All writers are asked about their working methods, and I always find it interesting to know how other writers approach their work. So I thought I would give you an idea of how I work, in the hope that you might be able to pick up some tips for your own stories.

1. It's a good idea to always carry a small notebook. No need for a posh one with marbled covers. A small cheap one that will fit into the smallest pocket or bag will do. You could be on a bus or in a club or walking home from school or college when you have an idea. It's so easy to forget them if you don't make a note. I write down bits of conversation too, or random thoughts and phrases. Hanging around, watching and listening is all good.
2. Daydreaming is not a waste of time.
3. Don't be satisfied with the first idea, nor with the first word that comes into your head. See if you can twist an idea. Hold it up to the light and look at it afresh. There is ALWAYS a better way.
4. Some writers don't make plans but I think it makes writing easier. When I was at school and university I discovered that if I planned my essays really carefully - point leading on to point leading on to point, like a route map - it made the actual writing MUCH easier.
5. When I became a journalist I applied the same principles. I'd write down MAIN POINTS, and try to decide what the nugget was. (You know - when people pitch for movies, they have to sum up the plot in one sentence. Same idea). Then I would number paragraphs with a different point in each one. Then think of a cracking beginning since you have to grab a reader when your words are surrounded by thousands of others in a newspaper or magazine. A resounding ending ... and there you are! If you miss out this planning stage .... well, you're likely to flounder all over the place.
6. Did you know that the most ancient structure for writing is three part? Three acts to a play, for example.
   Beginning, middle and end.
   Opening, exposition, denouement.
   Inciting incident, development, conclusion.
   That probably sounds very obvious, but it can help you with creative writing.
7. I plan stories and novels as carefully as I plan articles. Some writers say that they like to let it flow, and that their characters 'take over'. But the trouble is, that can lead into the wilderness with no map.
   Do you ever start a story well, then wonder where on earth it is going and how you are going to end it?
   That's probably because you didn't take the extra time to plan.
   Sometimes people ask how long it takes me to write a volume of Kitty stories. I say I can write one in just over a week BUT it takes me about three weeks (or more) to plan the whole book.
8. Remember that nothing you ever write is ever as good on the page as it was in your head.
   Here is a quote from the playwright and poet Samuel Becket, to give you consolation. I carry it in my head, my notebook, and in my heart: