HOW TO HOLD ON TO YOUR FLASHES OF INSPIRATION

The best ideas often come to you when you're in bed! Or on a bus, train or plane, eating lunch in a pub or grabbing a coffee halfway through a shopping trip.

KEEP A NOTEBOOK (preferably two, three or even more). One in your bedside cabinet, one in your handbag or briefcase, one in your office desk drawer, one in your coat pocket.  If anything good occurs to you, note it down IMMEDIATELY! You'd be surprised how quickly good ideas can be forgotten if you don't record them.

Many writers have a special thinking place. Somewhere the ideas come thick and fast. It could be a garden shed kitted out as an office, a favourite chair by the fire, a warm comfortable bed - but not too warm and comfortable or you'll doze off.

My favourite place is my bathroom. Lying in a hot steamy bath, with notebook propped on my knees may not be the most practical method of note taking but that's where I'm most productive.

Of course, the notebook soon becomes cockled and damp, the writing angle is unsuitable for ball point pens, pencilled notes are hard to read back through the steam, and how do you juggle notebook and pencil with your glass of wine?

Ah well, who said a writer's life is easy?