How to Write a Best Seller

Back in October 2014, Alison Feeney gleaned the following top tips after talking to Sophie Kinsella. Does this advice still stand, and how well?

1. First, she advises carrying a notebook. Jot down anything that catches your interest. It may become your next novel! This should become a habit.
2. Work with “What if” ~ if you can sense the grain of a story, work on it!
3. Read, read, read. It’s vital if you want to be a writer
4. Don’t write to please someone else. Write something that will please you.
5. It’s a bad idea to talk about what you are writing. Writers can be easily put off by a raised eyebrow or a chance remark and lose confidence in their idea. The minute you put your work out there and ask for opinions, it will just get in the way of your creativity.
6. Finding your voice is sometimes the hardest thing. There may be a few false starts, a few steps down an avenue that is not the right one for you but carry on. Let others worry about what genre it is when your story is complete.
7. Every author gets bored with their work, usually around the middle of the book. Everyone reaches a block of some kind – a plot hole or a scene that makes you cringe, but you’ve got to get to the end. The first draft may be rubbish, but it can be improved; a blank page or screen will get you nowhere. For me, going for a walk, with the dog often results in problems disappearing. Change of scene, fresh air, exercise, whatever it is, if it works for you, use it. (Sad to say, but alcohol does nothing for me in this instance!)