But you don’t need to be young or fit to write. Anyone who is reasonably literate, who has an active imagination and who has a streak of stubborn persistence when they want something can learn to write publishable novels.

You may be good with words and have some really good ideas for novels, but you’ll still have to learn and practise your craft to reach a professional standard in your writing. Very few people can sit down and write a publishable book straight away. And as with athletes, this training will probably take you years.

But that’s all right. Writing is not only a pleasurable activity, but if you keep your early efforts, you will be able to see and rejoice in the progress you’re making as you go along. You’ll also have many chances to make new friends among other writers in training, because most writers are very friendly and supportive of one another.

Becoming a famous author doesn’t happen overnight. Not only will you need years of training to learn to write professionally, but even after you get published you’ll need a few years to build up name recognition and establish yourself as a writer. That’s not very different from getting ahead in any job, is it?

All writers get rejections on the way to getting published. It’s part of the game. You don’t think young athletes win every race, do you? The good news is that only real writers get as far as having their work rejected. It’s a huge achievement even to finish a novel, whether it gets published or not.

Whatever sort of book you want to write, you’ll need to understand what readers (and therefore the editors who buy books) expect of that sort of tale eg romance, horror, fantasy, whatever. Therefore you need to read lots of books in your area. That way you’ll avoid using the sort of plot that’s been done to death, or writing the wrong length of book, or sending your manuscript to the wrong sort of publisher.

There are lots of writers’ groups and associations who will give you support and help. This web site belongs to the Romance Writers of Australia, a large and lively organisation with all sorts of benefits available to members, including critique groups all over Australia, an email discussion group, workshops and seminars in each state, plus an annual conference noted for its friendly atmosphere. There is lots of potential for making new friends, whether in person or by email, but most of all there is the chance to develop your skills and gain an understanding of the publishing world.

The best way to train yourself is to write. The more you write the better you’ll get. You can also go to workshops or buy how-to books. There are plenty of both around. Just make sure any workshop you attend is run by someone who knows their stuff and can tell you about your sort of writing. And don’t just read how-to books but apply their ideas to your own writing - some will suit you, some won’t, because there is no single approach to writing novels that suits everyone.

I’ll say it again, because it’s so important. Whatever methods you use to train yourself, keep writing. That’s the most important thing of all. Golfers play golf regularly. Writers write regularly. But beware - you can become addicted!

3. It’s easy to become a writer

Yes, it is. Very easy. As long as you’re writing, you’re a writer. It is not easy, however, to get published and become an ‘author’ ie a published writer. But although it might take you a long time to learn to write, you can set your own pace to fit in with the rest of your life, do your writing at home and keep your efforts private until you’re ready to show them to people.

Most people who persevere with writing enjoy doing it. Therefore even before you get to publication stage, you gain pleasure from what you’re doing. If you don’t enjoy writing, take up golf or oil painting instead.

If you want to write romances, whether it’s category romances such as Harlequin Mills & Boon publish, or the longer mainstream romance novels, you can do no better than join the Romance Writers of Australia. You’ll find a warm, supportive community of people who understand what it’s like, a valuable monthly newsletter and an on-line email group that contains some well-known romance and mainstream authors who generously share their knowledge.