EITHNE’S TOP TIPS

1 Write in the morning I try and do two hours first thing every day. I find my brain is fresher then, and I’m getting the words down before ‘the fear’ sets in – those self-doubts that make you question yourself.

2 Be disciplined When you’re writing, put your phone away or on aeroplane mode, and avoid social media – particularly looking at authors on Twitter. Knowing what other people are doing can be helpful, but when you’re trying to concentrate and you see they’re blitzing their word count while you’re staring at a blank screen, it can often have the opposite effect.

3 Focus on the task in hand It’s easy to sit and daydream about an advance or someone buying the film rights to your novel. But that won’t get the words on the page! Concentrate on writing the best book you can before you consider approaching agents and publishers.