Blog

Lucy Inglis is the author of two fantastic Chicken House novels: thrilling fantasy City of Halves and epic romance Crow Mountain. She shares her top writing tips – #TimesChickenHouse entrants, take note! 

What would be your five top tips to budding writers?

1. BELIEVE. You can do it. Just write.

2. Be good to people. Publishing is a business built on nice people who like books.

3. Have more than one idea.

4. Decide if living on an unreliable income is worth it.

5. Love stories. Love your own and love other people’s.

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

1. Get stalled. You can go back and fix it, but just keep going.

2. Talk about it. People care about the journey your story will take them on, not about how amazing a character is in your head.

3. Forget to exercise. We’ve all done it, but don’t do it!

4. Be in love with your characters to extent that you let them do what they like.

5. See number 1.

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

If you can’t move forward on plot, pick a character and build a CV for them. Get to know them upside down and inside out. Get to know them to the point that you could answer for them in a job interview or on a speed date. You should know what’s in their pockets and what they think about at the bus stop, even if they’re actually a dragon rider in real life.

Follow Lucy on Twitter or read the first chapter of Crow Mountain!