I personally believe that it is very important to plan the book carefully in advance. And there is a section in my website, www.IsabelWolff.com which is a Guide to Writing and Getting Published, which may help you with that – all the golden rules which I learned by trial and error - and from other writers – are there, and I would like to pass them, on to you.

For example, that one should have no more than six main characters, otherwise the reader isn’t going to be interested in following their fortunes. How to make a funny bit follow a sad bit, so that there is emotional texture. How to create suspense, or sew in red herrings, so that you mislead your reader, but not so much as to frustrate them. How to outwit your readers so that they will not be able to guess how the story is going to work out. (They may very well guess who the heroine is ultimately going to end up with – just as we know in Pride and Prejudice that Lizzie Bennet will end up with Mr. Darcy – but what one doesn’t know is how.)

I think writing a novel is like going on a journey, and so it’s important to plan that journey beforehand, as far as possible. So I would advise writing a fairly detailed synopsis – or as detailed as you can make it – before starting. I often say it’s like creating a map of a place you’ve never been. You have to put in the geographical features, and the landmarks, and the main roads, and the side roads, and a few little cul de sacs to mislead your reader, sending them up the wrong path – in a way that will delight, rather than annoy them, though. Or you could say it’s like building a house – it has to have firm foundations, and you have to know roughly how many rooms, and where the walls will go, and how many windows – and what type of roof - and then you can embellish it later.

I think that the best rule of thumb as far as knowing whether or not the humour is working, is whether or not it’s working for you. I now know, through experience, that if it’s making me laugh, then my readers will probably be laughing – and ditto if it’s making me cry. Humour is of course, to a degree, subjective, but I think you just have to trust your own instincts.

Read in your Genre

The other really important bit of advice I was given is to read around your own genre. So if you want to write romantic comedies, then read them, and watch them too at the cinema – steep yourself in your chosen genre. Analyse what’s worked about them – and what hasn’t. Take the story lines apart, and work out how they were constructed. It’s a very useful exercise. But above all, a successful romantic comedy is sincere. It is not just constructed – it should be heartfelt, you must believe in your story - otherwise it won’t engage the reader’s emotion.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and I really wish you all fantastic good luck with your own books.

Publishing Details for Isabel Wolff’s Books

‘The Trials of Tiffany Trott’ – Dutton NAL

‘Making Minty Malone’ – Dutton NAL

‘Out of the Blue’,  Red Dress Ink. Will be published in mass market paperback in November 2005.

‘Rescuing Rose’ – Red Dress Ink.

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