Most of them start out by advising you to set aside some regular time each day, even if it's only 30 minutes, during which time you will put pen to paper and just go with the flow, setting down thoughts and ideas that flash through your mind.

Their advice is to rise from your bed half an hour early and use this time before anyone else gets up. Failing that, retire later at night, again utilizing this time for your penmanship. If you don't work during the day, then set aside a few precious minutes when everyone else is at school or work.

Fair enough, it's sound advice. But in an already busy and hectic life, where do you find this precious time?

Well, the answer seems to be, wherever and whenever you can.

At the moment I'm sat outside my daughter's school, scribbling on the back of the last school letter she brought home, and which I stuffed in my pocket (I knew there was a use for them!). It's not ideal, because I know that in five minutes time I'll be interrupted and my train of thought broken. But at least I am writing.

Of course it would be better if you could set aside regular time, but the demands of family life, combined with having to work for a living because you are not yet established as a full time writer, seldom give you the time and space required. There is always some minor catastrophe that demands you leave your writer's refuge.

So to me it wouldn't seem to matter when you write. Just do it. Whatever the time of day, if you have a pen and a scrap of paper, write!