In an interview on Creative Writing

Sounds useful. Which book would you like to talk about next?

“Wannabe a Writer” by Jane Wenham-Jones. Jane’s a friend of mine and there’s a foreword by Katie Fforde, another friend. We all know each other through something called the Romantic Novelists’ Association where published authors give advice to those who are not published. So Jane is well-versed in sharing her knowledge. She talks about what it was like for her to become a writer and how it might be for other people and if people think they’ve got a book in them how to know if it’s a good book. She goes into good discipline, how to write when there’s no time, plotting, whether to plan or not, growing a novel in a folder, all this sort of stuff, so it’s very, very practical. She’s a great character Jane. She’s a novelist and a journalist. Her book also gives loads of tips from other authors, agents and publishers: where to start, how to finish, will anyone publish it and so on.

Would you agree it’s quite humorous, with all her drinking antics, talk of “writers’ bottom”…

It is yes. It is very funny. She talks about writing as therapy and waste not want not, or, what to do with stuff that’s been written and rejected. It’s a good guide and it’s something you can dip into.