This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Stella Newman is the author of Pear Shaped and Leftovers. You can also read her fantastic Writing Room piece for Novelicious here.
1. Sit your arse down. The hardest thing is starting. So start.
2. Write. Even if it’s bad, just write. Keep writing and you’ll get to the good.
3. Read everything and anything. You can learn as much from bad writing as good.
4. Write what you want to read, not what you think will make money or what you think the market wants. If there is passion and energy and sincerity from the writer, that will shine through on the page.
5. Try to build in time away from the work. It’s very hard to get any perspective when you’re fully immersed in a project – but time away is essential and good things can happen when you temporarily switch focus.