On day twenty-nine of National Novel Writing Month, Jon Rance, the author of Happy Endings, joins us to talk about the internal editor… 

There’s a reason why publishers have editors and why every writer needs one. Because it’s a different job than being a writer. The same applies when we’re writing a novel. Writing is writing, it’s creative and visceral. It’s the difference between designing a house and building one. When you’re writing, be a writer. When you’re editing, be an editor, but never confuse the two. 

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Jane Fallon

Jane Fallon joins us for day twenty-eight of our NaNoWriMo Author Advice. Jane’s books include Getting Rid of Matthew and Foursome. Her new book, Skeletons, is out next year. Jane gives us her five tips for new writers. 

1. Keep moving forward. Don’t get stuck editing the same passage over and over again. There’s time for that later. I think that a first draft is all about getting the whole story down on paper as quickly as you can, and then sitting back and assessing what you’ve got.

2. If you have a block write through it. Don’t give up because you are stuck on a passage that’s going to be difficult to write. Write a version of it, however bad. Eventually you’ll hit a point where the story flows again. And then it’ll be easy to go back and rewrite.

3. Don’t think you have to write in perfect, grammatically correct, English. You’re Continue reading →

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We’re almost at the end of National Novel Writing Month. Today, Trisha Ashley, who’s latest book, Wish Upon a Star was released by Avon earlier this month, talks about finding your muse. 

As readers of my newsletter know, Muse slipped into my head and took up residence while I was reading Paradise Lost at school and then refused to leave. At the time I took him at face value, but I’m pretty sure now he isn’t a real muse at all, because he’s male, steely-blue, wears a lot of leather, is winged, has talons and is devilishly handsome, if you like that kind of thing. Everyone else seems to have a fairly useful female Muse, but no – I have to be landed with a creature who needs to be arm-wrestled into submission every morning.
But then, that’s not such a bad thing, because there’s no point in wafting around looking soulful and waiting for the  Muse of Inspiration to stop flitting round the room and  land.  No – get a firm grip and tell him or her to jolly well get on with it, and then soon the only thing flying will be your novel.

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Lisa Jewell joins us for day twenty-six. The author of Ralph’s Party and The House We Grew Up In, talks about finding the discipline to write…

It’s taken me many years and many books to get to the point where I could call myself a disciplined writer and the turning point for me was when I realised I couldn’t work anywhere with broadband or wifi. So now I take my laptop to a cafe to write every day, just for two to two and a half hours. I have yet to have a day when I didn’t get to my 1000 word goal. Sometimes I even finish early and go and mooch around the shops for a while. It’s all about knowing your own limitations and working around them. It’s also about routine. The best gift for a hard-working novelist is for every day to be the same as the last!

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• NaNoWriMo Author Advice: Day Twenty-Five

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Fiona Walker, the author of The Summer Wedding and The Love Letter joins us for day twenty-five of National Novel Writing Month. She’s discussing Character vs. Plot.

I’d say that characters are more important than plot because it’s really good, believable characters that ultimately create plot. That said, you need a strong kernel of a structural idea to place the characters into from the start – it can be a simple as two contrasting characters falling in love, meeting after a long absence, both wanting the same thing that only one can have etc. I find that if my characters aren’t established enough, the plot tend to become more and more extreme and farcical to try to keep the reader engaged, whereas really loveable, rounded characters should achieve that engagement in the first place

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