"The middle of the book is often a really crucial turning point for a writer. For me, I usually find myself at a crossroad not sure where to turn with the book. I've found that printing out and reading what I've written so far helps me reconnect with the characters so...
"My biggest tip to any writer is to write consistently. I used to say people should write every day, but if you miss a day or two, the guilt starts snowballing. So, now I just say you need to make writing a habit that you stick with. If it's a habit, you train...
"I always read when I'm writing - Stephen King calls it "refilling the word well" - and I often re-read my favorite authors and my favorite books. Finding a chapter or scene I love and really analysing how the author put their sentences and descriptions and paragraphs...
"Have faith in your own story and your own process. When I first started writing I heard talks from authors who’d written practically since they could hold a pencil, and I heard about authors who plotted out entire stories before they wrote a single manuscript word....
"Revision is your friend. Nobody writes a perfect first draft. It's in the rewrites where you turn an ordinary story into something special. Don't be so in love with your words that you're afraid to cut them. If they don't serve the story, they have to go. It doesn't...
"One of the most important things I've learned during my years trying to get published is that things in publishing happen very fast or very, very slowly. Sometimes I was so keen to follow up on a lead or a request that I'd forget to take a deep breath, read through...
"Figure out what kind of story you want to tell and stick to it. Cross too many genre barriers and the booksellers won't know where to shelve you. Begin as you mean to continue. If you start out with snarky comedy, don't end up with a chainsaw toting serial killer....
"Don't worry about the distractions. I don't mean telling the kids not to interrupt your writing time unless there is fire or blood. I mean the writing-borne distractions. Don't spend your time worrying about the perfect opening line or scene, the perfect title, the...
"Celebrate everything. Probably seems like a strange writing tip, but in this business we take a lot of knocks and hard hits. It’s important to keep your spirits up, and one way to do that is to keep a bottle of champagne (or whatever you celebrate with) handy at all...
