Giovanna Fletcher

It’s day thirty and the last day of National Novel Writing Month. Giovanna Fletcher, the author of Billy and Me offers advice about first drafts and sitting down to write… 

Realise that you will occasionally look at what you’ve written and think it’s crap. Don’t panic at that. Just sit down and write. You will get distracted, it’s inevitable, just make sure you give yourself a good telling off and get back to work. Give yourself a target word count everyday. Something realistic and achievable. My target is 1,500 a day – that might seem a small amount to some people, but it works for me.

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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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We’re into the last week of National Novel Writing Month and on day twenty-four, Margaret James, the author of The Wedding Diary and The Silver Locket joins us to talk about creating good supporting characters….

Make sure your supporting characters add interest and depth to the central story, as opposed to start telling a story of their own, distracting the reader from the fates of the hero and heroine and splitting your story in two.

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Jill Mansell is the best-selling author of Don’t Want To Miss a Thing and Rumour Has It. She joins us on day twenty-three of NaNoWriMo to talk about what makes a perfect hero….

A perfect hero? Easy – all the good aspects and none of the less enticing ones that real men tend to have! Seriously, just make the hero someone you would LOVE to meet, both physically and mentally. But most of all, give him a charismatic personality. Identikit characters let down so many otherwise well written books. And good luck to everyone doing NaNoWriMo!

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It’s day twenty one of National Novel Writing Month. Talli Roland, the author of Last Christmas and The Pollyanna Plan, chats about finding the time to write… 

With a young baby and masses of deadlines heading my way, finding the time – or making the time – to write has become of critical importance. For me, setting targets and creating a routine is the only way to do it. If I don’t schedule in the writing hours, I know they won’t happen! Whether it’s getting up at five in morning or squeezing in a few words before bedtime, I love ending the day feeling like I’ve accomplished my goal.

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It’s day twenty of National Novel Writing Month. Paige Toon, the author of Johnny’s Girl and The Longest Holiday talks about the internal editor….

If I let my internal editor take over, I would never write a book a year – let alone two. It used to take me more time to write the first fifth of my books than the entire rest of it – mainly because I kept reading over that first fifth again and again, editing it over and over, instead of letting my thoughts flow through to the rest of the book. Far better to push on and come back to the early stuff later when you have a much better overall view of what the book needs. Of course, it’s easier said than done. I’m still a total control freak!

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Chrissie Manby

Chrissie Manby, author of Flatmates and Kate’s Wedding, joins us for day nineteen of our NaNoWriMo Author Advice. She tells us about the most important thing to remember when writing a first draft…

The most important thing to remember is that we live in a digital age. You don’t have to worry about saving paper. Stick down every sh*tty sentence that comes into your head. Write, write, write and edit afterwards. Editing as you go will only slow you down.

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