Ian Rankin — Scottish Writer born on April 28, 1960,

Ian James Rankin, OBE, DL, FRSE is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels... (wikipedia)

You need a great idea, but then you've got to carry it through. If you get it right, you're going to be a critical success. But not everyone who works hard gets it right, or has the success they deserve: there's an element of luck.
I've always written. At the age of six or seven, I would get sheets of A4 paper and fold them in half, cut the edges to make a little eight-page booklet, break it up into squares and put in little stick men with little speech bubbles, and I'd have a spy story, a space story and a football story.
I still think most writers are just kids who refuse to grow up. We're still playing imaginary games, with our imaginary friends.
At all times, think like a writer, and keep those antennae twitching - that way, you pick up new ideas.
I am, of course, a frustrated rock star - I'd much rather be a rock star than a writer. Or own a record shop. Still, it's not a bad life, is it? You just sit at a computer and make stuff up.