It does not represent selling out to use your skills with language to earn money by writing reviews and other pieces. In fact, it is essential for many writers to get by on more mundane aspects of dealing with language so that they have the time and resources to enable them to write what they really want to write at the same time.

This originality can come in different guises. For instance, you could simple have a wonderfully original story. Otherwise you might have stumbled across a very original voice. Alternatively, it could be the style you have developed that stands out as very original.

You should persevere until you find the originality that makes you stand out as a writer with real potential and then indulge it as best you can.

It is often the case that the world provides plenty of subject matter for you to write on even when everything around you is ostensibly mundane and uninteresting. It is up to you as a writer to interpret such situations in order to say something meaningful, funny or thoughtful.

It makes sense to have a portable laptop so that you can write in cafes and other public spaces. However, if you work better away from the hustle and bustle of these places, you could take your laptop to a city library for some peace and quiet.

Language can be great fun. A lot of great writing involves genuine humour as well as serious moments. It is only natural that you should indulge your more humorous instincts when you write, because otherwise you may find it hard to see the true pleasure in what you do.

This is not to suggest that you should abandon your more serious projects. It is merely a reminder that humour is good for you and for your readers.

In many ways, having a knack for transitions is naturally because it is about what feels right more than following a given formula. However, the more you read the work of good writers, taking note of how they treat transitions, the better you will approach the matter yourself.

However, you must try not to let the act of jotting the word down conclude your relationship with it. Try and use each new entry in the coming days. Familiarise yourself with its meaning and use it wherever opportunity allows – in an email, in your own writing, at work, in conversation or even in a game of scrabble.

It might seem strange to use these words in such contexts and no doubt you’ll have to explain yourself for more elaborate examples, but simple use is the best way to ingrain them in your mind so that you have them ready when you need them.

What these errors show you is just how important proofreading is. When your next step is to send material to agents or publishers, you cannot afford to let any errors undermine the quality of your work.

Burnout prevents you from proofreading effectively. This does not just refer to your state of mind at the time of editing, but also to the number of times you have been exposed to the same material. You need someone else to help with your proofreading to do justice to your ideas.

However, you should remember that the best training for writing a novel is to get the thing written. If you read it back and feel at all happy with it, then you’ll know that there is something to work on. Getting that first novel written is about working with what you have, so let your creative talent take centre stage and try and focus on the fact that some of the most famous names have produced work that isn’t ostensibly ‘about’ anything.

Flash fiction is good for writers who can’t face the idea of embarking upon or continuing with a major project. Writing little stories and vignettes as short as a single paragraph can be enough to stave off a chronic case of literary inertia.

It sounds strange, but even putting some creative flair into your emails, letters and notes can help tap into the imaginative reserves stored somewhere upstairs.