Writing advice is great – when it works for you. When it doesn’t, find another way of doing things.

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” —W. Somerset Maugham:

“Follow no rule off a cliff”—CJ Cherryh

Accepted Wisdom says: Write every day.

I say: Except when you can’t. It’s all about balance. Come on, guys, life sometimes gets in the way. Some days just have your name on the shit-list from the get-go. You have a dentist’s appointment and come home feeling like you’ve been kicked in the chops by a donkey. Your kid is sick and clingy, so you have to do the mum/dad thing because that’s what being a mum/dad is all about. The washing machine repair man is due at 9.00 a.m., the central heating’s on the fritz and you have a dinner party for fourteen people to prepare…