There are thousands of aspiring writers desperate to get their stories on the page and out into the world.

For many, the biggest hurdle to overcome is themselves. As Stephen May says: "People always have other things to do, are too busy to find the time."

Some of the more serious ones sometimes find themselves on an Arvon Foundation course, week-long retreats for writers to hone their craft and, most importantly, to make themselves find the time.

As the director of the Lumb Bank Arvon Foundation at Hebden Bridge, in the former home of Ted Hughes, Stephen May has enjoyed watching writers attend courses and go on to have success with their own books. It was, however, a double edged sword for May. With every success he saw, he was reminded that his own novel was not yet written.

"Eventually, when everyone around you is writing all the time, you realise that all the excuses fly out of the window and you have to just sit down and get it done – or not," says May. So he did. When he had finished organising things for the day and the aspiring writers had gone off to do their work, he would sit in Ted Hughes's old library and work on his manuscript.

As May says, there could have been fewer more perfect settings for writing his novel.

The result is Tag, a book which the self-deprecating author is clearly very proud of. It has been going down well at the literature festivals he has appeared at this summer, not least Ilkley, where he spoke about the experience of being a first-time novelist.

"I still read from one of the very first chapters, but I'm hoping that the more I do, the more confident I'll become about reading other bits of the book," says May, who is also a playwright and recently left the Lumb Bank Centre to become a storyliner for Emmerdale.

Tag tells the story of a 15 year old girl, Mistyann, who is bright but badly behaved in school and is placed in a class for gifted children.

The class is taught by Jonathan Diamond, a middle-aged teacher who was also considered gifted at school but did not go on to fulfil his potential. These two people find themselves thrown together when the class and teacher go to Wales for a special residential course.

May was inspired to write the book by his previous experience as a drama teacher. "I thought it would be interesting to take a character who was not from a privileged background and make her one of the 'gifted' class," says May.

"I wanted to write something that was like a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time."

In Ilkley, May talked about the frustrations of trying to get his book published.Eventually it was accepted by Cinnamon Press and the book was launched on October 1.

"It is the most extraordinary thing, actually holding a book that you have written, with your name on it," says May, finally able to feel the kind of satisfaction that many of those he watched come and go through Lumb Bank experienced.

Stephen May is appearing at Sheffield's Off the Shelf Literature Festival on November 1. Tag is published by Cinnamon Press.