Welcome

I’m trying something new this year. Writing a novel in 8 weeks. True, it’s a short novel, only two hundred pages. That’s around 60,000 words. It’s perfectly possible to write a first draft at around 1,000 words an hour. That’s sixty hours. Too many numbers for you?

I have two big plans in mind. I’ve been a professional trainer for 13 years or so, but I have never taught writers. Yet I started writing for fun aged 10, sold a short story at 18, and got some really, really, really positive rejections from HarperCollins and Macmillan. Then life got in the way.

I feel like I’ve done enough writing courses, residential and online, bought (and read) enough writing books to give you all the theory you need. But that means I know just as well as you that these are all procrastination activities. There is only one way to write a book: one word at a time. One sentence, then one paragraph, then one page, then one chapter. That is the only way. Period.

The biggest single problem I ever had as a writer was making the time, being efficient, and motivating myself in the face of a thousand other urgent tasks that needed doing in my ‘real’ life. Lockdown has shown me a new way: a way that means you can have it all. You can get all your other stuff done and still find time to write. Start with fifteen minutes today, and just write about your day. If you can do that several times a week, try to make it a daily task. That is the single way to write a novel: you need to make the habit, and forming any habit does take time. Like a diet, a ‘big bang’ approach will not work for most people. See you back here in a week!

I am gearing up to running my first online webinars and on-demand courses. Both options are going live on 2nd April. I’m aiming to do a webcast every two weeks through to late May. If you like the sound of that, sign up below to grab your free overview of what I’ll be covering. I will ping you nearer the big day with more details, and a free writing tip every week!