Live an interesting life. Meet people. Read a lot and widely, learn from the great writers

By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to my best friend or one of my grandchildren.

But I didn’t dare. That has always been my trouble. I’ve never dared enough.

Encouraging young people to believe in themselves and find their own voice whether it's through writing, drama or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self-worth.

When I write I try as far as possible to forget I'm writing it at all. I tell it down onto the page, as if I'm telling it to one person only, my best friend.

Stories make you think and dream; books make you want to ask questions.

I could believe only in the hell I was living in, a hell on earth, and it was man-made, not God-made.