Have you always wanted to write a novel? Whether you want to write your own life story, or a romance or a fast-paced thriller, you are not alone! Apparently about 82% of people aspire to write a novel or a book of some kind. If writing a novel is something you have always wanted to do, don’t think you can’t do it—just begin writing, even if you don’t know where the story will end up! 

If you can’t think of a great story line, or a good beginning, that’s fine – and normal! The way I began my very first book, A Scandal at Delford, was really quite random; I had all kinds of excuses NOT to write: I was too busy, I didn’t have any good ideas, I didn’t have the stamina. But one day just after I turned 50, I just decided I had had enough of putting it off because I lacked a great story line and the confidence to start. So I sat down and opened Word, thought about what I might like to read, and I simply wrote a few sentences.

Then the next day I added a few more. Then a few more. And so on. There was no pressure, I just committed to writing a paragraph a day. Before long, I had several pages, but I think it was several chapters in before I began to think about where it might go. And that I might actually be able to write a whole novel. I didn’t know that for sure, but I knew one thing; the most important thing to do is to begin.

I’ll post regularly with hints for would-be writers, and I can only encourage anyone who has a dream of writing, to stop putting it off, go sit down with your pen or your PC, and bring up a blank page….and write one sentence, one that you like, one that makes you happy. Then add another. And another. That’s your first draft, and the feeling when you have finished it is worth all the discomfort of facing that first blank page before you have begun!

My first novel!
A Scandal at Delford

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