So you’ve got an urge to write a story, to spill your thoughts, ideas, emotions, and the essence of your very soul onto the page. If you don’t do this there is something missing from your life that niggles and eats away at you whispering, ‘You will never be truly happy if you ignore your passion, your calling’.

And so you start a new project, a new story, a new piece of your heart and soul. Where do you start? Do you just dive in and see where the current takes you? Do you plot and plan every detail? Do you sign up to courses to learn how to master the craft correctly before ever writing a single creative word?

No really, I’m asking… for a friend.

Ok stop. Take a breath.

You can’t do all of the things all at once and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Writing a novel is a looooong game, no matter how keen or excited you are to write 10k a day of perfect prose straight off the bat and get it viewed by your readers. So what’s the rush? Sit back and enjoy the process. Take your time, enjoy the view and take the scenic route.

Seriously, this is advice for myself more than anything else.

If there’s too much floating around in your head, or you’re feeling overwhelmed, then make a to-do list of the steps you want to take, in the order you want to take them in order to progress with your work. To-do lists are a tool I use all the time to combat stress and anxiety. It WORKS. I just need to follow them!

I’m writing my new novel for myself, to fulfil the creative yearning I have, with no intention of rushing, or of getting it on front of readers, or even getting it published. At least not YET.

Because when I take the pressure to produce off my shoulders then I can really let the magic happen, and this is when I produce some of my best works, both in literature and art.

Good luck and let me know how you get on!