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A lot of novice writers worry about how long to make chapters, but this is another area in which you make the decision. A simple rule I used early on was to keep them logical. For example, arriving at Catterick, being allocated a bed space, issued kit and first day admin. My next chapter was about the early stages of actual training. It all depends on the way you want to relate your story.

The most important thing is to get it down on paper, or on a screen, so that you see progress. Don’t get annoyed and rip things up or delete them because it’s important that you have something tangible to look at to see how you’re doing.

No matter how good your stamina, don’t try to write the whole manuscript in one sitting. In the early sessions in particular, write for about an hour, and either stop for the day, or take a short break. It’s massively important that you enjoy the process, and remember, it’s your story you’re telling, and we all know how much we love to pull up a sandbag.

Let’s say that on your first day of writing you did two one-hour sessions and produced your first chapter. When you return to it the next day, don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t sound brilliant. Read it through, and get started on the next part. Try to produce as much on each session, each day.

Use your notes, lists, and brainstorming sheets as reference and keep on writing.

My suggestion would be to keep going until the story is written. This might take days, weeks or even months, but however long it takes, it’s called the first draft. This isn’t something you do as a one-off effort, and there will many more drafts.

**(Computer users, save the file with a suitable name, and date alongside it).

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