How arduous is the path to becoming a published author? Is it about the synopsis the first chapter the language the style the story line? Such puzzling thoughts cross your mind every time you hold the pen. There are times when your protagonist gate-crashes into your sleep and you get an itch to write in the dead of night. At times you want to give it up or wish for someone to guide you along.

Then you find solace in the truth that there's always a first time for any successful writer. With just one week left to submit your entries for the Montegrappa Writing Prize a competition dedicated to UAE residents you might want to hear a few words of advice from the horse's mouth.

"There's really no secret to becoming a published writer. It all boils down to hard work imagination passion and disciplined writing" said Luigi Bonomi top UK literary agent and head of the jury at the Montegrappa Prize part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and already a springboard for three published authors in just three years.

Here are a few tips on how to start writing and get published:

WRITE: Even for experienced authors starting with a blank page is a daunting prospect! But know this: from the most absorbing romance to the most twisted and wicked mystery novel all books got written the same way: by putting words to paper. That's the reason why successful writers are disciplined about writing and have developed a routine that helps them write every day without fail. Some writers even have a daily quota of at least one page. Writing 'if and when the inspiration strikes' is a myth it's not the way you'll ever finish a book. So take your writing seriously see what routine works for you and talk yourself into sticking to it so you can get a lot of practice.

WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT: As a first-time writer you should start from a point of familiarity and write about the things you know. Don't think of it literally in terms of events in your life because that could be limiting.

Think of the emotions you experienced - joy sorrow loss fear pride - and the value of those experiences. This is the basis of all human connection and also for good fiction. Once you get this right you made your readers feel connected to you invested in the story about to unfold and you can let your imagination soar and take them to any place and time.

HOW TO GET STARTED: Many great novels have an exploratory approach for the writer the starting point may be an incident he read about in the newspaper a chance encounter of seconds with a stranger he can see as a fully fleshed character a moral dilemma he overheard people debating in a restaurant.

These and more situations like these can provide an excellent starting point and even a hint to the kind of ending your novel will have. For experienced writers writing the novel from the beginning to the end is an exploration process they're in control of.

For first time writers this fluid approach may prove to be less effective and even less so rewarding. It's best to start with an outline of your plot which can be basic or more detailed depending what serves you best.

THE FIRST CHAPTER: A great book announces itself from t

he very first page. Susan Sontag said once "The story must strike a nerve - in me. My heart should start pounding when I hear the first line in my head. I start trembling at the risk". As a writer this is the impact you want your writing to have on your readers.

So how do you achieve this in the first 2000 words? It takes a lot of skill and talent that you can gain through a lot of practice. But on the technical side there are a few pointers you should be aware of. Many first-time writers spend too much time on settings.

DYNAMIC APPROACH: Set the plot in motion introduce the main character and importantly make us care for him or her. If the readers are intrigued or invested they'll read the second chapter and the one after that.

DON'T FORGET SYNOPSIS:

Your synopsis should capture the story of the main character the conflict he /she faces and how it gets resolved. The key to a good synopsis is to be more than a brief account of the plot.

Think of the synopsis as a trailer (with spoilers) for your book: it needs to be exciting and absorbing make the agent or the publisher interested to read the entire manuscript.

The Montegrappa competition is aimed at budding writers in the UAE who are not yet published novelists.

The submission criteria for participants include a synopsis of 400 words and the first 2000 words of the manuscript to be submitted by January 10 2016.

Will it be a maleauthor this time?

Past winners have all been women so far and have either had a book deal since winning the competition and are now published authors or are finalising their manuscripts with the help of a literary agent. This rate of success is quite extraordinary:

> 2013 winner Annabel Kantaria secured a three-book deal with Harlequin on the strength of her competition novel Coming Home out in April last year.

> 2013 runner-up Rachel Hamilton received a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster based on her competition entry The Case of the Exploding Loo (a book for children aged 10-13) published in 2014.

> 2014 winner Michele Martin (whose manuscript Felicity was about a Filipina maid falsely accused of killing her boss's baby) and 2014 runners-up Lucinda Martin (Moth and the Nightingale a fantasy story aimed at 13 year-old girls) and Dima Lababidi (An Unhappy Wedding the story of a young girl trying to assert her independence) are close to signing similar publishing deals.

> 2015 winner Claudine Pabst is polishing her young adult fantasy manuscript The Reluctant Thief. -