Whenever I release a new book, interviewers commonly ask me about my writing habits – what are my sources of inspiration; do I plan or write off-the-cuff; where do I write?

Here’s a little guide to writing a romance novel, the Hannah Fielding way. I’m sure all sorts of other ways exist, but after writing seven novels, I have found that this approach serves me very well.

1. Seek out inspiration.

Read books, watch movies, go to the theatre, go to art galleries, listen to music, take walks in nature, people-watch on a park bench. Challenge yourself to push outside of your comfort zone – try a new cuisine or learn about the culture of a foreign country. Let experience and novelty awaken the muse.

2. Dream.
Give yourself the space and time to just dream, to let the imagination take flight. (This is absolutely my favourite stage of the process!) Keep a notebook to hand and jot down ideas as they come. Give equal weight to all ideas; there is no wrong or right, just fantasy that creates the seeds for the book.

3. Plan.
Once the story is vivid in your mind, sit down with a notebook and outline it. Sketch the characters –their backgrounds, their personalities, the journeys they will take in the book. Map out the entire story and organise each chapter in turn. This will make the writing so much easier; if you find that you deviate from the plan as you write, so be it, but having a plan in the first place means you can relax, knowing where the writing is heading.

4. Write.
Rise early, eat a light breakfast and take a cup of herbal tea – pomegranate is best. Close the door to the office, open the laptop and write, and write, and write. Write through lunch, unless some kind soul realises that you are so immersed that you have lost track of time and comes to call you to the dining table.

In the afternoon, change the scene: write in the garden if the weather is fine, or settle by the fire in the library. Write until fatigue takes you over or it is dinner time, whichever comes first. Save all of the day’s writing on the cloud, just in case. Try to walk away and relax, letting go of the book (but generally fail at this and spend the evening lost in your story world).

Repeat day after day, month after month, until those two beautiful words, The End.

5. Edit.
Ideally, take a break between writing and editing – months, even – so that you return to the manuscript with fresh eyes. Print out the book, read it through in one flow and make any overarching editorial notes. Then work through page by page, marking up amendments with a pencil. Transpose the edits to the document on the computer. Print the book again and read it, ensuring both the inner editor and the muse are satisfied.

6. Begin again.
Once the book is with the publisher, a new process begins – further editing, perhaps; proofreading; design; marketing. Alongside this work, seek inspiration for the next novel. Dream. Make notes. There is no in-between, there is only creating a new novel: where one ends, a new begins.