When you’re reading through and editing your work, consider the tense you’ve written it in.  Shifting from past to present (and back) can make the piece hard to follow and confusing, leaving a reader unsure as to where the character is during the scene they’re reading, especially if you do it mid-sentence or paragraph.  I know it’s hard when you have lots you want to convey with some of it happening in flashback, but consistency of tense is important in making your writing more fluid and clear.

If tenses confuse you, then read a good grammar guide. Eats Shoots and Leaves is easy and fun and might compel you to read others like it.

If you want to be ambitious with your tenses and you need to make complicated shifts, then read Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall to inspire you and show you how it can be done.

If you’re struggling to find the right verb tenses in your writing, try reading your work aloud.  It’ll come more naturally to you when you can hear the words rather than just seeing them on the page.

Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it’s so hurtful to think about writing. –Heather Armstrong

Writing can sometimes feel like the loneliest most pointless activity ever. Reading over the reams of words I’ve scribbled onto hundreds of pages, or reviewing a poem or a short story I’ve attempted can be depressing and tiring. Why did I bother? Who’s going to read it? Publishers reject most of the stuff they receive so what’s the point? Is what I’ve written even any good? How can I tell?

Good news. These are questions any writer has to wrestle with. It’s true that for most writers, especially as they’re starting out, very few people care if they’ve written their novel or told their story. That can feel terrifying. But what any real writer discovers is what matters is the act of writing, the excitement of creating something out of nothing, the pleasure in seeing your characters come to life, not getting published or getting a book on the bestseller lists (writing isn’t the best way to go about making money—I’m pretty sure trading in stocks or working as an accountant might be the way to go about that).

Sometimes writers forget that the point of writing isn’t publication and rave reviews. It’s wonderful when people read your work and report back on it. But more wonderful even than that is the thrill of crafting your imagination and making your words do what you want them to do.

I write because I love it. Eight years ago, I received seven rejection letters in one week. As I picked up the latest one from my mail box, I slipped and fell down the stairs to end up lying in a crushed heap of pathetic misery on the ground (with a very sore ankle). Sure, as I lay there, I asked myself all those questions about the point of writing. But I picked myself up, ignored the despair and got on with working on my next project.

For me, the point of writing is that it inspires and informs me. It thrills and excites me. It helps me understand my world.

The best way for you to make time for your writing is for you to insist to yourself that it’s important. Although spending fifteen minutes a day pouring words onto the page might seem frivolous when you have to juggle work, family and friends, you’re actually doing yourself and those around you a favour if you make time for you passion. You’ll feel good if you devote some time each day, or each week, to your writing; and that will impact the rest of your life.

One proponent of this is the writer Julia Cameron. She insists in her book The Artist’s Way that every day those of us who want to write should scribble down three pages – longhand – first thing in the morning. Don’t let your thoughts get too much in the way of this process, just write whatever comes into your mind. It’s about the practice of getting words on the page. These Morning Pages aren’t for show, they’re not for publication, they’re for you as a writer to experience the act of writing daily.

Realistically those of us with screaming kids might find it hard to settle first thing with three empty pages and a pen. So, modify the exercise and find a window of time a bit later in the day, or jump out of bed before your children. Perhaps you start work really early and don’t have time to get your pages done before you have to leave. So, do the pages later. Make your writing practice about Evening Pages and enjoy what that bring to you. As you write, you’ll find ideas and stories you never knew were lurking inside you, and who knows where those might lead. Apparently, J.K Rowling was sitting on the train when Harry Potter jumped into her mind, but because she was already writing regularly, she knew how to shape her ideas on the page. She used to work in a small cafe, I believe.

If the idea of writing every day is just too daunting, then choose a time every week and set it as your own. Perhaps Friday evenings you could write for two hours (go on, switch off the TV) – it might seem tricky because you’re not getting the daily practice in, but push yourself to put words on the page. It’s the only way to bring your dreams of writing into reality.

Julia Cameron says, “Creativity is like breathing.’ I like that.