And it will be…some of the time. The moment an idea strikes is exciting. When a book is accepted for publication the feeling is impossible to describe. It’s beyond wonderful. And neither of these things change. The bit in the middle…the writing? That’s hard, dedicated work. Tubs of bum-glue required. There are no short cuts. Sure you can plan, and that does help, but those characters are going to take over at some point. Just don’t allow them to run wild! There are always numerous twists and turns available. It’s up to you to choose the best route.

Be prepared to do a lot of polishing on that first draft. It’s a great achievement to finish a book, but in many ways that’s just the start of the process. You have your story down. Now you have to make it both accessible and entertaining for the reader. Be tough on yourself, and especially on those ‘pet’ phrases. Are they clever and effective, or just clever? If they don’t add anything to your story, get rid of them. They may work somewhere else.

Writing is like acting. Put on the costume and live each role with absolute sincerity. And don’t forget to have fun!

I’m going to be a week behind you as I have some polishing to do on the book I’m working on now, but I will be experiencing the same rush of excitement when I face that blank screen, the same period of head-scratching, and the same frustration when it seems I’ve dug myself in to a hole. But we will dig ourselves out, and even if we have too scrap as many as 5, 10, 15, or even 20 thousand words – or heck, if we have to scrap the entire thing and start again, we will, because that’s what we do.

Courage mes braves! No one said this would be easy, but it can, and should be, one of the most thrilling activities you will ever engage in. Go forth and enjoy! And write write write!

My love and best wishes for huge success to all the writers and readers out there. We’re interdependent, and so we should be and in fact we are that very best of things: a team!

Susan xx