I never grew up thinking the goal in life was to be a millionaire. All the way through college, I had a part-time job. I worked hard to get the things that you need at that age.
Cecelia Ahern
Don't force yourself to write. Some people can write a novel in a few months, whereas for others it can take over a year. I'm lucky to be one of the former - but, even so, if I'm not in the mood to write, I won't. I'll go off, do something else and come back to it when I'm ready.
Decide where and when you want to write. I like space, and silence is an inspiration to me.
Discover your own style. Don't try to repeat what has already been written - have the courage to do your own thing and don't be afraid to do something different.
I write human stories. I write about people. Not as a product of their environment. But from the stance that everybody is made of the same thing.
We have a tendency to put ourselves last, we concentrate on everything else; work, friends, family, home issues, but we ignore the deeper stuff until it becomes so compressed that it can explode.
It's not about finding Mr Right, or that sort of conventional ending, but I do want my characters to have hope - and that's what I do with all my stories.
After having my baby I felt like I'd been introduced to my life, I slowed down, I paid more attention to simple things, I addressed a few issues in my own life, I even got married, I looked at what was important and what wasn't, and so I used that experience for inspiration.
I always like to entertain, first of all, and if the readers take anything away from it that helps them with their own lives, well then, that is a bonus.
I write my novels longhand. I love the feeling of writing; I love to see pen on paper. It feels more creative than typing, and it's a more visual process for me - I can picture the entire scene in my head and am merely writing what I see.
Oh, I talk about things; I drive my husband insane. And I can't tell a lie. Everyone knows. I do this smile thing.
I would love to write a mystery - a romantic, funny mystery.
I want a character to wake up one day and feel like, 'I can face it'. That, to me, is happy. I want the characters to rescue themselves, though you use the relationships you have, to make you strong enough to be able to do that.
Although when I start a novel I know how it will begin and end, I like to let the people within the story take me on a journey between those points without having a fixed plan.
I always want my books to reach a positive point in the end.
Whenever I go to Germany I find that my readers have T-shirts with my book covers printed on them. They come to all the events, they have gifts and they come with their families. They are always very open to sharing their personal stories.
I'm most happy when I am writing at night, because I need space and time to write.
I just feel very often like a child in an absolutely weird world. I think that life is quite weird sometimes.
I always take a story that's kind of out there, like an urban myth. I take some possibility that people imagine, that they are familiar with, and try to turn it into a story.
I write about emotions - falling in and out of love, finding what you want to do, no matter where you are or who you are. I think that's why people feel connected.
