Goodreads asked Taryn Bashford:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Taryn Bashford 1. Read! Then read some more. What you learn by reading and analyzing books then pours into your own writing by osmosis and suddenly getting that structure or characterization or pace right isn't quite so mysteriously hard. You'll also learn the expectations of the genre you're writing in. I aim to read one book per week, and sometimes manage two. Turn off the TV/social media to buy you reading time.

2. Then write every day. Even if it's just for half an hour - although the longer the better. Never stop training your creative brain muscles.

3. Tell people you're a writer. Buy a mug that says something like 'World's Bestest Writer'. Enter WRITER in the occupation box on any forms. Start thinking like a writer and you'll internally gain confidence in yourself and your abilities and it'll come out on the page.

4. Go on writing courses to hone your craft, enter competitions to gain constructive feedback, attend conferences to understand the market and the people in it - put yourself out there and juggle as many plates as you can until they're all spinning in perfect unison and the agent/publisher says YES!

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