Brought to book: what it takes to write a novel

Three prominent Irish authors – Dermot Bolger, Kevin Power and Louise Nealon – reveal the most effective ways to commit a compelling story to paper

Louise Nealon, whose debut novel is due out in May: ‘I only began to write seriously when I gave up the idea of becoming a serious writer.’ Picture Bryan Meade

When the novelist Marian Keyes announced recently that she was going to teach fiction writing for four consecutive Mondays on her Insta-Stories on Instagram, the response was overwhelming. Last Monday, for the first of her four sessions, more than 5,000 people raced over to her Instagram account, to sit before a screen and hear the author of bestsellers such as Rachel’s Holiday, Watermelon and Grown Ups give her advice on how to write a novel, ...