Breaks away

Getting away from it all is great for the creative juices. If you have a nagging problem at the start, give yourself a couple of days to work it though, but then bin it! Try not to waste your creative energy.

Bury your first book

This advice came from top literary agent Jonathan Lloyd. He says your first novel is where you make mistakes, a learning ground, and sometimes first attempts should never see the light of day. Your second novel will be better and you can always resurrect the first if you need to.

Be specific

The more detailed your description the clearer the picture. The car or the red hatchback with the cracked windscreen? But remember don't make them long or it will slow your story down.

Do no harm

When you edit how do you know what you should change? Severe cutting can ruin a scene. A good motto to keep in mind is - do no harm!

Competitions

Entering competitions are good for three reasons. 1. You will be forced to edit your work rigourously, check spellings and punctuation. 2. The deadline is immutable, and you have to stop. 3. Getting placed, even a commended or highly commended is good for the writing CV.

Characters on track

It’s important to make sure your characters don’t act in ways that make your readers lose sympathy with them. It is not always easy to identify but they certainly will feel something is not quite right. You can pre-empt this by asking, would my character really do that/say this?

Character is everything

How well do you know your characters? The answer should be - better than myself. Certainly your protagonist must feel as real as your best friend. The best novels have unforgettable people, sometimes doing ordinary things sometimes not, but creating the 'being in their skin' feeling is every writer's goal.