Why do you believe forming consistent writing habits is crucial for writers, and how can it impact their creative process?

I think anyone who aims to take their writing seriously must develop a habit of writing regularly, even if, as is usually the case for beginning writers, they have to carve out time for it around the day job.

A regular writing habit helps you to keep in touch with your work and that can help to stimulate creativity. If you can write regularly you’re less likely to lose the flow and have to pick up from scratch.

How do writing habits vary from person to person, and what factors influence these differences?

Gosh, big question! I suspect there are as many different writing habits as there are writers. Some are morning people and some prefer to write through the dark watches of the night. Some like to be solitary and some enjoy writing at a café table. Your circumstances are bound to affect your writing habit – if you have three children under five you’re unlikely to able to retreat to a cabin at the bottom of the garden for eight hours a day! I think the key is to experiment when you’re just beginning to write, to find what works best for you and then try to stick to it.

Could you walk us through your personal writing routine? Are there specific rituals or practices you rely on to stay productive?

I am a definite morning person. I work best when I can write in the morning and then do reading or research later in the day. I wouldn’t say I have rituals, unless you want to class coffee as a ritual. I do need a very large mug of coffee to stimulate my brain. I do prefer to write in short ‘bites’ of around 20 minutes or so, then take a ten minute break (short walk, quick spin around Vinted) before resuming. I find writing a novel less daunting when broken down that way. All that said, just between ourselves, I am a mistress of procrastination and usually end up writing for hours a day to meet deadlines. I don’t recommend it!

Do you have a dedicated writing space or a favourite location where you feel most inspired to write? How does your environment shape your creativity?

These days I write in my own study. I have a lovely writing table (which used to be my kitchen table) and a south-facing window with a fascinating tree outside it. Just an ordinary street tree but also its own little eco-system and every day different visitors: bluetits, magpies, squirrels and sometimes jays, which are a real treat. I am surrounded by my reference books so don’t have to go far to look things up when I need to and I have a cork board in front of me covered in all sorts of inspirational clutter from an encouraging message from Andrew Motion when he was my tutor at UEA to my ticket to the final day of the Ashes Test at Old Trafford on the 15 August 2005 (If you weren’t there, I can’t explain). I haven’t always had my own writing space so I do treasure it now I have and I know it helps me to write more systematically and habitually.

Motivation can be elusive for many writers. How do you find and sustain motivation, especially during challenging or uninspired moments?

The easy answer to this is that you write through it. A part of me is with Bernard Cornwell, who says there’s no more a writer’s block than a nurse’s or a truck driver’s block. Writing is a job like any other and you get on with it. But, I stopped writing completely in my teens and didn’t come back to it until I was in my mid-thirties and I still have no real idea why. So I think we must respect the fact that motivation can be difficult for writers. For some, Cornwell’s ‘boot camp’ approach might work but others need more in the way of kindness and self-care. I tend to trust the process, to remind myself that the motivation will come back and walk away, for five minutes or a week, whatever I need. I find physical activity (walking, swimming) helps to clear my head and also that reading can get me back on track. Sometimes a phrase will stand out on the page and point me where I want to go.

When starting a new writing project, what’s your first step? How do you approach the initial stages of a project to set yourself up for success?

Over the years I’ve learnt that the best way to start any writing project is to give yourself permission to write rubbish. The most daunting thing any writer faces is the blank page or screen. Once there are some words on it, you are editing, and that is so much easier than inventing words in the first place. I think that would be my piece of advice that applies to all writing projects, whether an academic essay or a novel. Write a rubbish first draft. In terms of my own books, each one has begun differently, depending on what was needed in the way of preparation. Sometimes I plan meticulously and sometimes I just start to write, finding the project itself tells me how it needs to be written. I think the best way to set yourself up for success is to be prepared to fail, to know that hundreds or thousands of words will be discarded before you feel your way to the ones that are just right. This doubtless sounds disheartening, but also remember that nothing you write goes to waste. If a character doesn’t fit in one story, they might well find a home in another. If a piece of dialogue sounds leaden in one context it may be full of wit in another. Writers are great recyclers.

Are there any go-to writing prompts or exercises you return to regularly to spark creativity or overcome writer’s block?

As I’ve said, I’m in two minds about writers’ block, but there are certainly processes I use to help me when I’m feeling a bit stale. Getting away from my desk is one, reading is another. In terms of prompts, I do find the Stanislavski questions I’ve included in The Writing Life both useful and entertaining. For a novelist, character motivation is key, and I can use those questions to get me back in touch with it if I’ve lost my way.

What final piece of advice or encouragement would you offer to writers who are looking to develop their craft and establish lasting writing habits?

Keep at it and don’t look down.

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