idea carries to any endeavor where you want to find success.

There is always a set of skills that you need to know. Usually those skills are easy to point out.

If you want to be a novelist, you need to master plotting, characterization, editing, andother skills to be successful.

If you want to have a successful small business, you need to educate yourself about supply and demand, marketing, accounting, product delivery, etc.

If you want to make films, you need to know about acting, lighting, camera angles, costuming, perhaps special effects, and so forth.

If you want to be a good golfer, you have to know more than just how to drive the ball 400 yards from the tee.

So don’t worry about the advertisement that shows up promising instant success with a long lost secret. Just keep working on what you know you need.