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© Dan Simpson
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In every episode we look inside the daily diary of a writer, to peak at the secrets of their success. How do they plan their day and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller?Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away for days in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it.
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Shaun Bythell runs 'The Bookshop' in Wigtown, it's Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop, and is now incredibly popular. Back in 2017, Shaun published, 'The Diary of a Bookseller', a book filled with his daily experiences running the store. People fell in love with his wry musings, the life of a bookseller, and it became a Sunday Times bestseller. He's followed it up with 'Confessions of a Bookseller', and 'Remainders of the Day', in the 'Bookseller Series'.We talk about why everyone finds the life of a bookseller appealing and whether that's really what it's like. You can hear how a diary becomes published, how an editor works on it, and whether having them published has changed how he writes a diary. This was recorded back in 2022, I have no clue why it's taken so long to be released. Sorry Shaun, and I hope you enjoy the episode!Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jonny Sweet won the 'Best Newcomer' Prize at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, created a sketch group with 'The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, and appeared in many TV Comedies, including 'Chickens' and 'Him and Her'. He wrote the movie 'Wicked Little Letters' starring Olivia Colman, which was released this year. He has also just published one of the most acclaimed novels of the year. 'The Kellerby Code' tells the story of Edward, living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. Getting by doing odd jobs for friends, he falls in love with one of them, and after a little act of kindness in the group takes a sinister turn, it unleashes the unspeakable brutality at Edward's core.We talk about why he's been lying to people about the plot, and how the writing process changes depending on what he's working on. You can hear how much he thinks like a director when writing, and why he prefers not to hear himself think. This novel has been highly recommended by some of the best authors around, and we discuss how he deals with such praise.You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our special guest this week is Kate Storey. Under the name Lisa Timoney, she's published 3 books, 'Her Daughter's Secret', 'Her Mother's Lies' and 'His Secret Wife'... but a change of genre means a change of name.Kate's back with book club fiction now, and has published, 'The Memory Library'. It's all about Sally Harrison, who has been building a library for 43 years. Every year she adds a new book to it, dedicated to her estranged daughter Ella who has fled to Australia... however, when disaster strikes, Ella must return home and fix their relationship. It's an ex-English teacher's dream novel, a book about books!We discuss outlining, how much she knows what she's doing, without trying to limit the places her characters could take her. Also, we chat through how how she has learned as an author, and what she wants to change about the way she works. You can hear why she finds pictures online to inspire her characters, what it's like to work with an editor, and how far the finished book is from her very first idea.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After writing around 7 books and getting many rejections or near-misses, Alina Khawaja finally has a published novel. It's called 'Maya's Laws of Love', and tells the story of Maya on her way to Pakistan for an arranged marriage she hopes will end with love. Only, after a disastrous journey, she begins to wonder if Mr. Right might actually be someone else she meets along the way.Alina is well read and decorated, with a degree in English, History and Creative Writing, and a Masters in Literatures of Modernity, and all the time whilst studying, she's been writing. She's been carrying on in the face of rejections, reading to get better, and cracking out stories. You can hear how she dealt with rejections and near-misses, and why she thinks this novel finally got her published. Also, at a time when self-publishing has never been easier or more successful, we talk about why Alina was desperate to follow the traditional route.You can hear about her outlining process and whether that's likely to change, also why she tries to avoid tangents, and how she's trying to make her work stand out in busy bookshelves.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Samuel Burr has worked as a TV executive, creating shows like 'The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds', 'Eight Go Rallying', and 'The Secret Life of Cleaners'. Many years ago he worked on a documentary in a retirement home, now it's given him the basis for his debut novel.'The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers' looks at Clayton Sumper, an enigma who was abandoned at birth on the steps of the puzzlemakers, ending up being raised by some of the sharpest minds in the country. The hope is that he's learned from them, as to discover the secrets of who he is and who he can be, he needs to crack one last puzzle.We talk about the details of writing such a tricksy book, matching chapter names to crossword answers, and how getting deep into those details impacted his ability to be creative. You can hear why he works towards a final sentence, also why he uses the pomodoro technique, and how he gets ideas by spying on strangers.We discuss his time at the Faber Academy, how working in TV has influenced his storytelling in novels, and you can hear about the business of writing - what does an advance mean? What happens if you get a big deal? How do you get paid?Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Caz Frear was launched to debut success after winning the 'Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller' competition. Her novel, 'Sweet Little Lies', won the prize and found the bestselling status they searched for. What happens next? How do you follow up on debut success? Caz discusses how she dealt with that writing her 2nd and 3rd novels, and why she's constantly looking to make her day better and improve how she works. We talk about the tech problems she attempts to deal with, how the process has changed after being a number of books down, and how she deals with the pressures of being an author that needs to do everything.Her new novel is 'Five Bad Deeds', which tells the story of Ellen Walsh, a teacher, mother, wife, and all round good citizen, who discovers she has done something incredibly bad... but has no idea what.You can hear about why she's changed her work-day to go easy on herself, how he stays creative while doing the admin, and how she's changed her mindset of working.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chioma Okereke's writing career started as a performance poet, even though she was terrified of performing poetry. From there she wrote short fiction, and was a highly placed runner up in the Costa Short Story Award, for 'Trompette de la Mort'. Her move into long-form began with her debut 'Bitter Leaf', which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize. Her new novel is 'Water Baby', which looks at a 19 year old woman trying to escape her community in Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria. It explores the themes of education, digitalisation, and the representation of Africa. Her research for the novel prompted her to start a charity, 'Makoko Pearls', which is a direct and safe way to financially support the community.We discuss why it was inspired by her wandering thoughts during a cooking show, also how she researched the location, which is so vital to the plot, without going there for a while. You can hear why living around the world has influenced her reason to write stories, how changing her plotting method has helped her 2nd novel, and find out why you can accept that some days are simply bad.You can hear why her desk is always messy, how performing poetry affected how she viewed novels, and what she does when facing a creative block.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Paul Carlucci has published 3 short story collections and works as a copywriter, making other peoples work read better. He's just released one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the year, it's called 'The Voyageur'.It tells the story of Alex, a motherless stockboy in 19th century Montreal, who is taken in by Serge, a drunken fur trader. After heading out on an expedition into the wilderness which goes awry, Alex must fend for himself at the mercy of stranger men, and a seemingly brilliant saviour in Dr Beaumount.We talk about the novel being inspired by real life, and how he blended fact with fiction. Also, you can hear about the switch from short stories to long form, and what he's learned from a day-job in copywriting. We chat through learning grammar and how that affects creative storytelling, and how much he worries about the formalities of writing when getting down prose. You can hear about his particular blend of plotting and pantsing, and why this project would be lost without his current publisher.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kerry Andrew is an all-round creative. As a composer, they've won 4 British Composer Awards, as a writer they've been nominated twice for the BBC National Short Story Award. Kerry has published 2 novels, 'Swansong', 'Skin', and is back with a third, 'We Are Together Because'.It's all about siblings Luke, Connor, Thea and Violet, spending their first summer in their estranged father's house. Truth is, they don't even know each other too well, and when the worst happens, they discover if they can rely only rely on each other.We talk about what life is like on a writing retreat and whether being around creatives gives you a different kind of energy. Also why writing in the past might change you write in the present, you can hear about the search for the perfect word, and why a recent health diagnosis has made Kerry evaluate what they really want to do.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Daisy Goodwin has created some legendary television shows. She's the brains behind 'Grand Designs', 'Escape to the Country', and the historical drama, 'Victoria', based on Queen Victoria, which was sold in 146 countries.She's published poetry, had 3 bestselling novels, 'My Last Duchess', 'The Fortune Hunter', and 'Victoria, which together have been translated into 17 countries.Her newest novel is 'Diva'. It tells the story of Maria Callas, one of the world's greatest opera singers, who falls in love with rich magnate Aristotle Onassis, right before he marries First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. We discuss the thorough research, which included having singing lessons. Also you can hear about the balance of fact and fiction in historical novels, how she has adjusted to having ideas for novels rather than TV, and why she took 5 years away from novel-writing.You can hear about the differences between international editors, why she's careful about what she reads when writing, and we ask whether you're an architect or a gardener.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
One of the most frequent requests to writersroutine.com is for fantasy authors. World builders. Authors with the ability to take you on an adventure across times, dimensions and brand new maps.This week's guest, Max Moyer, has figured a way to do that. His new book 'Zodak - The Last Shielder', is the first in a new series, 'Tempest Rising'. There is a prequel novella already out, 'Throne Born', and this properly sets up a new world that's been in Max's head for 30 years. It started as an idea for a board-game and fantasy series with his brother, yet when life got in the way, Max left it untouched for 18 years. Now, alongside his sibling, he's created a brand new world with new lands, strange magic, and unusual creatures.We get right into the detail of world-building - how to get the specifics right, how to create lands, magic, even accents. You can hear whether the plot comes before the world and how organic the world is created. We discuss whether it provides an easy get-out for a character in danger, and why he went back to his idea after 18 years away.Max runs a law-firm and has helped raise a big family, you can hear how he's created time to do this, and what big plans he has for the series.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new podcast series you can binge now.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mari Hannah is a prolific writer. Over the last 12 years she's won the Northern Writer's Award, the Polari First Book Prize, the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, and Capital Crime's Crime Book of the Year. She's a series authors, publishing books in the 'Stone and Oliver' series, the 'Ryan and O'Neil' novels, and the 'Kate Daniels' thrillers.Her newest novel is 'The Longest Goodbye', and it sees Kate Daniels involved in a case incredibly close to her. It's the story Mari never wanted to write. Inspired by a moment she thought her partner, a police officer, had been killed in the line of duty.We talk about series writing and how she plans characters and arcs over a long time. Also, about the precision across details that is needed when writing crime, her murder wall, and the tool-box that moves with her through the series.You can hear how closely she works with her partner, to uncover the unknowns of police life, also how working in a prison has helped Mari deal with some of the tougher parts of writing crime, and the rules of genre.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Triona Campbell worked as a TV producer and writer, creating many dramas and comedies for teens, and picking up 3 Emmy nominations. Through Lockdown (capital L?) she started writing a novel for teens... thus, a whole career change.Her debut, 'A Game of Life and Death' went down very well, and she's followed it up with 'The Traitor in the Game'. It's about Asha, who enters an eSports tournament in New York, when it becomes harder to keep the game under control.Triona has written radio plays too, and we discuss moving between mediums... what you gain, what you lose, what you learn and what you miss. She has recently moved with her whole family to Portugal, simply to write a novel - we discuss how this has helped and what life is like for her now.You can hear about moving from TV to novels, why writing is all about the obstacles, and why it's hard to get the voice and tone right when writing for teens.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Yangsze Choo's debut novel 'The Ghost Bride', was released 10 years ago, and has been adapted by Netflix. Her follow-up 'The Night Tiger', was a BBC 2 'Between the Covers' pick, a Reese Witherspoon Book Pick, and was selected for the UK's Big Jubilee Read. She's a New York Times bestseller.Her 3rd novel in the last 10 years is 'The Fox Wife'. Set in 1908 Manchuria, it weaves in folklore and myth, it's a quest for love, and a murder mystery. We discuss changes in her routine over the last 10 years, and why she takes her time, brooding over a low word-count. You can also hear how much impact the weather has., and how much debut success can affect what you follow up with. We chat about the tantalising prospect of streaming and film rights, how that changes how you plan future novels, and why we all think differently.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mandy Robotham has had many careers, and is busy. She's worked as a midwife, a journalist, and now is an author across genres. Her newest novel is 'The Hidden Storyteller', tells the story of reporter Georgie Young who, in 1946 returns to Germany and finds it unrecognisable post-war, she then teams up with detective Harri Schroder to catch a killer.We talk about historical fiction, how she knows the rules of the genre, and how much she thinks about the style of the writing. You can hear about the thorough research she took on, about what happens when you get caught out, and why Buffalo wings were her undoing. Mandy discusses the balance of being an extroverted writer, how she finds the male voice, and why she likes to stop mid-scene.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true crime podcast. Take a listen wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Caroline Dunford has published over 30 books across many genres. Her best loved is the 'Euphemia Martins' Mysteries', which solves crimes set one hundred years ago. Her latest release is 'The Augmentors', a Young Adult novel published under the name Gemini Gibson. We get quite philosophical, talking about the big picture of writing, and why she feels the need to carry on. She has a story-telling infection, and has published many books, even though she's never got down that 'perfect' novel which sells millions upon millions. We discuss why sometimes she writes under contract, and other times there are stories that have be written regardless, and how she structures a year around that. You can hear how plot development changes in a series of books, how she figures out the tone of a book as she flits between genre, and how she decides what book comes next.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a true-crime podcast available wherever you get your shows.Support the podcast at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Orlando Murrin has had many careers. In the early 90's he appeared on 'Masterchef', reaching the semi-final on a show watched by 12 million people. From then, he's worked as a chef and hotelier, written cookbooks, edited magazines, made podcasts, and now has a novel out. 'Knife Skills for Beginners' sees Paul Delamare investigating murders at a high-end cookery school in Belgravia, London. We talk about why the kitchen has the perfect recipe for crime. You can hear why his protagonist very rarely did what he was supposed to, how he researched the novel while writing, and what made he keep going on tangents.We discuss why Orlando is extremely particular about his keyboard, whether magazine writing influences story-telling, where his drive to do comes from, and why a little bit of wine sometimes helps alot.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a new true crime podcast putting you in the heart of one of the UK's most famous unsolved murders. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we chat to Maura Cheeks, who has written pieces and columns all over the place, being featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic and the Harvard Business Review. Her debut novel is called 'Acts of Forgiveness', and is out on the 13th February.It tells the story of Willie Revel who gives up a career as journalist in New York to help run her family's struggling company in Philadelphia. When the President prepares to pass a bill allowing black families to claim reparations if they can prove they're descendants of slaves, Willie delves into the family history and learns much more than she expected.We chat about the importance of subject, how writing columns as a journalist changes what you do as an author, and her method of free-writing. Her dad is NBA legend Maurice Cheeks, currently assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls, and we discuss whether growing up with successful parents has any impact on your own quest for success.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', about a 1983 unsolved murder, one of Scotland's grimest... and you can be part of the live investigation. Find it wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1This week, we're joined by Sarah Marsh. Her debut is 'A Sign of Her Own'. It tells the story of Ellen Lark, who discovers a side to Alexander Graham Bell, one of history's most famous figures, that few other people know. Sarah was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavenish Prize in 2019, selected for the London Library Emerging Writer's Programme, and has a Masters in Creative Writing. She is also deaf, as is her protagonist Ellen, and we discuss why this story was so important to write. You can hear why it took 12 years to get published, whether you ever really know the story is finished, and how she went about researching real figures from the past.This episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true crime podcast you can find wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rebecca Thorne's new novel is 'The Grief House', it's about the ex-tarot reader Blue, who escapes to a grief retreat on a beautiful country estate. Only, when the weather closes in, and someone disappears in the night, Blue wonders whose grief might hide a deeper secret.Rebecca published 2 psychological thriller books under the name Rebecca Tinnelly, and we discuss why she swapped names and how it helped her break up her day, and switch between tasks.You can hear why her date is structured pretty thoroughly, why she likes to be as cosy as possible for the first draft, and how mentoring at the Faber Academy changes the way she thinks about her own writing.We also get very deep into why Rebecca is very passionate about verb placement.This week's pod is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', take a listen wherever you get your podcasts.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This is one of my favourite podcasts. It's great to hear how many different approaches there are to writing, and I find it really inspires me to write too.
I'm so happy I found this podcast !!!
A genuinely interesting and useful podcast for anyone who has an interest in writing. Informative, insightful and funny in places I don't understand why more people haven't commented on here.