A charismatic protagonist, compelling premise, and possibly even a shapely opening sentence, do not a novel make. But they’re most definitely the makings of a novel.

My first book, Awful by Comparison, was a bit of an experiment to see if a) I could write Comedy, and b) catch the attention of a Literary Agent.

Writing Girlfriend, Interrupted, I was mindful of an African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child.

I’m so glad you’re here. I’m supposed to be writing a book, but the details have grown a bit fuzzy, and you’re so much more fun to spend time with.

Working on my first novel, as I became more comfortable in the story-telling, humour became an inherent part of the mix.

There’s a myth that novelists possess some kind of inky alchemy. The truth is, novels start developing either one of two ways. They’re either driven by plot, or characterization.

For all the most original, fascinating plot twists, without a strong reaction to indelible characters, would we really care to turn (or scroll) the pages alongside them?

It’s a technique filmmakers use all the time to amplify effect, and a way in which writers can almost instantly switch concentration back to the terrain of their narratives.