Hello. 

As the nights draw in, I’ve been thinking (a lot) about taking it easy. Not just on the sofa with cake… but in terms of the creative process itself.

When people talk about writing a novel, often the chat is about word counts, laptops, submitting to agents and publishers or uploading content. In short - Doing. Everything has to be done quickly, as quickly as possible. I write relatively speedily, and so I count myself in here. But what’s talked about less often is the importance in writing (and life) of Not Doing Anything. In my view, that’s an essential part of what makes a good story.

Creating a fictional world doesn’t start when you open your laptop. It begins when you create space on either side of that writing time to let your imagination take flight. Putting your phone away. Taking time out to daydream. Going for a walk for no reason, Talking to someone you don’t know.

I was reminded of that last year. I was heavily pregnant and in an antenatal class with four women as watermelon-like as me. The only thing any of us could think about was how on earth our babies were going to get here, and what in God’s name we were going to do with them when they did. We were all women with careers, and commitments, and friends who we saw when we had time – and yet we knew that now we would all have to slow down.

Our son Finn arrived in June (the laid-back late arrival of the five babies). Looking after a newborn was joyous and hectic and a massive learning curve. But what I hadn’t expected is that there would be long stretches of time where you’re not doing anything. Finn would fall asleep on my lap, or he’d be feeding, and my phone and the remote would almost always be on the other side of the room. The only thing I had were my thoughts. So, while I didn’t type a word of The Seafront Tearooms until the following January, I spent those six months of maternity leave getting to know my characters – Kat, Charlie, Seraphine, and Letty, who owns the tearooms. When I came to write, I knew them well enough for them to take the lead and show me which direction their lives would take.

 Having a baby is a fairly extreme way to make yourself slow down, and not one I plan to repeat before writing another novel! But it was a good reminder of how new opportunities and inspiration will almost always come when you give them space – so close your laptop and stroll round a junk shop, or take out your iPod on the bus - the conversation you hear might well be the dialogue that starts off something special.