Yesterday I attended the NSW Emerging Writers Festival. The first session of the day comprised of 5 Australian authors giving their writing tips—Tom Doig, Delia Falconer, Benjamin Law, Laura Jean McKay and Walter Mason.

This was favourite part of the day. It lead me to think about what I have learnt on my writing journey—from book to blogging.

1. Begin by writing. Don’t worry about order—get your ideas down. Form and order come in the editing process. The more you write, the quicker and more naturally, form and order come.

2. Use every spare moment to write. Half of my book was written in 10-30 minute sessions on my daily train commute. I continue this habit with my blogging.

3. Believe in yourself. Self doubt can and will question your ability. I heard it and kept going anyway. I let my audience decide if my writing was good enough. So far, feedback has been positive.

4. Find ways to talk about your work. Initially, I didn’t know how to bring my work up in conversation. So I focused on it. The more I talked about it, the easier it got. Yesterday, I joined a panel at the writers festival to discuss my work and my ideas. It was fun. Afterwards I was surprised and  excited by how natural it felt.

5. Prioritise your time. There will always be a reason not to write—too busy, too tired, somebody else needs something. Find a way to incorporate everything you want to do in a day. This is where writing in short sessions helps.

The secret is—find what works for you and keep doing it. If you really want to do something—you will find away.