Write something every day to get your writing muscles in shape – it doesn’t have to be anything more than a description of someone you see on the bus, or a woman walking her dog in the park, just get used to putting words down. The more normal writing feels, the less pressurised you will be and the story, characters and ideas will flow.

Kate Mosse, writer, Chair of Discoveries Judges and Founder Director of the Women's Prizes for Fiction and Non-Fiction

Read a lot because you need to know what other stories are out there. Forget all your worries about what others will think, just focus on telling your story in the best way you can and keep going until you finish.

Award-winning and global bestselling author, Dorothy Koomson

Get your ass in that chair and write! If you’re struggling to find somewhere to start, write a satirical scene using extreme bureaucratic language or jargon.

Peace-building practitioner and 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction shortlisted author, Dr Nussaibah Younis

Try writing a few paragraphs about your life story — first of all, write in the first-person perspective and then rewrite it in the third person perspective, to see which you prefer.

Curtis Brown Literary Agent, Ciara Finan

Fire up your imagination with some free-writing, long-hand: Find a title or opening sentence and write for 15 minutes, without stopping. Later you can go back and see if you’ve come up with something you’d like to develop further. Here’s one to try: ‘She couldn’t open the door’.

Founder and Managing Director of Curtis Brown Creative, Anna Davis