The work room needs to be ready. Preparation is everything. Most bad days happen because I turn up and have to clean up. Good days, I’m organised the night before.

What can I say? Notebooks make me happy… I can almost map my writing life by a procession of their quirks and colours. Inside are random ideas and attempts at new routines.

Every now and then, I realise just how much work I’ve done. Often I feel like I’m lazy, never applying myself properly, never quite getting things right…