Fiction writers know a lot about point of view. One thing they know is that, from the point of view of their publisher's accountant, commercial success has considerable edge over artistic truth. This is frustrating for authors who serve their art scrupulously but make little return on it. Unfortunately, loss-making writers give the impression that if you sell well, because you can ‘turn plot and character’, you are a lesser species. Many new writers find themselves at this crossroads of literary choice.

When you are starting to write, choose the road more travelled by. For simplicity, I use the term ‘story’ throughout this chapter to describe your writing, although I am aware you may write something that does not have a traditional form or structure. Any recommendations I make about wordcount are for guidance only, and are in no way prescriptive. Your job is to create ‘story’; that is, to make believable prose narrative and characters.