Very often I’m asked for writing advice. So here are my top tips.

Read. If you want to write well, you have to read. It will widen your vocabulary, and you’ll learn how good stories are told, as well as different ways of writing. Make notes on the books you love, and the books you don’t. What is it about them that made you feel the way you did when you read them?

Practise. Get into the habit of writing. Whether it’s keeping a diary or writing short stories, practise as much as you can. Look back over your work and see how you can improve it.

Write what you care about. If you’re passionate about your work it will show.

Show, don’t tell. Instead of writing ‘Tanya was angry’ show that Tanya is angry: Tanya stamped up the stairs and kicked the bedroom door open. “How could you do that to me?” she yelled. Showing conjures stronger emotions and images in a reader’s mind than telling, and it’s far more exciting.

Type your writing up. It’s easier to read it back to yourself, and to view it more objectively than if it’s handwritten. It’s also easier to correct mistakes and re-write.

Share your work with family and friends, or even start a writing group. Try to take feedback onboard as this will improve your writing – if the same comments come from more than one person, pay attention to them.

Less is more. Keep the story moving and resist being too self-indulgent. If something doesn’t add to character development or plot, leave it out.

Get your work out there. Enter writing competitions, or put your work forward for your school/college/local newspaper or creative writing magazine - or even start one of your own. It’s great practise and will give you a sense of achievement if your work wins a prize or is selected for publication.

Keep trying. Don’t expect immediate success, it can take time. Enjoy writing and have fun with it.

This page is for the questions I get asked most frequently. If you have a question on writing that’s not here, email me and I’ll try to answer it. (Don’t worry, I’ll keep it anonymous!)

I find it really hard to write conversations and proceed after a few pages. How can I get past this?

Conversations can be a bit tricky to start with. One of the best tips I’ve heard is to say the words you’ve written aloud. They should sound natural, as if a real person would use them. Also, conversations should usually move the story forward in some way. For example, a character might overhear a crime being plotted, find out that someone they trust has been lying to them, or be told a really good, or bad piece of news. Through conversation you can show what your characters are like by what they say, and how they say it. If they’re a shy person, they might whisper, and say ‘Er, um . . .’ a lot. Or if they’re a bully they might shout, or hiss their words. Some stories start with a conversation and fill in the background details later on. Maybe you could try this. Then that way, you’ve already dealt with the part you find hardest straight away.

I have lots of story ideas but when I start to write them I lose interest, or give up halfway through. Is there any remedy?

There are a couple of things you could try. Firstly, when you get to the point where you lose interest you could just leave it a while and move on to something different. Then when you come back to the original story and look at it afresh you might see a way to take it forward. Or you could try and figure out why you've lost interest. Is it something about the story that isn't working? If so, try changing bits or injecting a new twist. Maybe one of the characters could do something completely unexpected. I find that if I have some idea of how I want the story to end before it begins, it encourages me to carry on with it. Try to finish the story then fix it afterwards - it easier once you have something to work with.

I want to write but every time I do my work seems silly. How can I overcome this?

Most writers have niggly feelings of self-doubt at first (and even after being published). One good tip to keep in mind is that if you think your work is brilliant from the start, it usually isn't, so having doubts is normal! Remember that you don't have to show anyone your writing until you're ready, and just concentrate on getting the whole story, poem or idea down. Then you can work on it to improve it. A good way to be objective if you feel this way is to type it rather than write it. Typing looks much more professional and you can imagine that ANYONE wrote it, whereas handwriting is very personal to you and harder to distance yourself from.

Are there ways to keep your ideas flow active? Sometimes I have surges of them, and other times I don't have any at all.

Ideas work differently for different people. Some writers find it helps to keep an ideas book to jot things down for future reference. This way you've always got a source to draw from at times when ideas are more scarce. Ideas can come from anywhere: dreams, fragments of overheard conversation, newpaper articles, books, people, pictures - anything that fires your imagination or makes you ask questions.

For advice on getting published I strongly recommend getting a copy of The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, or visiting their website here. It tells you everything you need to know from how to prepare and submit a manuscript, to full listings of literary agents and publishers in the UK and overseas.

My personal tips for getting published are as follows:

Don’t send work out too early. It’s tempting to put it in the post as soon as you’ve finished, but don’t. Go through it thoroughly and make sure your writing is as polished as it can be before you send it off to an agent or publisher.

Get an agent. Yes, they take a percentage and some writers manage perfectly well without them, but agents will often get you a better offer and will deal with horrible things like contracts and chasing payments, leaving you to concentrate on writing. They also have invaluable contacts, and publishers much prefer seeing work that comes via agents. In fact, some publishers will only look at work that comes through agents.

Write the best covering letter that you can. The letter that got me my agent took a whole evening to write. Remember that agents and publishers see hundreds of these a week, so yours needs to stand out. Keep it short (a page or less), outline what the story is about in a couple of sentences, along with a little bit about you, and give a clear idea of who your work is aimed at.

Expect rejections. Most writers get lots of rejection letters before they get anything published. I was no exception. Take any feedback – or encouraging comments – on board. Agents and editors are busy people and they won’t waste time saying things they don’t mean.

Illustrations. Unless you or someone you know is an illustrator by trade or a graduate, don’t send illustrations to accompany a writing submission. Anything less than professional could damage your chances and make you appear amateurish. Publishers pair authors with illustrators every day, and will have a particular vision about how they want to position a book.