Blog

This week, the lovely Linda Davies – author of the fantastic Longbow Girl – shares her top tips for aspiring authors!

What would be your five top tips to budding writers?

1. Write about what excites you. If you find it exciting, other people will too.

2. Read a lot. Figure out what makes you enjoy particular books and apply some of those techniques in your own writing.

3. Daydream to get ideas and inspiration. Ask yourself ‘what if?’ and answer your own question.

4. Immerse yourself in your fictional world. Imagine what it feels like, sounds like, tastes like, smells like. Be there yourself and take your readers there with you.

5. When it’s time to edit your work, always read aloud what you have written. You will find mistakes in it or poor uses of words that you wouldn't if you just read it silently.

What would your five top tips to NOT DO when writing a book?

1. Don't wait until you find the perfect beginning. You never will! Just start, get on with it and the ideas will flow.

2. Don’t edit at the same time as writing. It gets in the way of your flow and stifles confidence and creativity. Wait until you’ve finished the first draft.

3. Don’t stop when you’re in the zone. If you can’t find the perfect word or the relevant fact, just keep going and come back to fill it in later.

4. Don’t follow trends or fashions in writing. Write what excites and interests you!

5. Don’t be put off by people telling you how hard it is to be a writer. If you love it, persevere!

What would be your best tip to encourage budding writers to write something every day?

Sometimes the best ideas come very inconvenient times. Always keep a notebook on you so that when you get ideas you can jot them down. Failing that, you can record voice memos into your phone or send yourself a text message. It’s so easy to forget good ideas if you don't record them. Then when you have time to write, you’ve got the basics already.

If you feel short of inspiration, take an everyday event and twist it. When a neighbour you've never liked drives past, ask yourself, ‘what if there were a body in the boot of his car …?’ Close your eyes and let your mind see. Have fun with your writing.

Follow Linda on Twitter or read the first chapter of Longbow Girl!