1. Read and study books that are in the same genre you want to write in (that you think are well written) to see how they open and close chapters, how they describe things, how they introduce characters etc.
N.B. We are talking about the learning the skills of story-structure here, not suggesting that you copy or steal other people’s characters or plotlines etc.!

2. Find a place to write where you feel comfortable – at the kitchen table with paper and pen, in an office situation with a desktop computer, in bed in your pyjamas with a laptop - in the garden shed with six sharpened pencils and a blanket. All writers are different - do what suits you.

3. Get started – write an opening scene/chapter, and - as early as you possibly can - introduce your readers to the main characters and describe them. In most novels (there are exceptions to every rule) we need to know character’s sex, age, hair colour, class etc., early on to build up a picture.

4. Write in double-space, with a size 12 clear font such as Times New Roman or Arial and number pages. Use Spellchecker if you are writing straight on to a computer for any spellings you are unsure of.

5. When using dialogue, take a new paragraph for each character, so the reader is clear who is speaking.

6. It’s often good to start with your characters having some sort of conflict or dilemma or having them mulling over a decision they have to make.

7. As you progress with your own book, keep reading for pleasure as it will constantly open your mind to new turns of phrases, ways of description etc. Take note of any clever devices the writer uses.

8. Describe important settings in detail and describe mannerisms of characters, so we can picture people and scenes in our minds.

9 Write as regularly as your personal situation allows. You have to keep the momentum up. You must make the time to write as it will simply disappear on other things and you will lose track of your ideas. It doesn’t have to be every day at a certain time, but it’s best to plan regular periods that you know you will be free to write and stick to it.

10. Don’t waste time constantly reading back through your script to remind yourself of details. Instead open a new file entitled something like Notes/Research and put details of new characters as they come into the story (with page numbers) and use it to remind you of the description of characters (so that you don’t change their eyes from brown to blue or hair from red to blonde).
Use the same file for any research details you can check up on at a later date.

11 After you’ve written a few pages, read back over your most recent work for any obvious spelling, grammatical mistakes etc., as it is often much clearer when you come back to it fresh. If you have done your best with grammar etc. don’t agonise over it and waste time. If a story is original and a page-turner, an editor will be more than happy to iron out any small writing errors. Many famous writers had little formal education – Catherine Cookson for one.

12. When a sudden idea pops into your head go with it – they often turn out to be the best kind. A surprise for the writer is a surprise for the reader.
Example: - In Tara’s Fortune a character suddenly dies. When that idea popped into my mind I went along with it, and discovered that the dramatic scene changed the course of the main character’s life, which is exactly what the novel needed at that point.

13. If you get stuck at a particular scene and can’t think of anything interesting or exciting to write next – go onto another scene you know you can write easily. While you’re writing that, something else may well come into your mind for the first scene. Just think of it as doing a jig- saw puzzle. When a piece of writing becomes laboured and slow, move onto another piece. I find this especially helpful when I’m writing about several major characters, because if I get stuck with one, I can usually think of what’s coming next in the story with another.

14. When you get well into your book, you may then want to start checking up on research details. The internet is wonderful for this, but don’t take everything as fact – check, check and check again.

14. Don’t get hung up on other people’s writing habits – develop your own. If you write best late at night that’s fine. I start writing most mornings, but every day is different and I am often writing until midnight depending on my energy.

15. Don’t let your ending let you down: If you’ve worked hard on the rest of the book, make sure you put as much thought into your ending. Don’t rush it just to get the book finished (which is a great temptation!) – the ending is the last impression of the book that your reader is left with. Give a few twists and turns in the last few chapters so that the ending is not too obvious or predictable.

Well done for finishing a book. It’s a great achievement!

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