Darren McGarvey: Determination trumps self-loathing - and dirty nappies

Scottish author and broadcaster Denise Mina, when asked for advice by an aspiring writer, struggling to complete their first novel, dispensed her formidable wisdom with characteristic candour, in the bluntest possible terms: “Just write your f****** book.” At the risk of appearing insensitive, to those writers of a fragile disposition, Mina’s frankness, painful in its simplicity, instantly demystified the process. Mina’s no-nonsense advice, which may not have been what that particular writer was looking for, was, thankfully, exactly what I needed to hear and soon became a beautifully practical mantra to which I’d find myself returning, as I embarked on the self-imposed hell of my first book.