What tips can you give the aspiring writer for the beginning of the year?
I have just one tip which I believe is the key: find how to incorporate writing into your daily routine.
Whether it's half an hour on the train en-route to work, or an hour before going to work, or every evening for several hours, or just ten minutes at lunchtime – it really doesn't matter. And to start with what you write doesn't matter. You might begin with research notes. Experiment. Read about other writers and their routines, particularly how and when they wrote before making enough money to write full time.
Look at what you can cut out of your life to make time: friends moaning, friends partying, too much time on Facebook, too much time in front of the telly. Be ruthless. The beginning of the year is ideal for making changes as we tend to hibernate and reflect.
Think about how you will write: on your iPad? In a notebook? On a secret file on your work computer? Experiment.
Once you find what works for you and your mind knows that every day it will be tuning into writing mode, then you can set out to find what you want to write.
The next step is discovering what gets a response (but not from friends and family). Is it one liners on twitter? An irreverent blog that gets lots of hits? A short story that wins a competition? A short script that a director wants to film? An assignment for a writing course that gets the best feedback from the professional writer/tutor? Again: Experiment. Try different forms of writing.
Into your routine add time to go on courses and learn, and time to connect with other writers.
What’s that daily something you have to have every single day, that something you really look forward to and savour? For many of us it's that first coffee. This is your benchmark for how it will feel when writing becomes a loved part of your day: an enjoyable addiction.
'an enjoyable addiction'
Lorna V’s next three day workshop at the London School of Journalism is in March. Follow her on twitter: @LornaVwriter
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Photograph: Annabelle Carvell