Here are links to websites of some of my favourite authors and friends. I’ve also included useful links to organisations for writers and readers.

Claire Baxter (Silhouette Romance)

Kaz Delaney/Kerri Lane (young adult romances as well as children’s books)

Michelle Douglas (Harlequin Mills & Boon Tender/Sweet/Romance)

Robyn Grady (Silhouette Desire and Mills & Boon Modern Extra)

Barbara Hannay (Harlequin Mills & Boon Tender/Sweet/Romance)

Kelly Hunter (Harlequin Modern Extra/Sexy Sensation)

Bronwyn Jameson (Silhouette Desire)

Fiona Lowe (Harlequin Medical)

Joanie MacNeil (contemporary romance)

Nicola Marsh (various category lines)

Paula Roe (Silhouette Desire)

Maxine Sullivan (Silhouette Desire)

Anna Campbell (my fabulous critique partner)

Loretta Chase

Anne Gracie

Christine Wells

eHarlequin  (USA)

eHarlequin (Australia)

If you read THE GREEK'S CONVENIENT MISTRESS and want to find out more about donor registries, try one of these:

CRIR – list of donor registries in a large range of countries

Romance Novelists Association (UK)

Cata Romance - the site for aspiring writers and published authors of category romance

Writerspace (a site for readers and writers)

The Long and Short of It - a site for romance readers

Pink Heart Society blog

(a blogazine for lovers

of category romance novels)

My Tote Bag – a site for lovers of romance books and their blog.

I © Presents - a site for Harlequin Presents readers

Romance Junkies - for lovers of romance.

Coffee Time Romance - a romance review and chat site.

Ever After - an Aussie romance bookshop

My Call story

By the end of 2005 I’d been writing for around 9 years. I’d had some short stories published in women’s magazines and even a contemporary category romance novel (Strictly Business) published by a small Australian press. I’d come close to acceptance with Silhouette, or so I thought, with encouraging feedback from editorial staff, but never the breakthrough I longed for. I didn’t want much – just to become a successful writer with one of the biggest publishers in the world!

In the end it was sheer obstinacy that kept me going, and the wonderful support I had from friends and critique partners in Romance Writers of Australia. I kept hearing those trite but oh-so-true words in my head: the difference between a published author and an unpublished one is that the published one didn’t give up.

After yet another rejection I finally realised that I needed to reconsider what I was writing. I’d been reading Mills & Boon Presents/Sexy/Modern for years (let’s not discuss precisely how long). They were the books I knew and loved best but I hadn’t been writing them. There were so many excuses not to: I didn’t know whether I could deliver the emotional body blow a good Presents gives. Would my hero fit that special mould? Did I actually have the skills to attempt it?

When I sat down to write the Mistress Makeover (now titled A Mistress for the Taking), I knew something was different. It felt like coming home. I discovered I was in my zone and the words flowed in a way they never had before. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t easy. But it felt right!

I was lucky to have incisive feedback from a number of sources, especially from my wonderful critique partner, Anna Campbell, and the Valley Girls writers.  I polished and polished and eventually sent a query to London in July 2005.  Then I got on with some other projects in the belief that it’s always better to be writing something else when the rejection comes in.  But this time luck was on my side and it was the senior editor's turn to read the slush pile (a woman of great taste and discernment). At the end of September I received a request for a full manuscript. Now, I’d reached that stage before and I knew not to get too excited. I pretended not to be thrilled and, after a few final amendments, sent the full manuscript to London. I still remember that day. I got out of the car just as the heavens opened in a massive deluge. I got soaked while I protected that precious package. The storm was so intense that the post office roof leaked all along one wall. I recall asking the staff if my precious envelope would be safe there or whether I should find another, drier post office.

Less than a month later I received an emailed request for revisions. That stopped me in my tracks. After I stopped hyperventilating I managed to focus on what changes the editor wanted and how on earth I could achieve them. I shoved aside all my appointments (except the day job) and revised. I wore my critique partner out with drafts of new scenes and bamboozled myself trying to keep track of the things I’d deleted, added or revised. And at the end it was a relief to see that the book was better. I emailed the story and waited for the rejection. Just over a week later I went to check for it and there it was – the dreaded email from London. I knew it had to be bad news since good news came via the phone – right?

So I opened the message and read, looking for the ‘but’. Thanks for the manuscript – no ‘but’. Did a good job with the revisions – no ‘but’. Would like to offer – hey, where’s the ‘but’? I had to read the email twice to be sure it was an acceptance not a rejection. Then I kept reading it, looking for the 'thanks but no thanks'. I’m so glad now that my editor had the good sense not to ring with the news – I would have been a gibbering idiot. As it was I probably sounded completely overwhelmed when I did talk to her a little later.

The family was thrilled, my friends excited, and I have to say every so often when I least expected it I’d suddenly realise, ‘Hey, I’m a Harlequin Mills & Boon author!’ But for those first few days I kept sneaking a peek at that email just to make sure I’d read it right.

Have you noticed all the recent news of so many acceptances by RWAustralia members? I did. And I was struck by the fact that many of those acquiring success overnight (or in the space of time it takes to read THE email or get THE call) were not new writers. Many had long histories as writers.

So then came the inevitable questions. Why that person? Why now? What made the difference to their writing career? That difference between aspiring and contracted author.

There’s no simple, single answer. Sorry.

But for those members who read the monthly reports of new acceptances with delight and just that little tinge of envy (or even a big dollop of it), here are what a few of the newly contracted authors had to say. All have been writing for years. Between us we total 64 years of writing experience. Okay – you can say it – we were slow learners. But hopefully that experience has taught us something useful. Maybe useful enough to help you on your own journey to publication and beyond. Apart from anything, take heed to the fact that persistence does pay off, if you’re willing to learn and adapt as you go. 

My first two books were books of my heart and writing was an outlet for my thoughts and emotions.  Then I guess I was addicted. The other things that kept me at it were my critique groups and writers' conferences and the fact that I hate giving up something without finishing it.

I came close when my single titles that I loved got rejected a couple of times. 

I think it was timing.  I was seriously considering not writing any more but couldn't bring myself to put it all away after so long.

I wish I'd started writing earlier!

Anything from an encouraging remark from a competition judge, to the fun of attending writing conferences, to the knowledge that I really wanted to write books. Not literary fiction, not crime thrillers, but those much maligned and unfashionably uplifting ROMANCE books.

No.

A different approach. For the first time ever, I sat down and decided on a line BEFORE I wrote the story. I wrote to my strengths (I had a fair idea of what they were - we are talking ten years of practice here), followed the guidelines, and was astonished at how easily it all fell into place.

Yup. I wish I'd become more closely involved with the RWA earlier. I wish I'd had a better understanding of the publishing industry from the start. I wish I'd heard Nora Roberts speak in Sydney. And I really, really wish I'd won the Emma Darcy!

In the end it was sheer bloody mindedness. I had postgraduate university qualifications with honours. By God, I wasn't going to fail this writing gig!  With my third full manuscript rejection I received a 'with compliments’ slip and an invitation to submit again. That was a big turning point emotionally for me...that story wasn't right for them but they liked how I wrote. So for the next book I re-read the guidelines and gave them settings and situations that are popular with medical readers.

I had been writing for three and a half years when I had my second child. With a part-time job, a preschooler and a baby, plus moving towns, it all became too much and I stopped writing.  Three years later I saw an article about a romance writing workshop in Queenscliff with a stellar line up of speakers including Stephanie Laurens and Marion Lennox. I thought 'I'll go to that! It can be a day out just for me.'  That day became a turning point. I went back to writing.

Well, who can really tell but I think it was ...Writing the hero. I suddenly realised I was being rejected on the hero...they liked everything else. I just didn't 'get' him. I was writing him all wrong.  A light bulb went off one day and I wrote a different type of hero.

Stepped out from under my mentor earlier and trusted my own voice.  When I started I had great faith I would be published.  That faith withered at times and when a published author took me under her wing I did everything she suggested, everything. Not wise. I think my voice faded.

But it takes time and confidence to trust yourself again.  When I was ready to do that I started thinking, “hmm, she might think it would be better like this but I can make it work another way.”  But you still have doubts so my third book sale which was written without any input from my mentor meant a great deal...it meant I could actually do this on my own.  Of course, I always get it read by a fellow romance writer...she's my grammar queen!

I love writing. I love reading. I love the friends I’ve made through writing – they kept me going. Encouraging feedback was an enormous help – someone (other than me) liked what I was writing. I found a critique partner who was positive (yet like a dog with a bone when she found something that didn’t work). And more and more I could hear the words of a multi-published RWA author in my ears, saying the difference between the published and the unpublished is that the former didn’t give up.

I came close a few years ago. A friendly editor told me she liked my work, wanted to see it in print, but my voice didn’t fit her line. That seemed to leave me nowhere to go as that was the line where I thought I belonged.

Luck and timing. And targeting the right line was a good start! I’d shied away from writing for HM&B Sexy as I thought it would be too hard, I’d never make it there. But amongst the huge range of romances I read, guess what had been a constant for years? HMB Sexy. It felt like coming home when I finally tried my hand at it (but that doesn’t mean it was easy!)

I think the other main difference was listening to Stephanie Bond at the 2004 RWA Conference in Sydney. She posed lots of challenging questions about whether we took our writing seriously. Did I treat it as a business? I thought I did but I didn’t even have a plan or targets. I let myself get lazy when I didn’t feel like writing. I spent too much time talking about books rather than writing them. That next year I really focused on doing what I could to produce a fantastic book (and some follow up ones ... just in case).

Yes – focused more on my strengths and where they fitted, and paid more attention to the successful authors who talked about what happens after acceptance. Oh, I listened, but I wasn’t focusing. Now I’m on a steep learning curve.

The thought that I had stories to tell and how much I wanted to share those stories with others.

Did you ever give up?

I can remember a three month period where, due to personal reasons, I just couldn't write. I didn't pick up a pen or think about writing in that time. But eventually I started to yearn to tell those stories inside me again.

More recently, 2005 was the year where I seriously thought about giving up. I'd been through a couple of revision requests that looked promising but led nowhere. I was trying my hardest to get published and nothing was working.

Then I made a decision. I either give up writing totally, or I write for the love of it and just accept that I may never get published. I chose the second option, and somehow everything fell into place.

I honestly don't know. The only difference was that I'd stopped putting pressure on myself to get published, so perhaps that came through in my writing.

Perhaps I wouldn't have spent so much time rewriting the same stories and submitting them to any line I thought would fit. On the other hand, I was learning my craft and that takes time. For me, it happened to take twenty years.

Determination. Sheer bloody mindedness. When I set out to do something I rarely let it go until I get there.

No. Never. But I went through a period of about 18 months after I finaled in the Golden Heart where I wrote very little. I was working full time and I have a very active family and I struggled to find time to write. The frustration that came from not writing forced the decision to stop working full time and cut back to more flexible contract work. That gave me time to write The Black Widow Bride, the book I went on to sell.

Gosh, this is where listening and reading comes into play.

I attended the Kara School of Writing course run by Daphne Clair and Robyn Donald not once but several times. Each time was absolutely invaluable. It also forced me to keep writing new books for Daphne and Robyn to assess!

The advice to write a little every day is the best advice I was ever given.

I read a lot of debut books. I identified that the books all had one thing in common--they were seamless. I had to learn to write a book that was seamless, where the scenes flowed from one to the next with no jarring, no confusion, where the story worked as an integrated whole.

Another thing that made an immense difference was a rejection I received from Bryony Green, Senior Editor with Mills & Boon. I had the chance to talk to her about the rejection. She had told me that the manuscript had too many secondary characters and family elements that diluted my Presents voice and in turn caused the manuscript to be neither Tender nor Presents. I asked whether she thought the manuscript would fit Special Edition if I lengthened it a little. Her advice was to forget about other lines, to focus on Presents and not to allow what I was getting right to become diluted. I thought about what she'd said and decided she was right. Chopping and changing between lines and genres had not gotten me published. I wrote two manuscripts and didn't even allow myself to think about where I would pitch them if Presents rejected them. The first one, The Bodyguard’s Bride, finaled in the 2004 Emma Darcy Award and RWAmerica Golden Heart Contest. The second, The Black Widow Bride, made the second round of this year's Emerald and then had to be withdrawn because it sold to Silhouette Desire.

I wish I'd focused earlier on writing short contemporaries only. But I don't regret not doing so. Trying different lines and genres all helped me to hone my voice. 

One of the things I love about being a writer is getting a fabulous new idea. There’s the anticipation of putting it down on paper, the pleasure of reading it and confirming that, yes, it was a great idea, and the anticipation of giving it to someone else to look over. There’s perhaps nothing better than having someone read your work and enjoy it, feel the emotional punch you felt as you wrote it, understand your characters and relate to them. I love it when I give a draft scene to someone, they read it and hand it back with a beaming smile, declaring it’s perfect, one of the best things they’ve read.

You can tell I write fiction, can’t you?

In reality I’ll probably receive my draft back with scrawled comments in the margins: notes about pacing, queries about motivation, comments on dialogue and so on. There will be positive comments too, since the people who read my work are constructive and helpful.  (Possibly too because I’m bigger than they are!)

So why do I do it? Why give my work out to be criticised? I’m asking people to find fault with it.

I’m not a masochist. Nor do I want to fill up as much time as possible before the trauma of actually sending a story off to my editor. It’s because I want my work to be the best I can get it before I cast it adrift among the sea of other manuscripts in that editorial office.

Everyone’s different. Many successful authors don’t show their stories to anyone but their editor. The process works for them and I think that’s terrific. Note, though, the words ‘successful author’ and ‘their editor’. These people are already extremely good at producing the sort of stories their publisher is seeking.

For those of us still working towards that, feedback can make the difference between a good story and one that’s accepted for publication. 

You write your first story and you’re so proud of yourself. As you should be. You send it to a publisher and it’s rejected. We all know what that feels like. Finally you overcome the desire for violent action, or to stay in a foetal position, devouring chocolate. You tackle a new story that’s better than the last. But your only feedback is another rejection or three.

What can you do? Lots of things. Reread the publisher’s guidelines and the books they’re publishing, go to workshops to hone your skills. And get some feedback on your work.  It’s important to discover what you can do to improve your writing. You might think you’ve got the ‘showing not telling’ down pat, that your pacing is snappy, your dialogue riveting and your characterisation realistic. So why not test it and see if others agree?

Why not?

Because you’re scared they won’t like it? Welcome to the world of writing for publication.  Isn’t it better to get that reaction from someone other than an editor?

Because they might steal your idea? The writers I know have neither the time nor the inclination to steal ideas. They’re busy grappling with their own. Besides, ideas can’t be copyrighted. Even if someone did write a story with a theme similar to yours, it wouldn’t be the same story.

Because you might not agree with what they say? That’s your prerogative. It’s your story. You’re just seeking another perspective.

Because you don’t know anyone you’d trust to give you decent feedback? Now that’s an interesting point.

How do you find such a person? There are lots of potential sources. You could try:

This leads us to the question of what you do with feedback. I’m not suggesting you accept everything you’re told and set out to amend every point. You will never satisfy every reader. The suggestions have to make sense to you. It’s your work. Nor do I suggest you read the comments, spend the rest of the week fuming about how little the person understood your story and never look at the suggestions again. A response somewhere between the two seems reasonable.

Try to understand exactly the issue that was raised. Read all the comments, or note them down as the group discusses them, then go away and think about something else. Distance can be a valuable tool. Come back a few days later and reread the notes. There could be points which now make better sense and which you could work on. If you’re lucky they’ll have picked part of the story that’s niggled you from the beginning and you’d hoped no one would notice. (Sound familiar?) Maybe they’ve given you a suggestion that will spark a new idea. Sometimes you’re not after a solution to a problem as much as identification of a problem that you can then work on.

I titled this piece Feedback is Your Friend (Most of the Time) for a reason. It’s reasonable to add a warning. If you give your work to someone who:

Ideally look for someone who:

Critique partners or groups aren’t for everyone. But if you’re hitting your head against a closed editorial door, collecting rejections, it’s worth finding a way to get feedback on your work. It may not be a long-term arrangement. It may not be on a whole story. Sometimes just talking your plot through with someone will identify weaknesses. A different perspective could be just the thing to help you over a difficult patch in your story.

We’re all blessed with great imaginations.  As writers, dreams are our stock in trade. We lead double lives: functioning in the everyday world while in our minds a completely different reality takes over. Our brains are peopled by hard men who have everything they could wish for (except the love of a good woman), by werewolves hungrily prowling our city streets, by Cinderellas wearing anything from Regency muslins and kid slippers to joggers and worn jeans.  We look out the window but we don’t see the view, we’re plotting ways to torture our hero and heroine, discovering why our villain is so maladjusted or listening to a character tell us we’ve gone off track and they really wouldn’t act like that.

For ourselves, the dreams are always there. What is it that you secretly envisage? Holding your book in your hands? Giving up the day job and supporting yourself (and the family) with your prose? Idyllic days surrounded by reference books (and personalised stationery) in your custom-built office, whipping off a few chapters before having a well earned coffee break with your friends? Reading your name on a best seller list?

Writers’ dreams come in many shapes and sizes but we all have them. They’re our secret delight, the incentive that keeps us warm and cosy and committed through the hard slog of finishing that book and sending it out into the harsh world. They keep us motivated, they revitalise us and give us a goal to work towards.

We’ve heard the advice so often: visualise it and it will happen. Think positively. Believe in yourself. Dream it and it will become reality.

It’s all true. Every bit of it.

But there’s another side to this too.  Much as we love our dreams of success, and much as we need them to fuel our efforts, we have to step back from them, regularly and often. It can be a wrench, dragging ourselves away from those delightful visions of success, but believe me, it’s necessary.

You want to be an author. You’re learning your craft, you read about writing and follow market trends. You’ve written a whole manuscript or perhaps several. Success should follow. Unfortunately it’s easy to become complacent that it’s only a matter of time before you achieve success, then frustrated when it takes longer than it should. You hear about others getting contracts and wonder why it isn’t you.

There could be any number of reasons. Timing and luck, for a start. But it could be something that you have control over. You’re dreaming the dream, visualising the outcome you want. But have you done the reality check? Are you serious enough about this business?

Now don’t take offence – I know you REALLY want to succeed. But it’s amazing how we can fool ourselves into believing we’re doing all we can to reach our goal, because we’re writing and pursuing the dream.

A couple of years ago, at an RWA conference in Sydney, presenters posed a number of questions that made lightbulbs flash in my head. They made me think hard about my writing. Was I heading towards my dream or was I letting that dream blind me to things I didn’t want to see?

After a long hard look at my approach to writing, I made some changes and they’ve worked for me.

Here are some of those questions, plus more that I know have made a difference to other writers. The trick is not to be defensive and find excuses for what you don’t do, but to consider realistically what you can change to help achieve your dreams:

Hang on to your dreams. Cultivate them and use them to keep your enthusiasm alive. But remember, dreams by themselves aren’t enough.  Don’t use them as a convenient shield to avoid making the changes that could help you achieve your goals. Take time occasionally to set them aside and look long and hard at what you’re doing and why. Take stock, adjust your goals and then keep going.

Good luck turning your dreams into reality!

Years ago I was at a management course and the facilitator gave us some exercises that had nothing to with managing staff, finances, crises etc. Lovely! One task in particular remains vivid with me today. She gave us several vials to sniff and then asked us to write down straight away whatever came to mind. For the life of me I can't remember how that fitted into the rest of the no-nonsense curriculum, but I DO remember its impact.

There's something about the power of scent, you see, that is particularly evocative. It can conjure a feeling, a mood, a memory, in the blink of an eye. Pens scribbled furiously across paper as the vials were passed around, then stopped as the little bottles reached a colleague near me. It turned out that the scent was something he hadn't smelled in more than forty years and one sniff instantly transported him back to a harrowing, tragic time in his childhood. When volunteers were called, he described that time with tears running unchecked down his face and a look of shock - he'd shoved that memory away and hadn't visited it during the whole of his adult life. One sniff of that particular essence had brought it all flooding back, including his long-buried emotions.

And this has WHAT to do with writing romances? Well, I'll give you my take on it. I believe that the use of smells, scents, aromas, are often neglected in our writing. We know that using the five senses when creating fiction can add impact and make our prose vivid. We've all heard that advice and we try to implement it. Often though, we stop with what our character sees, hears and feels. What he or she tastes or smells is often neglected.

Please don't think I'm suggesting that each time you begin a scene you should include a sensory list of everything a character hears, sees, feels, tastes and smells! However, I would suggest that you look through your manuscript and think about whether scent could be used occasionally to make a scene more evocative. Just a reference here or there can help bring a scene alive and place us firmly in the hero/ine's shoes, experiencing what he/she feels.

The ambience in a room can vary from warm and welcoming to unpleasant or even threatening depending on how it smells. Consider whether it's scented by baking bread, summer sun, coffee, baby powder, fresh flowers, unwashed bodies, damp, something rotting or fresh blood. Can you use that to give a better impression of the setting for this scene? Can your character smell a storm on the air, fresh mown grass, or even the scent of fear on someone's skin?

When your hero takes his lover in his arms, what does he smell? Freshly washed hair, expensive perfume, plain soap, the chocolate she's been devouring while she tries to work out her next chapter? Sorry, had to slip that last one in.  He - and we - can tell something about her from that one indicator.  Perhaps she's a gardener and has the scent of fresh earth on her hands. Is there a whiff of turpentine, hinting that she paints? The scent of new leather from her expensive just-bought outfit?

Not only can a scent impart information about someone, more importantly, you can bring the reader closer to a character by letting them experience, if only by proxy, what s/he is sensing. The reader can step into your heroine's shoes more easily if you evoke a situation this way. After all, we're trying to draw the reader into a whole new reality where she experiences at least some of what our characters do.

In times of heightened emotion some impressions will stick in our minds and scent can be one of them. Perhaps you're writing a scene where the heroine is getting married. What if she smells orange blossom from her massive formal bouquet and finds the sickly sweet perfume so cloying that she feels nauseous? If she smells the groom's stale breath, or body odour? If the church is thick with the smell of incense and that adds to her growing sense of claustrophobia? In all these circumstances you can use her reaction to a scent to help us understand how she's feeling. In this case we'd suspect this isn't the wedding of her dreams. As a reader I'd wonder if the hero is about to appear and save her from a huge mistake.

If your scene is flat and you're having trouble bringing it to life on the page, try taking a deep breath and using your sense of smell. It may be just the thing to add a little zing to your writing.

Time. It’s in short supply. It’s always precious. We’re often up against it, especially when there’s a deadline looming. We never have enough of it and other people want us to give them ours. Family, friends, net buddies, the day job, editors – they all demand more of it.

First up let me say that I have no magic solution to managing time. But I can mention a few things I’ve discovered to help us to cope better. Perhaps there are points here that strike a chord with you. Better yet, from my point of view, maybe you have a hint that you’d like to share with the rest of us!

Here, in no particular order are some lessons I’ve learned about time. Some seem contradictory but I make no apology – we need different tactics at different times.

Time can be your friend. When you’ve finished your manuscript, let time pass. Don’t send your story off to an editor/agent straight away. If you have no deadline then wait. Start your next project or catch up on the things you neglected while you wrote. Come back to your ‘finished’ manuscript after weeks or, if you can manage it, months. You’ll see your story in a fresh light and notice ways to tighten the writing. Inconsistencies will leap out at you, as they would at an editor. This makes polishing the story so much easier. Take the time to make the story the best you can.

Think about the times of the day when you write best. When do you feel the creative juices flowing? When are you most alert? For many it’s early in the morning and mid to late afternoon. For some it’s the midnight hours. Being perverse, I often find it’s when I’m supposed to be doing something else, like cooking dinner! If it’s possible to set aside those most productive times for your writing, then do it! Grab any natural advantage you can.

On the other hand... remember most of us can’t afford to give up if inspiration doesn’t strike. If this is your writing time, use it to write, even if it feels like you’re pulling teeth rather than writing scintillating prose. If you don’t make the effort to write in the time you’ve set aside for it, you will not produce that book. If you persevere it will usually get easier.

If you know that certain activities stimulate your imagination – like a hot shower or a long walk or even weeding the garden, try to schedule your time so you do that before you sit down to write.

Write often. Some people swear they must write every day or they get out of the habit. Others find it easier to allow a couple of days a week when it’s OK not to write if there are other things pressing on their time. Experiment and find what works for you, but write often. If you go a few weeks then say you just didn’t seem to find the time or you were so tired or life’s just too busy or (horror) you weren’t inspired, then stop and listen to the warning bells. You’re making excuses. It’s time to ask yourself how serious you are about writing.

How long should you write? I’ve heard the advice that if you sit down for 15 minutes a day then you’ll have a book in ... days. That works for some people. Alternatively I’ve heard people (who me?) bemoan the fact that if only they could get a solid couple of hours they could finish the chapter/scene. There’s no right answer. It’s a combination of what your schedule will allow and how motivated you are. BUT, it’s easier if you commit to putting aside a certain amount of writing time. If twenty minutes at lunchtime is all you have, then go for it. If you can afford a block of several hours or days (heaven!) then grab it. Beware if you hear yourself say again and again ‘I just can’t get started on this because I need x hours alone on this’. X hours may be what you’d like but it maybe a luxury you don’t have. Be realistic about what time is available to you and make the most of it.

Don’t think that the only time you have to write is when you are alone, without background noise, at your desk. (Sighing wistfully here at that delightful picture). Many of us have dead time in our day. Time commuting by train or bus, sitting waiting for children at sport or music lessons, or in waiting rooms with outdated magazines. Use those times to write. You might continue working on the text or jot down some sparkling dialogue. Even points on where the next scene ends, or a character description is time well spent.

Beware of the internet! Sorry, but it has to be said. If you’re not producing but you’re up to date on the latest market trends, news about other writers and how to tips, you need to examine how much time you actually spend writing. How much do you spend on ‘research’ and ‘professional networking’? Limit your time on email or browsing sites. You may have to make a rule that you only enter the web after you’ve written. It sounds desperate, but may make the difference between being a writer and talking about being a writer.

Which brings us to time and bribery. If you have trouble sticking at the writing, try a timer. Set it for a reasonable length of time (try 45 minutes) and make yourself work on your project (without wandering off to watch the kettle boil) until the timer rings. When you’ve done that give yourself a treat (a couple of pages of a book you’re dying to read, chocolate, a walk in the sun, whatever). Or save up your treats till you’ve written like this for a week or two and then celebrate. Acknowledging that time spent with your manuscript can be difficult is not a sin and if the “time writing = I deserve a treat” system works, then go for it! The up side is that in the process you will have got into the habit of writing and will have produced words on the page.

How much research do you need before you start writing your book? Many books need research but remember, some research can be done as you write or even after you have a draft down. If you’ve put off starting the story for a few months or even a year while you research (yes, I’ve seen it happen) then decide whether it’s the research you really want to do or the writing.

Take breaks! Don’t sit at the computer for long stints without getting up and moving about. Not unless you want RSI, a sore back, blurred vision and regular visits to the chiropractor. Take time for regular exercise too – you’ll feel better and more energetic.

Plan your time. Some people love detailed plans with targets for every day or hour, others cringe from it. But if you don’t have a writing plan with an idea of what you can reasonably achieve in the next few months/year, do it now. Be practical. Don’t set goals you have no hope of reaching. Think about the goals you’d like to include (eg. Finish the next 4 chapters and write an outline for a linked story) and how much time it will take to achieve those goals. This process will make you think how badly you want to achieve those goals and how you’re going to make time to achieve them.

Allow yourself time out from your writing, after a project is complete, or throughout the writing process. Time away from your writing is necessary to give your brain a chance to catch up, and to refill the imaginative well. Don’t feel guilty about this time. (But make sure your well refilling isn’t more time consuming than your writing!).

Create a deadline. If that’s what it takes to get you moving, but you don’t have an editor breathing down your neck, make your own deadline. An easy way to do this is to find a contest you want to enter and aim to finish by the due date.

Remember to factor in time for your ‘other life’. We all get absorbed in our current story, but remember to come out of the cave from time to time and smile nicely at those who’ve (hopefully) let you work.

Writers are frequently asked ‘where do you get your ideas?’. It’s a question we all ponder, especially if we have a book due and need to decide on a project fast! I sought advice from other authors on the million dollar question – where do you find inspiration?

There are so many strange and wonderful ways in which we get ideas for stories. We collect snippets from all over the place and weave them into something quite different. I’ve been inspired by titles, places and no doubt, many things I’m unaware of. Occasionally I look at one of my stories and see a source of inspiration, even if I didn’t realise it as I wrote. For instance, in the first scene of For the Sheikh’s Pleasure, Arik, my dashing sheikh, is confined by a plaster cast and wheelchair after an oil rig accident. He’s bored and spends the dawn with binoculars watching the beautiful stranger on his private beach. Yes, I freely admit to having seen Hitchcock’s Rear Window several times, where the wheelchair-bound hero solves a crime while watching neighbouring apartments through binoculars and the lens of his camera.

I began to wonder where other writers found inspiration. For instance, my good friend, historical author Anna Campbell, insists she gets her best ideas in the bath, but admits the idea for her next release Tempt the Devil, came from watching An Affair to Remember too many times to count.

Here’s what some other authors said on the subject:

Bronwyn Jameson says “Sometimes it's a spark that inspires a storyline, or a relationship within the book, and sometimes it's a scene idea. One thing I've noticed is that the end result rarely matches the original thought by the time you've twisted and adapted it to fit the new characters and situation...but that's beside the point. The point IS that the inspiration triggered something which resulted in another interpretation.  One example:  the first Desire I ever read was Private Reasons by Justine Davis.  I loved that book for a whole lot of reasons; one was the complex relationship between the hero (an uptight accountant) and his teenage daughter and the free-spirited heroine.  That inspired me to write Seb (my slightly uptight accountant) and his teenage daughter Torie in Beyond Control (Harlequin Desire), AND to pair them both with a slightly bohemian heroine who tested his strictures of control and his way of looking at life and love.”

Ally Blake says “The idea for Falling for the Rebel Heir (M&B Romance), came after watching Cocoon on telly with my hubby....much is set in a beautiful elegant indoor pool that looks like something out of a Grace Kelly movie.  My hubby, the guy who usually is only allowed to name the pets in my books his ideas are so terrible, suggested a great way to start a book would be for the hero to find the heroine swimming in his pool.  Colour me surprised, I loved the idea!   The pool in my head had the same beautiful, eerie, magical quality and I think that rubbed off on the whole story.”

Michelle Douglas says “I set my stories in the season I'm writing - I can use my experience of the weather, see what plants are in bloom etc. ... With His Christmas Angel (M&B Romance) I didn't set out to write a Christmas book, I just started writing it in December. The hero and heroine and their conflict were firmly fixed in my mind when all of a sudden it occurred to me that Christmas and New Year - a time for families and new beginnings - was the perfect frame for telling Cassie and Sol's story ... It definitely added depth and resonance.

The latest story rattling around in my head is a direct result of my mother demanding to know when I was going to dedicate a book to her? (LOL) My reply was that I'd have to think of a story with a mother's day theme....BUT, thinking about Mother's Day got me thinking about Father's Day (of course!) - and suddenly I have two characters and a situation full blown in my head and that's the story I want to tell next (although my mother will never forgive me if I dedicate a book to my father first).”

Harlequin Presents/Sexy author Helen Bianchin is inspired by images. “Sometimes I can build a male hero from a picture in a glossy magazine ... it's the facial features, particularly the eyes, I think.  Some men can portray intense sensuality with just a look.  It's a brooding sexy quality that promises much. 

In an early book set partly in Port Douglas in the far north, I envisaged the final scene before the book was even written ... the heroine had escaped to a beachside bach, she's walking along the sandy foreshore lost in thought the hero could possibly love her the way she loves him, when she feels that prickle of awareness, glances up to see a male figure in the distance moving steadily towards her.  She pauses, waiting, hoping ... recognizing the hero as he draws close, and it becomes the moment.  I knew whatever transpired in the writing of the book, that scene was how the book would end.

Occasionally it's been the photo spread of a lovely home.  In one particular instance, it was a shot of a magnificent foyer featuring an incredible crystal chandelier, and a double staircase leading to the upper floor ... it struck a chord, this was the house the hero in my book owned. I just had to find my hero, my heroine, the theme, plot, story ... but that was okay, I had the house! 

... a character in a movie will inspire me, practically anything will inspire me!  There's only one qualifying element ... whatever it is, it has to strike a chord and provide a kernel of an idea.  From there, I build, layer, define the emotions.”

Modern Heat/Sexy Sensation author Kelly Hunter, on the other hand, says she isn’t picture-focussed: “Collaging doesn't work so well for me. A trip to the movies works better - the muse will often notice an aspect of character that I can use in the story I'm writing. I do find music inspiring when it comes to writing, though. I usually select a theme song for each book. The song invariably captures the overall tone of the book - be it passionate, bittersweet, or something I can't quite name but can feel when I hear the music. Play the song when I sit down to write and all of a sudden I'm back in the zone.”

Harlequin Historical author Annie Burrows says she’s always made up stories in her head. “Some of my best ideas recently have come to me when I've been working at really boring jobs (like reception work). Also, when stuck in traffic jams, sandwiched in between huge lorries.  I guess I just send my mind somewhere more interesting instead!”

Harlequin Medical author Fiona Lowe uses whatever is around her.  “I have used real medical situations, unusual things and tweak them to suit. eg upcoming book has little girl whose trachea is ruptured by a rooster. It happened and I clipped it out of the paper and used it about 1.5 years later.  One episode of Australian Story (television documentary) generated the idea for The Surgeon's Chosen Wife. Obviously my hero was nothing like the guy on Australian Story but the seed was there.

Oh and I remember scrumming around in the dark during a play last year and writing down a line from the play, 'a secret wears you down' and The Doctor Claims his Bride is based around that line.”

Nicola Marsh finds inspiration from articles in magazines.  “My first book, The Tycoon's Dating Deal (Harlequin Romance), came from an article I saw on speed dating in a glossy magazine between patients when I was working full time as a physiotherapist.  After I read the article, I thought 'what a great theme for a book!'  The rest is history!

Another Harlequin Romance, Princess Australia, came after reading an article on Melbourne hotel concierges in the Herald Sun travel section.  I like to put a twist on themes so cast my heroine as a stand-in concierge for a week, where she meets a prince going incognito!”

Abby Green says: “When I was on holiday in Greece a few years ago, we were on an island that had a military base. One night friends and I went out and some extremely handsome pilots turned up in the bar. One of them, the most handsome one, took a fancy to my friend who is very Irish looking, very pretty - black hair, pale skin, blue eyes - and that gave me the kernel of the idea for Chosen as the Frenchman's Bride (Harlequin Presents/Sexy) when Xavier, the hero is a debonair pilot who sees and seduces Jane. So while the story took place in France, and the hero was French, not Greek, that's where the story originated!

I think I get most of my ideas for stories from small impressions, something in a film or a picture in a magazine. It can be the smallest thing, literally the way two lovers in a film might look at one another and that'll spark a chain of thoughts/ideas.

For Bought for the Frenchman's Pleasure, my idea came from another story...which ultimately didn't go anywhere. Sorcha, the heroine was a secondary character from that book and I had this idea: what if she was a top model - but a top model who was as down to earth as you could get -  someone who hated all the trappings and limelight. But, she'd been involved with a bad incident in her past, which made it impossible for people to see her as she really was. And I loved the idea of a very alpha male coming along and assuming that he had her all summed up, only to find out that he was wrong. Now if you were to ask me where I got the idea for the original story that gave birth to Sorcha in the first place...I have no idea! Being open to new ideas and searching for inspiration is one of the nicest things about writing.”

It seems that none of us know precisely what is going to strike the chord that will spark a new idea. Obviously playing the ‘what if’ game works, as does leaving our imaginations open to the huge store of possibilities that present themselves to us every day. My own advice is not to fret about it but keep writing and be grateful when that next great idea hits!