Sometimes it pays to think of yourself before others. Many of us grew up with the Golden Rule etched into our psyche. And most of us would probably like to think we follow that rule as often as possible. But when it comes to writing, the Golden Rule isn’t of much use. In fact, it can be downright dangerous to our careers, because if we’re trying to please others in our writing, then we’re probably in grave danger of snuffing, or at least damping, our creative spark.