What was the first piece of writing advice you were given?

This wasn’t exactly writing advice as such. It dates back to when I was at grammar school and it was a regular feature of feedback on essays. I had a wonderful English teacher called Mrs Trueman, who taught me for five out of my seven secondary school years. From her I learned the importance of what she called elegant paragraph links – the natural flow of writing. To this day, if I am struggling to move along from one idea to the next, I can hear her voice in my head, insisting on, “Elegant paragraph links, girls.” It has also had an impact on me as a reader. I always notice a jerky transition between ideas. I hope my own writing is pretty seamless in that respect. If it is, it is thanks to Mrs Trueman!

What is the most recent piece of writing advice you gave or received?

Don’t get it right – get it written. I have joined in with the annual madness of NaNoWriMo several times and the advice there is all to do with getting the story down on paper – or on-screen – and worrying about perfecting it at a later date. I know there are plenty of writers who simply can’t do this. They have to get each section right before they can move on to the next; and there have been times when, instead of ploughing on, I have felt impelled to go back and change something in the WIP, because my brain refuses to carry on until I have done that tweak. But if you are able to produce a “dirty draft,” it makes a great starting point for the editing. I know plenty of writers hate the editing process, but I love it and find it rewarding.

What piece of advice would you most like to pass on?

I have offered this advice to a few writers and they have all told me it is a good idea, so I am happy to share it with you here: don’t stop writing today unless you know how you are going to start writing tomorrow. For me, being able to get going immediately is important, especially now that I am writing to deadlines. I recently gave up my day job, but when I was doing it alongside my writing, being able to switch into writing mode and get writing straight away was essential. I’m sure there are plenty of writers whose response to this advice will be to say that it wouldn’t work for them, because they want to be able to leave their writing when it is difficult, trusting that their subconscious will work on it and untangle the tricky bits. For me, following this rule means that, when I hit a problem and the writing becomes difficult, I always keep at it until I have got past the hard bit and things are flowing freely again… so that when I stop, I know how I’ll start again next time.

Susanna Bavin has worked as a librarian, a teacher, a carer and a cook. She lives in beautiful North Wales, but her writing is inspired by her Mancunian roots. Her sagas, The Deserter’s Daughter and A Respectable Woman, are published by Allison & Busby.