Hannah Richell, author of Secrets of the Tides and her second novel, The Shadow Year (here's our review), gives us her top writing tips.
1. Write for the love of writing, not to get published. Chasing genres and fads won’t work. The market moves too quickly. All you can do is write the story you want to tell – the one you feel most excited by.
2. Take yourself seriously. Set yourself a dedicated writing time and stick to it. Give yourself the best possible chance to produce something you can be proud of.
3. Invest in a good chair – you’re going to be spending A LOT of time sitting in it. (I developed tennis elbow while writing The Shadow Year last year and learned the hard way how important it is to set yourself up right.)
4. Let your ideas lead you and stay open to possibilities. Sometimes the best stories, or the most powerful twists and turns come from an unexpected place.
5. Feed your imagination: read books, go for walks, watch films, study people (surreptitiously), sleep, dream.