“Procrastination is the ultimate laziness,” said Dr Johnson. He wasn’t kidding. So stop procrastinating and write that book. Plan the Story first. Ten chapters should suffice for a short story or novel. More chapters can be added later. Draft a rough outline of each chapter in four to five lines. Only jot down the key elements. This provides a useful starting point to work from.

Develop a sales pitch/blurb to the editor to promote the story. This adds impetus to story writing and inspiration for the synopsis.

“Yes, I can write but it’s not good enough to publish.” Funnily, many good writers have said this, but admit, other published literature isn’t half as good as the stuff they’ve penned themselves. Abolish this negative idea, otherwise nothing will ever materialise. So get it down on paper or if working on a computer, saved as a Word file. Don’t worry about correct grammar, at the first draft stage. Creativity is the key thing. It’s better to edit text on completion of the story. In most cases, a second re-write is vastly superior.

When writing, start the story with a thunderclap phrase to hook the reader from the word go. Don’t begin with a drab sentence like:

Strange as it may seem, the other day… This waffles and won’t snare a reader.

Instead, begin with something like:

I could have died when… This is far better and dramatic.

Give the story a mission. What is the hero or heroine’s goal? How do events affect the characters? Find out how to develop gripping narrative and dialogue. Real life experience helps to portray incidents. For instance, having a baby, facing up to an operation or involvement in a road accident. Research for technical accuracy to add realism. If writing a story set in the past, find out what everyday life was like. How did people travel, what did they earn, what did they eat etc.

Completion of a story is incredibly rewarding, so write that book, now.