Camilla Long is The Sunday Times film critic and interviewer, and columnist. Here she talks about what inspires her writing.

How did you start writing for The Sunday Times?

I was hired by Tiffanie Darke as her deputy on Style magazine. I became a writer for the paper about a year after moving to the desk and now I write for all sections (although not Driving yet – I still can’t drive!).

You have nearly 70,000 followers on Twitter, how does social media shape your work?

For someone who is curious and likes to be reading things at all times, Twitter provides links, ideas, stuff you’d never otherwise have considered. It is a newswire, a place to try out new material, as well as a joke shop. I find people who don’t use it baffling. It’s like cutting out a whole stream of information – saying, I don’t think I’ll do the television today, for example – why would you do that?

How do you keep your reviews fresh and honest?

I am unable to lie. I always feel if someone has paid me to offer an opinion it must be an honest one. So it’s not like I have to make an effort to be truthful. Sometimes it takes a little while to work out what you really think about something. Spending time wrestling with a problem or reading up is as important as the writing itself. I make a big effort not to pay attention to people who are angry with me for saying what I think. That’s usually a sign I’m doing things right.

What is your advice for budding columnists?

Write as much as possible – it takes hours and hours of practice. Also read other people, read as many books as possible. Remember that the best source of new information (in spite of my comments about Twitter above) is other human beings. Picking up the phone or going out and meeting people is the best way to develop ideas and find things out. Don’t write anything you know to be actual crap – 90 per cent of blogs are ill conceived, ill thought out blah written by people who only write for fun. An editor and a deadline will put a stop to the bullshit almost instantly. And, oh, writer’s block is a myth.

What are your five desk essentials?

I write in bed, so: a laptop; a duvet; a cup of coffee; books; someone filthy/amusing on the end of the line for inspiration and/or gossip (mostly gossip).