How to Be a Lean Mean Writing Machine

Padding is great for sheds - the more of it the better, as far as I'm concerned, because I'm hoping it's going to keep me warm and toasty the whole winter through.

It ain't so good for novels, though.  There can sometimes be the temptation, particularly if you are writing in the middle period and desperate to put on length, to wodge things out so that your internal wordometer will tick over more rapidly.  This is why editing is so important -- if you want to write elegantly, economy is essential.  Because of this, I'm not a great fan of having a daily target: I must write a thousand words before lunchtime.  I try and let my own literary rhythm dictate how much I write, in the belief that each day's work has its natural length and that forcing the issue will add fat but not muscle to my prose -- the kind of insulation you can do without....