My Top Five Writing Tips

On my publisher’s blog this week, I talk about my passion for historical fiction and share a few insights into how I write my books.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with historical fiction. As a child, I always had my nose in a book, even when I was supposed to be doing something else, like homework. The Count of Monte Cristo was my number one favourite, with its dark themes of revenge and ultimate forgiveness. The Three Musketeers was a close second, with its astonishing friendship and swashbuckling adventures. Dumas has an incredible ability to transport you back in time and capture your imagination and I couldn’t get enough. When I was a little older, I discovered one of his lesser known novels, The Companions of Jehu, and it led to an obsession with Napoleonic history that lasted a lifetime, and a university degree. At university, I realised there was only one thing better than reading historical fiction, and that’s writing it.

Every writer is different and what works for one person might not work for others, but here are five tips that always help me when I’m writing.