#1 it's a chance to get silly with the content. I could expand on dates, work life, my own Thoughts on dating through fictional characters. Playing with fiction expands the boundaries - how rude you can be and how cheeky.
Boyfriend by Christmas
#2 for the challenge of writing so many words. 500 words a column... Not so hard to reach that word count. Even the same with 1000 for a blog post. But 90,000 for a book? Wow, that's a test and a half!
#3 it'll open up even more writing challenges and opportunities. Like writing for the web. Just like I am now!
#4 it'll help you find your funny. Writing my book allowed me to put some really amusing scenes in that might not totally happen in real life
#5 Closure. On a date, a relationship, a lost job... Expanding a column is a chance to exorcise some emotional demons too. I do that a bit with the the column but even more so in the book.
#6 late night telly. You might, if you're like me, watch a lot of it while writing a book. And it can help. For example The Millionaire Matchmaker!
#7 it'll feed back to your column - never bad for extra readers on both counts!
#8 to give readers more. Sometimes they want an escape, not your column on your real life. It's nice for them to get something new, escapist, silly even.
#9 as a career step. Writing a novel isn't an end goal, it's a step. Maybe to a new column, a new blog, a new book, a film deal. Who knows. But turn columns into a book and you might find all kinds of new doors open.
#10 so you can finally watch Sex and the City and say you know which one of the girls you are. Carrie, of course! And we all know she gets her man in the end as well as her book deal.
Jenny Stallard wrote a column for Metro newspaper, which is now spun into fiction for Penguin - Boyfriend by Christmas out on Thursday 19th November priced £7.99