Writing habits

Most of us in the business of writing, publishing, and selling books share a beautiful belief: books are magic. Books have this incredible power to change lives, we know. They offer understanding, compassion, and connection, while at the same time, sweeping us through portals where there are dinosaurs and planets and people both flawed and triumphant.  Read more

In early February, after a month of lockdown, William Sutcliffe wrote on Twitter: "I have been a professional writer for more than twenty years. I have made my living from the resource of my imagination. Last night I had a dream about unloading the dishwasher."  Read more

Award-winning author (and 2019 Women's Prize shortlistee) Diana Evans is one of the judges of our Grazia First Chapter competition this year. To inspire you to put pen to paper, we asked Diana to put together a few writing tips and tricks.

Grandmother did most of her work in bed. She had a special tray with folding legs that served as a desk. She would sit up against a stack of pillows, with a cashmere cardigan over her nightdress, and write longhand on loose sheets of foolscap. Pots of tea were ferried to her by my grandfather, who would have been fully dressed in a tweed jacket and tie and working from his study downstairs.  Read more

It's not that I think you can't be a writer if you don't write every day. It's that I know I can't be a writer if I don't make myself write every day. There are apparently people out there who can write a few days a week, or even a few days a month, and have that result in a book. I envy those people, and if you're one of them, I wish I could be you.