Like all novelists I am often asked for writing advice. I genuinely find it hard to give writing advice. I have no idea of how to explain which bits of what I do would be useful for anyone else. But here are some random thoughts, in case any of them resonate.

I suppose first and most obviously you need to know why and what you are writing. I have been messaged before with people saying ‘how do I get motivated to write?’ And I genuinely think if you have no answer to that then writing may not be the thing for you.

Writing is imperfection. ‘Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor’ said Anne Lamott. And oppressors are bad. To be creative is to be fearlessly imperfect, and shamelessly willing to fail. And paradoxically that is how any success that comes our way actually happens.

Write what doesn’t exist. Writing what already exists is pointless. The best reason to write a book is because you really want to read it and you can’t because no-one has written it.

Ignore anyone who says write for the market. Don’t write for the market. Write for you. Write for your best friend. Write for the ghost of Ursula K Le Guin. But don’t write for the market because the market is unknowable. Create your own market.

Don’t be scared of saying ‘she said’. Nothing worse than when you can feel the thesaurus groaning under the pressure. ‘She stated/rejoined/declared.’ These are all fine words but don’t use them just to avoid ‘said’. Said doesn’t get in the way. Said disappears.

Write without trying to be a Writer. When I used to start writing I would get stage-fright. I thought I needed to dazzle with my literary credentials in every sentence. The result was writing that got in the way. Writing is the window on a story. Don’t overcloud that glass.

Don’t be scared of inventing your own conventions. While being over-pretentious is always a bad look, creativity is about new things. If one word chapters are in line with your story go for one word chapters.

Do not bore yourself. Don’t do things because they are expected. Ignore genre confines. Ignore earnest for the sake of earnest. Have fun. Love writing and put that seed of love in each word and that love will infect the reader and you will be happy and the reader will be happy.

Ultimately, never be tempted to write Twitter threads when you should be writing your new book.