How I Write

Book entitled How I Write What's the most effective writing routine, and how many words should you aim for each day?

Which author composes in a shed and who retreats to a Greek island to reflect and write?

Read on to find out...

Writing in recession: Sophie Parkin

Sophie Parkin tells Phil Williams how the recession of the early 90s prompted her to switch career – and how she started earning a living from writing.

Writing for teens

Meg Rosoff talked about writing for teens at the 2009 London Book Fair. Profwriting student Fiona Egglestone reports back.

Audrey Niffeneger on publishing from top to bottom

In the week that Audrey Niffeneger bucked the economic crisis in publishing, gaining an advance of almost $5 million for her second novel, Fiona Egglestone met up with her here in Falmouth to hear how she went from unknown writer to a bestselling author fought over by all the major publishing houses.

Sarah Waters: my life as a writer

Multi-award-winning author Sarah Waters talks to Andi Chapman about her day-to-day life as a writer and how her life as an academic feeds into her writing.

John le Carré on writing and obsession

John le Carré is one of the world's best-selling spy novelists. Want to know why he writes – and his tips for those starting out? Kathryn Treeby tells all.

Robert Goddard's great plans

Robert Goddard, multi-million selling author, talks to David Paul Nixon and Lynda Law about how he writes his style of historical-thriller.

Philip Pullman: connecting the pictures

Award-winning author Philip Pullman describes how he conceived and wrote the trilogy His Dark Materials.

A room of one's own

Like all writers, Angela Sherlock knows the importance of practising the craft every day. Here she describes how she found a room of her own in the unlikeliest of places.

Philip Marsden

"I spend much of my time writing in a large garden shed (classical music – no vocals – in the background)."

Philip Pullman

"I write three pages every day (one side of the paper only). That’s about 1,100 words. Then I stop, having made sure to write the first sentence on the next page, so I never have a blank page facing me in the morning."

Michael Morpurgo

"I write in an exercise book – in bed."

Audrey Niffeneger

"I don’t have a set writing routine – I’m really chaotic. I’m also a night person, so nothing happens until at least noon. It’s actually the joy of my self-employed life: I don’t have to commute; I don’t have to be anywhere."

John le Carré

"Mornings are for new work, afternoons for updating, revising, editing. Some days work – others don’t. Some days you’ll write 10 pages, others only 10 words."

Lynne Truss

"I spend some time in Greece. I get up at 8am, have yoghurt and fruit and write uninterrupted until 1pm. Then I go to a taverna by the beach and have lunch. There is no Radio 4 and no newspapers – I can get big things done in a short space of time and it pays for itself.”