nybody who has tried to write a book can tell you one thing for sure; it's not easy. The secret behind creating something imaginative is strangely enough its opposite. You need structure, schedule and discipline. Writing a novel is in its nature something creative and free. However, you have to harness this unique source of inspiration and energy. I learned these lessons the hard way. Being a writer has always been one of my lifelong ambitions, however being a highly imaginative and spectacularly unfocused person I soon ran into problems.

It's so easy to get lost in the details.

I'd spend ages creating my world and jotting down every single detail into my battered notebook. A beautiful leather-bound affair I'd received as a gift from my mother. One way to avoid this is to clearly define the plot of the story through a story board.

A simple tool used by professionals the world over, just create a short two sentence summary for each chapter and lay down the broader aspects of the plot. Include key events and their significance, it will help you get a better understanding of the story arch. Leave some space for annotations if you are going to print it. That way you can revisit it as many times as you want and add changes to it.

Set clear targets.

Set yourself clear targets that you want to achieve. For example; complete three chapters per week. Or write three pages per day. It's important to get into a rhythm and keep that rhythm going.

A good friend once gave me some great advice, I think he was paraphrasing John Greene.

He said "Writing a book is like crossing a desert. It may seem exciting at first but you'll soon realize that it's hard work. When the adrenaline fades away you'll realize that all that is left to do is to keep walking."

He was right, at the end of the day you just have to keep writing. It's better to have a bunch of raw material to fine tune and turn into a work of art then to have nothing at all.

Schedule yourself.

The only truly efficient time I spent writing was when I had only 1 hour of access to my computer per day. I knew that I would only have this short window of opportunity and that made me focus. Allowing yourself too much freedom can be harmful, we all need a certain amount of structure. Set aside a specific time each day to devote yourself entirely to your writing. Make your time of immersion and literary abandon shorter but more intense. Over time it will it will teach you to focus.

Carry a notebook with you wherever you go.

No idea is ever a bad idea. If you want to write, then I assume that you have an imagination. The tricky thing about having an imagination is that it doesn't have an off switch. Nor, come to think about it does have an on switch. Ideas come out of the blue, brief insights that just feel strangely right. Write them down immediately or you might lose them.

Make each character feel real.

Before writing or and also when writing develop the characters. Characters are everything. Imagine their backgrounds, create a story for each and everyone. Give them something unique and personal. A real person is a complex and amazing thing if you can create something like that you'll see your characters come to life in the pages you write.

Write.

Perhaps the most often repeated bit of advice. Just write. People love to romanticize the act of writing, but at the end of the day it's hard work. Sometimes it flows easily and sometimes you have to fight for each sentence. It's like pushing a heavy a load, its hard at the beginning but once you get the momentum going you'll find yourself flying down the road. You have to simply write. Writing is an act of creation. Your ideas exist only in your mind, writing is the threshold between your world and this world. So write and make your dreams come true.