"Make your own way", " Stand on your own two feet" or my mother's favorite remark when I was face-to-face with consequences of some action: "Now that you've made your bed, lie on it."

Perhaps the quickest way to understand the elements of what a novelist is doing is not to read, but to write; to make your own experiment with the dangers and difficulties of words.

"You can go such a long way to make things that look professional but still have your own voice," she explained.