When I was writing my first novel, The Dashing Debutante, I sent the first few chapters to a well-known American romance author and asked her for some feedback. She emailed me a critique of the book and told me that I had started it in the wrong place and that I needed to grab the reader’s attention with an action scene rather than the scene I had written, where my heroine was sitting on a log next to a stream, fishing and contemplating her life. I proceeded to make the changes the author suggested, and started the book with a much more dramatic scene.

An opening scene has a very important function in a novel. It needs to have an interesting hook to catch the reader’s attention, so that he or she will continue reading the book.

However, I wonder whether this unwritten rule of writing isn’t a relatively new convention for novelists. When I was growing up, I read Georgette Heyer’s novels, and her books often had slow starts and took a long time to “warm up”. However, because I was a fan of her writing, I persevered through the slow patches and read and enjoyed all of her Regency novels.

I’ve also read Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte’s novels and the writing style of these authors differs from modern writers. Life was lived at a more leisurely pace in the nineteenth century and this translated to the novels that were written at the time. Today, our pace of life has speeded up dramatically to the point where we don’t need to wait for anything in our instant worlds, and this translates to the kind of stories we read and write. These days, readers are far less likely to read a book by an author who takes a while to warm up to a story. Instead, writers have adapted their styles to pique the interest of readers who have much shorter attention spans than readers from previous generations.

Times change, and so do styles of speech and writing. However, sometimes I like to delve back in time to the literature of a different era where life was lived at a less hectic pace, and to savour the work of novelists who manage to maintain the interest of modern readers in spite of the fact that they very clearly break all the modern rules regarding opening scenes and chapters! These are the classic books that have stood the test of time, which perhaps makes us more forgiving of the slow opening chapters than we would be if confronted with the same thing from an unknown modern day author.

Read Read The Dashing Debutante, Lord Fenmore’s Wager and Send and Receive

Perhaps that in itself could be the starting point for a story. (Just an idea.) But why is it that so many people start out on their first novel with such enthusiasm, put so much effort and time into it, and then …?

They lose momentum. They lose confidence in their abilities, or in their work. It could be the idea isn’t thought through, so they lose direction. And some people are simply not prepared for the loneliness, the agony and slog.

Gene Fowler, an American journalist and author, once said: “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

You’ve probably heard it a million times, but it’s still one of my favourites largely, I suppose, because people who have never tried writing a book do sometimes think there’s no great effort involved. “Easier than a real job, hey, nudge, nudge …?” That’s the attitude.

The other day a friend of mine sat next to a doctor on a plane. “What do you do?” he asked.

“I’m a writer,” she said.

“That’s nice. I’m going to do a bit of that when I don’t have to work anymore.”

Only later, she realised she should have added: “Oh yes, It’s nice to have a hobby. I’ve often considered dabbling in brain surgery when I retire.”

Yes it’s true, not everyone can write. But mostly, it’s because they can’t expend the effort. They can’t keep at it,  wrestle their way through what can be months or even years of work. They believe they can “dabble” in it, when there’s nothing more pressing to do.

The most important job of the real writer is … to keep writing. I once heard that Ken Follett likes to declare: “The only difference between me and everyone else out there is discipline.”

I’m told that he sets himself a specific number of words to write every day. He begins at 8.30am and writes consistently till 3.30pm, when he rewards himself with a glass of champagne.

I believe in rewards. Even little rewards. While busy with my first book, I used to fantasise lavish “When my book is published” daydreams. Only, I wouldn’t allow myself to indulge them until I’d finished writing for the day.

There’s nothing more important than just keeping on. It doesn’t have to be perfect first time, so that’s no excuse. All books need good editing and often rewriting.

Make yourself rituals, if that helps. I like to place a certain pen by my computer. And (ridiculous as it sounds) I always wear the same pants when I write. (I become hysterical if they’re in the wash when I want to write.)

I view them quite supersitiously, which helps, I suppose. They can’t be used for doing anything else. That means I can’t “just quickly check my emails”. I’d have to get up, take my pants off, check my emails, get up…

Let me share another tip with you: Don’t talk too much about your book in the making. If you need to work through ideas, choose someone who takes you and your idea seriously.

I know writing is lonely. But talking about it somehow neutralises the desire. It satisfies the story-telling self, and allows you to stop sitting down and doing it.

Also, so many people claim to have a story in them, that few people will take you seriously. They’ll feel that’s the perfect time to barge in and disturb you because … after all, you aren’t really working.

They’ll find it vaguely amusing and ask you, in arch tones, how The Book is going. It’ll begin to seem ridiculous and you’ll feel absurd – an imposter in the literary world. It’s better just to keep quiet, at least until the end is in sight.

So, that’s it really. That’s the secret. People often ask me for one tip for aspiring writers. And I always say just that: Keep writing.

Jo-Anne Richards is the author of four novels. Her latest is My Brother’s Book, published by Picador. Available from Kalahari.net.

Her first novel, The Innocence of Roast Chicken, was published by Headline in London, shortlisted for the M-Net Book Prize and nominated for the Impac International Dublin Award. The book was chosen as a Dillon’s Debut in the UK, to be showcased as “an outstanding first novel”. She has published short stories in five collections.

She lectures in journalism and writing skills at Wits University, besides running workshops in literary skills, narrative journalism and Romance writing. She supervises Masters students in the Creative Writing Masters programme at Wits.

She is co-founder of allaboutlove.net, a website dedicated to good reading and writing. The site publishes novels and short stories, and runs interactive online writing courses in romance writing. It includes a basic lesbian romance writing course – thought to be unique.