What advice would you give to struggling writers?
First of all, contemplate hard on whether writing is the best way for you to use your talents. You have to enjoy writing and know why it is you want to write before you pursue what can be a challenging career. Read a lot of books, but don’t try and write like someone else. Rather, express who you are. Some writers write because they long to create a blockbuster bestseller. I can’t give advice if that’s the motivation because that isn’t how I think about writing. For me, it is all about quality not quantity. I’m interested only in books that have something worthwhile to say, to contribute to the world, books that have been written with love and devotion. Of course, it’s great when a book sells well and achieves this goal at the same time. There’s nothing better as a writer than reading from others that they have loved your book, that it has made them think and reflect, that it’s beautiful and moved them. Some writers create a plot skeleton before they begin writing a novel. I prefer not to do this. I create the main character(s) first of all, and they drive the plot, they take me on a journey of discovery – a small detail about their character, their interests, their soul, tells me where the plot should go and what the character wants to convey, what his or her message is, who they are. If I don’t get that sort of feedback from the main character(s), I leave that novel and move on to creating other characters with a different story to tell. I would also advise struggling writers not to feel they have to finish a novel quickly once they’ve started it. Sometimes it’s better to shelve it for a while and go back to it. Sometimes it’s not the right time for your characters to speak to you. Sometimes you have to grow just as much as they do!