Still midway through the book? Or stuck on your first version? Or it’s still sitting unfinished. Oh boy does it take a lot of real grit to finish a book. Starting is the fun bit. I start with great enthusiasm and a spring in my step. Its really fun getting all the information into the right place and doing the interviews and research. 

YOU WANT TO FINISH? Stick to these rules 1. Set a deadline to start ... this means to stop plotting and planning and start writing. This means starting your story at page 1, and not turning back again. 2. Have targets that are outcomes-based not hours-based. Many writers say they will write for an hour a day. On my mentorships I set targets at 25,000 words a month. 3. Set a realistic deadline to complete your first draft of the book. Then stick to it. A good goal is to h

Writing can truly change your life. You have heard this before, right? Writing all of mine changed my life in very unexpected ways.  Hint - it wasn't ever about my bank balance. So often we think the endgame of writing a book is becoming an author or having a bestseller. Well, most of my authors find the real reward is so much more intangible and subtle. One thing I do know after 20 years in the book business is that it is absolutely never about money. Writing is not often

I always used to tell writers NOT to write about themselves. For years and years. This was in the interests of cultivating good fiction authors. And before memoir stormed the charts. I still believe you shouldn't.... but that's for FICTION (or a novel). Because if you write about yourself in fiction, you really only have one story to tell. It is also a totally misunderstood maxim of writing that you must ‘write what you know.’ Many writers misinterpret this to mean – write ab