Angels come in many guises, and they tread so gently you might not recognise one until something prompts you to stop for a second and just think…

The writing world seems largely split into two: those who love editing and those who would rather have teeth removed. I’m firmly in the former camp.

Nothing strikes fear into my soul like the perennial author interview question: where do you get your ideas? The thing is I hardly ever have any; blood from a stone doesn’t even go near it. Yet, I have students who come to class recounting five cracking ideas developed on the bus into town, and still had time to write their shopping list into a witty haiku.

Can creative writing can be taught? Are writers born or made? Does everyone have a book in them? As a tutor of a range of writing classes, most of the time I’m commenting on ideas, asking questions about a text, teasing out stories, refining style and hopefully guiding a writer through the process of getting something down on paper – until there work is the best it can be. It’s facilitating the ‘spark’ that comes from an individual’s imagination… In recent years, the number of writing courses available across the spectrum from complete beginners to the post-graduate and published, has ballooned. If you have the aspiration, time, and money (sometimes quite a lot of it) then you will find a course to suit you. The trick is to shop around – and around again, check out the testimonials and listen out for recommendations – and find one that you will learn...

As if the world needs another analogy about writing a novel, I’ve got one anyway: it’s like driving the length of a country (continent?) in a car you love and are reasonably sure of but you’ve never taken it further than the nearest town before. You’ve got a map but it’s vague and whilst some of the people you meet en route wave you on, others turn you back suggesting a different road…

I could develop quite a taste for touring the world and speaking at Book Festivals: books a-plenty, great company, beautiful locations… what’s not to like? Last weekend saw me heading to the west of Scotland, to Tarbert, to their 4th annual festival. It was a fabulous few days with authors like Janice Galloway and Chris Brookmyre topping the bill, ably matched by more local writers, and art and cultural enthusiasts. I won’t steal from the official website! Head over to http://www.tarbertbookfestival.org/ for the lowdown.   What I’d like to spend a few minutes writing about is being in the privileged position of having judged the Tarbert Book Festival’s inaugural short story competition. I used to be slightly sceptical of judges’ feedback to writing competitions – you know, that line where they say something about ‘there being so many entries of such a high standard’? That’s well and truly changed now I’ve...