There’s only now.

It’s only recently that I’ve finally started introducing myself as a writer and not an architect, and I’ve had a lot of people subsequently tell me that they’d write a book too, if only they had the time or the inspiration. I give them a knowing smile and nod, but on the inside I’m not sure I believe them. Because the one thing the last five years of writing has shown me is that there’s never a perfect time to write (or perfect spot, or perfect day). There’s only now, and the time you make. There’s only the work that you do.

Because inspiration is all around. Every day you’ll see more ideas for stories than you could ever hope to tell, but the only way to explore them is to sit down and write. Not all of them will lead where you hope, but to find the ones that will you need to sit down and write. Not because you want to sell a million copies, or become a household name, but for the simple love of it. The satisfaction of telling the story, your story.

So don’t wait for the perfect time, or the divine burst of inspiration, because I have a sneaking feeling you’ll be waiting your entire life. Writing a novel is not something you can wish for, you have to work for it. So be brave, sit down, and get started, because you’ll only fail if you never try.