Writer's Routine

Nicola Gill's debut novel is 'The Neighbours'. It tells the story of Ginny and Cassie, two unlikely friends who are thrown together when they both reach rock-bottom. It's a funny story of friendship, love and adventure. We talk about how Nicola got that first idea, how she crafted her day to make sure she got it down properly, and why she got to work incredibly early to make that happen.Also, we chat about what her day-job taught her about writing, in creativity and efficiency. We talk about genre, how much she thinks about the voice she writes in, and whether she could switch genre and keep her passion for story-telling.If you fancy, please do support us at patreon.com/writersroutine, and drop us a review on Apple [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neil Lancaster has published 2 'Tom Novak' books. His most recent is 'Going Rogue', which sees Tom up against a wave of far-right terrorism.Neil has an advantage in writing crime thrillers - he was in the Army, then worked in the Met Police for 25 years. We talk about how he took all the knowledge from his career, and made them into thrilling, page-turning stories, that are accurate... but also allow for the fantasy of fiction. We also chat about the stuff every book and TV show gets wrong about the police-force, and the hill that he's willing to die on in that respect.We also chat about how he structures his day, why he's fine having to crack out the words but tries not to over-write, and we learn about the advice he got that helped his first novel get published.If you enjoy the show, please do support us on patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave a review on Apple [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorna Cook's new novel is 'The Forbidden Promise'. It's a dual-narrative, set in two timelines. In 1940, Constance finds a crashed Spitfire in the Scottish Highlands and must keep the pilot safe, against her families wishes. In 2020, Kate arrives in a Scottish B&B, and discovers a house with a dark history that has some connection to Constance.We talk about why she writes dual-narrative, and why it's taken her a while to learn the tricks of writing it. Also, we chat about why she loves the edit, and how water-tight her writing day has to be in a house full of chaotic kids.If you can, please do support the show over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russ Thomas has just published his debut, 'Firewatching'. It's a police procedural. It stars DS Adam Tyler, on the hunt for a serial arsonist around Sheffield. It grew from a short-story Russ had been writing over 20 years, changing and turning along the way. We talk about the key moments in that process, what advice he was given from teachers, and how different characters would suddenly snap the story to life, and take it in a different direction.We chat about his time working in a bookshop, learning the secrets about what stories sold better than others, and why they did. We also talk about his love for the city of Sheffield, and why he wanted to give something back to it by writing the story.Remember, you can get 20% off Scrivener, by using the code ROUTINE at literatureandlatte.com.Also, please do support us at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucienne Boyce is a jack of all writing trades. She's published non-fiction, historical fiction, and is mid-way through writing a biography. She's just published the 3rd 'Dan Foster Mystery Book', called 'Death Makes No Distinction', a novel set in 18th century London all about the Bow Street Runners. We talk about why she loves writing in the past, how she makes it authentic, and how thoroughly she plots a story before she'll tell it.We also talk about the non-fiction books she writes, mostly on the history of Bristol, the city she loves and lives in, and the suffragette movement. She's in the middle of writing a biography, and we chat about the process, planning and research involved in that - why does she spend so much time investigating someone else's life?She gives us some fantastic book recommendations too - The Artists Way by Julia Cameron, Writing Historical Fiction by Emma Darwin, and Story by Robert McGhee.Remember to make the most of our Scrivener offer, and use the code ROUTINE to get 20% off the brilliant writing software at [email protected]/writersroutine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nell Pattison's debut thriller is 'The Silent House', which tells the story of a crime happening in a full house, and no-one has a clue how. It stars Paige Northwood, as a British Sign Language interpreter called in to help the police. Nell herself is a BSL interpreter - they say write what you know - and we talk about how she had the initial story idea, why it took a while to brew in her mind, and how it's inspired by real life.We also chat about the novels she's finished but never published, why a switch of genre helped that to finally happen and how getting editorial feedback was such a relief to her. Also, as Nell is a teacher we talk about how that affects the way she tells stories, and how she's learning to fix her niggles in earlier drafts.Remember, you can get 20% off the fantastic writing software 'Scrivener' by using the code ROUTINE when you checkout at literatureandlatte.com.And, please do support us at patreon.com/writersroutine if you [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Lloyd has written sci-fi and fantasy before, but when he got the idea for 'The Memory Wood' he knew it had to be a thriller. It tells the story of Elissa, who is kidnapped from school and locked away in the woods, and Elijah who finds her, but won't tell a soul. It's a blend of two ideas - one he had while killing time at his son's school, the other was of Elijah... a character that wouldn't go away, and whose story he had to tell.We talk about how much he plans every day, why he has such a tight timeframe to work in, and how he's trying to improve his productivity.Also, we hear about new book releases for Nikki Smith's 'All In Her Head', and Trevor Wood's 'The Man on the Street'.AND you can get 20% off Scrivener, by using the code ROUTINE when you checkout at literatureandlatte.com.patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eleni Kyriacou is a journalist and editor, and has worked on stories for national newspapers and magazines. Her debut novel 'She Came to Stay' tells the story of Dina who leaves Cyprus for London in search of a better life. They're taken around by Bebba, a strange character with a secret past, and is absorbed by grimy 1950's Soho. It's a murder-mystery with an edge.She was selected as part of the 'Future Bookshelf' open submissions programme which helps find unpublished authors from under-represented backgrounds.We talk about why her main character changed half-way through, and what she aims to do each time she finishes a chapter. We hear how much she knows about her story, what she wants to do the next day, and why index cards are an important part of that. Also, we talk about how she plans a day, a week and even a years worth of writing.Also, I mention Hannah Vincent's new book 'She-Clown and Other Stories', and why it's publication has been affected by the current crisis. She's made a fantastic video about her writing process, check it out here - https://twitter.com/hannahvincent22?lang=enIf you can, please do support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louise Hare's debut novel, 'This Lovely City', tells the story of Lawrie Matthews. A jazz musician fresh of the Empire Windrush, takes rooms in a tiny South London house, and immediately discovers a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart.We talk about why this idea grew from a short-story, which she couldn't quite put down, also why she took on a Masters in Creative Writing, and what was special about this story that got her published, when some books before had failed.Also, Louise recently made the semi-leap to writing full-time, and we talk about how that's affected her working day, and how much she hopes to get done.I know we're in uncertain times, but if you can afford to help us out on Patreon, we'd really appreciate that right now - patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory Clements has just released the 4th book in his 'Tom Wilde' series. It's a historical mystery called 'Hitler's Secret', in which Tom is enlisted to carry a valuable document out of Germany. If it is uncovered, it threatens to destabilise the Nazi party - and Tom must decide whether it's his duty to find out more. He's also written the 'John Shakespeare' stories too - more historical fiction set further back in time.We talk about how he accurately writes about life in World War 2, and what responsibility he has to be truthful to the way people really were back then. Also, we chat about why he's slowly trained himself to work at night, and how much tennis and escaping to the country affects the way he tells stories.We chat about his writing day, how much he knows about the story before he sits down to write, and what being a journalist taught him about keeping the readers onside.If you've enjoyed the show, please do review us on Apple Podcasts, pledge whatever you can over at patreon.com/writersroutine, and follow us on [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week our guest is SD Sykes. She's just released the 4th in her 'Oswald de Lacy' thriller series,'The Bone Fire'. It's set in the 14th century, in the murky Kent countryside, and it's a locked-room mystery. We talk about why she locked Oswald in a castle to tell the story, and how she manages to blend crime and mystery whilst bringing the 1300's to life.Sarah is a big believer of the 'Hero's Story' method of storytelling - perfectly arching a character's journey through challenges, adventures and back to safety. We hear about why she follows this path, how strictly she plots initially, and how willing she is to divert from her plan as she gets going.Also, I go off on one about a stupid article I saw - if you want to write, SIT DOWN AND DO IT!If you can help the show out, please do so on patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave us a review on Apple [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete Brown has one of the best jobs in the world. He's a food and drink writer. He is the chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers, been British Beer Writer of the Year 3 times and also won 3 Fortnum and Mason food and drink awards. Yet, all that seems to do him a disservice. Pete is a fantastic cultural commentator, drawing on history to talk passionately about society.His first book, 'Man Walks into a Pub', is a pub-crawl through the history of beer, and Pete began working on it after discovering the book that he wanted to read didn't exist - so he wrote it. He's also published a history of London through the eyes of one pub, 'Shakespeare's Local', and his newest book 'Pie Fidelity' aims to reclaim the joy of British cuisine.We talk about how he has analysed the way he works over the years to get better at writing, also about how he chooses which project to work on next, and about why the pomodoro technique works for him. There's tips on planning your book, finding the best way to get into a story, and how to find an unexpected joy in the narrative voice. Also, I was lucky enough to chat to Pete in his actual writing room, so there's a vivid description of that.If you enjoy the show, please do support us at patreon.com/writersroutine, and rate and review over on Apple Podcasts.ALSO - this one contains some [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Yu has just released her debut, 'Braised Pork'. It's tipped to be one of the literary debuts of the year, was acquired in a 7 way auction, and tells the story of nocturnal Beijing. It focuses on Jia Jia, who returns home to find her husband dead in the bathtub. Next to him is an image that she won't ever forget. It's an exploration of myth-making, loss and her journey to find herself.We talk about why she writes in her second language, why this story took time to develop and how her characters twisted and turned along the way. Also, there's an interesting balance in here about taming her creativity. She's in the throes of writing her second novel now, and hearing how she tackles that, and how many words she's trying to get down a week is unique, and almost a world away from other authors we've had on the show.Also, we try and finally bust the myth of why some people pants, and others plot!If you can, please do support us on Patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Foley has just released her second mystery thriller. It's called 'The Guest List', and is set at a dream wedding, on a remote island, where someone gets killed and everyone has a motive. We talk about the fundamentals you need to include in writing whodunnits, and how to flip the tradition on its head.It comes after the huge success of her first whodunnit, 'The Hunting Party'. It was also set on an island, and we chat about where she got that idea from, why she likes the idea of locking her characters away, and how she brought such stunning scenery to life using just her words.Also, Lucy once wrote historical thrillers and we learn why she made the switch of genre, AND she used to work in publishing as an editor, so we chat about what that taught her about which books sell and why.Lucy's writing day is fairly chaotic and decadent, working furiously in the morning before popping to the cinema in the afternoon. It works for her, and she's fantastic at describing it.If you enjoy the show and pick up some tips to help your working day, please do pledge to support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.AND review us with 5 STARS on Apple if you [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BA Paris has sold over 1 million books, they've been translated into 39 languages, and her new novel, 'The Dilemma' was released in early 2020 to huge acclaim.The idea is simple: what if you had to tell someone something which would destroy their lives. Bernadette tells the story hour by hour, across one day. She's a pantser by nature, so we talk about how she had to slightly change the way she planned her plot to make such a tight structure of storytelling work. We also talk about why this is a departure of genre for her, and why she had originally planned to write a different story, but felt this idea was one that simply had to be told.We hear about why she forgets about the word count, how she gets to know her character, and why storytelling comes fairly easily to her, and when that writer's block hits... she knows exactly what to do.Recorded in my kitchen this week, so sorry about the echo!If you want to help out the show please pledge what you can over at patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave us a review on Apple [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Scott's new novel is a 'Radio 2 Book Club Pick', high praise in British books, and is set in the murky time straight after the First World War. 'The Photographer of the Lost' sees Edie go in search of her "missing in action" husband Francis, after she receives a strange photograph in the post. It's a twisting, turning, slightly romantic mystery, which is a fantastic read.We talk about why Caroline is fascinated by history, how she projects her ideas with the few facts surrounding the 'blank canvas' of that era. There's brilliant chat about plotting, planning and what she does when she has the initial idea - how does she then develop it into 300+ pages?For Caroline, editing is where the story really comes alive, but she does find it the hardest part, picking through her beloved story to find the golden meat. We also chat about her fantastic writing spot, which I think... you may just be a teeny bit jealous of.If you enjoy the show, please do support us over at patreon.com/writersroutine.Any comments/ queries/ compliments? Head to the contact page at writersroutine.com.AND TELL YA FRIENDS [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul French has just released a 12 part audio series, 'Murders of Old China', through Audible. As the name suggests, it tells the stories of unsolved crimes from the early 20th century of China. We talk about how Paul discovered these crimes, and then set about researching them and possibly even solving them.As this has been specifically made for Audible, we talk about whether that changed his writing style: is there something different about telling stories for ears rather than eyes? For Paul, the secret seems to be in research - he will spend hours trawling through newspapers and old stories looking for the little line that he needs, we talk about the joy that it gives him, and how he knows he's onto the right track.He knows China well, living there for nearly 20 years as a journalist and book reviewer, and published 'Midnight in Peking' to huge success. It was a New York Times Bestseller, and was awarded a number of prestigious crime awards.We also get a distinguished ritual from history with Mason Currey giving us an extract from his new book 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work'patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Montgomery is a someone who, if he wasn't so darned lovely, you'd probably have to envy quite a lot. He's a practicing clinician, a UK lead on climate change, he's written screen-plays, runs ultramarathons, learns a new skill a year, holds a world-record, and is now releasing his first full-novel.It's called 'Control' - a thriller set in the medical-world (write what you know) all about a bullying, over-bearing Doctor, and the way he treats colleagues, which comes back to haunt him. We talk about brooding over the idea for the story, escaping to France to write it, and where he thinks the story actually came from.As he manages to fit in so much into his day, we talk about where he finds the time and why he rations sleep. Also, we talk about why he learns a new skill every year, and how he believes it to be crucial to make time stop flying by.Also - you can hear a distinguished routine from history with Mason Currey, and grab his new book 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' here - https://masoncurrey.com/If you can, please do support the show! - patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS EPISODE!In the late noughties, Mason Currey started blogging about the most interesting, unique and quirky routines from history. 'Daily Rituals' ran for year, and spawned its own book in 2013. Upon reflecting all the rituals in there, he realised an overwhelming amount where men's. So he's written a new book to correct that.'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' details some of the most aspiring, gruelling and novel routines from history. We talk about what he's learned from these, whether they've influenced his own routine, and whether there is something consistent: a secret to success.More on Mason's work - masoncurrey.comPlease do support us on Patreon - patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Heydenrych has been brooding on the idea for her latest novel, 'The Pact', for some time now. After experiencing office bullying in an old job, she thought about how the feelings it caused, and how they could lead to the plot of a crime novel. The story is all about Freya, Nicole and Jay, and the harmless prank that leads to murder.It's her second novel, after her debut 'Shame on You' achieved critical and commercial success in 2017. We talk about what she learned from writing that that affected how she told her new story, and why it took a bit longer to write than originally planned. We chat about her writing day, and writing year, and why for her new book she wrote new rules for herself... and then immediately broke them.Also, you can hear from author Mason Currey, who gives us a distinguished writing routine from history. His new book 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' is out now, and he takes us inside the working day of Isabel Allende.Heres the Hugh Montgomery article I mention at the end, if you do want to get clued up before next week - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/17/surgeon-ultrarunner-thriller-writer-hugh-montgomery-lives-life-to-the-fullPlease do support the show over at patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave a review for us on the Apple Podcast store if you can [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ann Cleeves is a hugely prolific author - she once wrote a book a year for 30 years, and still publishes more or less every 12 months. We talk about that writing year - when she comes up with ideas, starts working on them and finally hands in the first draft.She has written 8 'Vera Stanhope' books, a character that went on to be played by Brenda Blethyn in a TV series. Also, she's published many 'Shetland' stories, a series which came to an end recently - and we discuss why. Her new book is 'The Long Call'. Set in Devon, it's the start of a brand new series introducing Matthew Venn - we talk about the initial idea for the book, why she set it in Devon and other points about how she told the story.Anne was born in Hertfordshire, raised in North Devon, lived in London, Merseyside, Scotland, and we chat about how her nomadic life has influenced the way she tells stories.To take advantage of our Libro.fm offer - if you're in the USA, you can get 3 months of audiobooks for the price of one, by joining Libro.fm, and using the code ROUTINE when you check out.ALSO - please support us on Patreon.com/writersroutine if you can, it's Christmas after all [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before publishing his first novel, Chris Hammer worked as a journalist. Travelling all over the world reporting stories gave him the ability to write anywhere, and taught him how to tell stories. He used all that knowledge to write 'Scrublands', his debut about Martin Scarsden, a journalist who becomes embroiled in a tangle of crimes after a vicar does something extremely unreligious.We talk to Chris about keeping track of plots, working to deadlines and making sure his characters are more than they seem. In January 2020, Chris will publish the follow-up 'Silver', in the UK, and we discuss how writing the first changed how he worked on the second, and how he comes up with new ideas for his protagonist.We'll have Hugh Montgomery on the show in the next few weeks, do read this article - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/17/surgeon-ultrarunner-thriller-writer-hugh-montgomery-lives-life-to-the-full - before you listen to that chat!ALSO - please support us on Patreon, and if you're in the States, take advantage of our Libro.fm offer (use the code ROUTINE)Patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over 40 years, Jeffrey Archer has sold many, many books. The current count is over 275 million. He's written 37, including a volume of diaries from his time in prison - 26 of those have been Sunday Times Bestsellers. His new book is 'Nothing Ventured', and it's the start of a brand new series. Although, the start of his writing career wasn't as successful as many would have you believe.It was his third book, 'Kane and Abel' that really took off - within the first week it had sold around a million copies, and he never looked back. It celebrates its 40th year of publication this year, and we talk about how that has affected his writing ever since. Also, we look at what he needs before he starts writing, how he develops an idea in his head and when the twists finally come.Jeffrey's routine is one of the most precise and exact ones we've had. Selling so many books allows him to enjoy his pleasure-time, and also know the intricate way that he works the best - he reveals all to us in this show.For audiobooks that help the writing community, head to libro.fm and use the code ROUTINE.Also, please do support us over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harriet Evans' 11 novel could be her biggest yet. Even with the huge success of 'The Wildflowers', 'The Garden of Lost and Found' is everywhere at the moment, and tells the story of Juilet. She's sent the key to a house that holds a forgotten world within. We talk about the first idea for the story, and how it developed from many ideas Harriet had for another story that never quite made it.We also chat about how she knows what her role is as a commercial novelist, how that affects her writing and storytelling, and why for her editing is the most important part of the whole process - and that, in fact, many other authors could learn to tidy up their work a bit more!There's also chat about her brand new novel in process, it's not even got a proper title yet, but we try and uncover what about it is making her tick right now.For audiobooks that help independent booksellers (and not the big conglomerates) head here - www.libro.fm and use the code ROUTINE, for a sweet 3 for 1 offer.For Harriet's book that helps US (but unfortunately use the big conglomerates) head here - https://amzn.to/2NKEsI0AND, please do support the show over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his phenomenally successful debut, 'Stuffocation', James Wallman told everyone to stop valuing things, and instead value experiences and the time we have on this planet. He's back to tell everyone how to spend that time, how to make sure we're getting the most out of our experiences, and how to make sure we're picking them wisely.We talk about making non-fiction read like fiction, and how James thoroughly analysed the best journalists, and stole their tricks, to make sure readers kept wanting more. We talk about the cycle of James' day, why he starts work in the morning and how he pushes through the mid-afternoon energy slump.James talks about a lot of things in the pod, here are some links to a few of the best recommendations he gives -Frank Sinatra has a Cold - https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a638/frank-sinatra-has-a-cold-gay-talese/Michael Lewis, author of 'The Blind Side' - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blind-Side-Evolution-Game/dp/0393330478Charles Dickens, the fog from 'Bleak House' - http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/bleakhouse/2/Also, IF YOU ARE IN THE UNITED STATES, you can get a 3-month audiobook membership for the price of one month. Go to Libro.fm ( L - I - B - R - O - DOT - F - M ) and enter ROUTINE. With each listen, take pride in knowing that you’re supporting local bookstores.If you want to buy the book, please do it through here - https://amzn.to/36epReS - and we get a little kickback.AND FINALLY, please do support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruth Hogan's debut novel 'The Keeper of Lost Things' generated huge commercial success and critical acclaim across the world. Telling the story of Anthony Peardew, a short-story writer who collects treasures and trinkets. The whole story became clear to Ruth after she got a stunning first line, that simply appeared in her head. We talk about what she did next, how she developed one sentence to the rest of the story.We talk about the huge success of her first story influenced her next two, 'The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes' and 'Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel'. Ruth has been dubbed the 'queen of uplift', and she discusses what that means for the way she tells stories and plans her books.There's also a top-writing tip from crime writing behemoth, Ian [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owen Nicholls is a pop-culture obsessive, having written for Empire and NME, the mission for his first novel was 'High Fidelty for movies'.Originally thinking it may be a screenplay, instead he enjoyed the space and time writing a novel gave him. For Owen, a screenplay needs to be tight, purposeful and focused, he thinks that with novels you can take time to discover your characters and plots.'Love, Unscripted' is the tale of a failed romance, and trying to figure out where it all went wrong - we talk about how Owen learned the tricks to write a novel, how he figured out what his characters needed to be, and also how he used his favourite films to help tell the story.Want to buy the book? Use this link to help us out in the process! - https://amzn.to/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Along with Dan Gillespie Sells, Tom MacRae wrote the hit West End musical, 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'. It opened in Sheffield, before transferring to London, selling-out constantly and receiving rave 5 star reviews. After writing for comedy on TV and for Dr Who, Tom had always planned to write a musical with his mate Dan, from the band 'The Feeling'. Then, watching a BBC documentary about a boy who wanted to go to high-school prom in a dress, he finally had an idea. Drawing on modern pop influences, and working class musicals such as 'Blood Brothers', Tom and Dan locked themselves away in a French villa and wrote the musical.Tom talks about the plotting and planning of writing for stage, how you writing dialogue when you know half the story has to be told in song. Also, how he knows when to be funny, and also went to switch off and stop working for the weekend.There's fantastic advice in here about discipline, characterisation and finding the hook of a story.Buy the book and help the show out - https://amzn.to/34GSDUJPledge on Patreon and help the show out - patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Smedley is a journalist who has worked for the FT, Guardian, New Scientist and many more. A few years ago, he was so disgusted at the levels of pollutants in the air around London where he lived - he moved. He also resolved to find out more about what was causing it, and to read a book on what could be done. He found out such a book didn't exist - it was up to him to write one.With just a year to get everything done, he chatted to some of the world's foremost experts on air pollution, travelled to countries with examples of what can be done about this and how we can do better, and packaged it all into a book - Clearing the Air: The Beginning and the End of Air Pollution. It's been shortlisted for the 'Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize', and we talk about how that's affected his writing.Also we talk about how hard it is to plan and plot a non-fiction novel, the structure of the story and why making it personal solved every problem.Please do support the show over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bestselling author Sheila O'Flanagan is prolific, published around 30 novels and has won the 'Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Her new book is 'Her Husband's Mistake', and sees Roxy finding her husband in bed with the next door neighbour. You know this immediately, it's the very first sentence. We talk about how long she worked on making that first sentence perfect, and how it set the tone for the rest of the novel.To get ideas, Sheila's main strategy is to put women in situations where they have to dig deep inside themselves, and when she has that initial thought, she'll run through every decision she is making daily, as her character too - what would they do? how would they act here? We learn about how this process has developed, and how her writing style and routine has changed over time.She has three rules for writing: to tell a good story, to make the reader feel like they know the characters, and to make each book better than the last.Also, there's a top writing tip from a dystopian fiction author. And, if you can support the show, please pledge a few dollars a month over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob Hart's new book 'The Warehouse' is in the mold of 'Farenheit 451' and '1984', and focuses on one big business that suffocates all others, and the stories of 3 people who work there. Because of this, his characterisation needs to be truly believable and authentic, we talk about this struggle and how he became his characters in writing.It's also his first proper foray into standalone novels, having made his way with the 'Ash McKenna' series, and we talk about his relief at writing independent books, and how he finds it more enjoyable that staying with the same characters for many years. Not that this book was a quick write - he had the initial idea around a decade ago and it took many attempts to finally get it down on paper. We talk about that challenge and, in particular, that tricky first sentence.If you can, please do support the show over at patreon.com/writersroutine.If you want to buy the book, please use this link! - https://amzn.to/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shari Lapena's first book, 'The Couple Next Door', was the number 1 adult fiction title for the UK back in 2017, and with 3 books published since we talk about how such success has affected the way she now tells stories. Her new one is 'Someone We Know', a twisting tale of a teenager so desperate for wi-fi he breaks into homes, and then strange things start happening all over the neighbourhood.She doesn't plan, in fact she finds the whole idea of planning baffling - how do you know your story before it's even written? We hear about how she plans for lack of planning - writing many different threads so the perfect solution to the problem makes itself clear.We also talking about a year in the life of a writer, how editors get involved and there are some top work tips in there too!Patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Jane Williams is a prolific journalist, and successful memoir writer - her books, 'Becoming' and 'Ice Cream for Breakfast', talk about her twenties and quest for love. We chat about the arrogance of memoir-writing - what makes her think her story is worth reading? Also, you can hear the strange methods she uses to get into character, and the exact moment she knows them inside-out.'Our Stop' has been called 'the feminist rom-com of the summer', and we talk about what that means, and how she made sure the men in her story were three-dimensional and believable. Also, we chat about why Laura is able to write the thoughts in most peoples heads, better than most people actually can.If you can, please do support the show over at patreon.com/writersroutine for some [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After achieving great success with her debut novel, 'The Tall Man', Phoebe Locke is back with a new summer-hit, 'The July Girls'. It tells the story of murders that happen every year on exactly the same day, and the quest to track down who is doing it, and why. Originally it was a short story that never saw escaped the top drawer, and Phoebe explains why she's happy about that, and why the characters stuck with her enough to revisit their story.Phoebe has a very strict method of writing - the Pomodoro Technique. 25 minutes on and 5 minutes off. When she writes throughout the day is flexible though and she chats about why she'll write early sometimes, and late on others. We talk a lot about characterisation, and how she wants that to set her apart from other genre-writers, and you can hear why she thinks that gimmicks sometimes really help to tell a story.She is also known by Nicci Cloke, and has written many books under that - her actual name. We find out why she's taken Phoebe Locke for these stories, and why pseudonyms can be really [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart MacBride pretty much hasn't had a day off for 16 years. Every chance he gets he'll find a little space and place to write in. It's made him a very successful crime author. His newest novel is 'All That's Dead', in which Logan McRae returns to work after some time away, and is immediately thrown into the deepest, darkest part of the crime world.We chat about why Stuart switches up his writing style - recently his need to keep things fresh saw him draft novels as TV screenplays. We also hear about where he gets his relentless work ethic from and how that's impacted his storytelling, and why he's always having discussions and arguments with himself about where the story should go next.And, if you're a fan of the depressing state of world politics at the moment, you may enjoy the story of how Stuart got the idea for his most recent [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At age 19, unsure about what to do before starting university, Lara Prior-Palmer absent-mindedly applied for the Mongol Derby, a multi-horse race that rides 1,000 km through Mongolian grassland. She won it.Her book 'Rough Magic' is a poetic, twisting, wonderful account of the race, and is written unlike many other memoirs. It's been critically acclaimed, sold hugely well and took Lara 5 years to write. We talk about why she felt the need to get the adventure down on paper, how it initially came really easy to her, and why she is still analysing how she wrote even now.You can hear about poetry, characterisation and being a free-spirit. Also, there's a top writing tip from a British Book Award winning crime-author.If you can, chuck us a few dollars every month over at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Louise Candlish's 'Our House' was one of the biggest books of 2018, it's sold more than 200,000 copies, been read all over the world and won 'Best Crime and Thriller Fiction' at the 'British Book Awards'. It so nearly wasn't the case though. A few years ago, disappointed with her success and publisher, Louise almost gave up - until the kernel of a story came to her, something that had never been done before, a thriller centred around property fraud. We talk about that spark during the episode, and how she grew it to become an award-winning novel.She's back with the brand new book, 'Those People', and we chat about how she plotted to follow up on her success, and why at the moment she's having to think and talk about 3 separate books at the same time. Also you can hear about how her writing routine has changed over time, and how she's managed to switch through genres easily.You'll get a top writing tip from one of the UK's best children's authors too.If you can, please support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abi Elphinstone has just started the brand new kids' series 'The Unmapped Chronicles'. The first of which, 'Rumblestar', sees Casper Tock stumbling across a hidden world which magically controls the weather. The idea came from a desire to get kids outside, away from screens and into nature - we talk about having that grand concept, and making it relatable to kids in a few hundred pages.You can hear why it took her a bunch of rejections to finally realise what was wrong about her writing, also how she works writing days around travelling and being a mum, and we chat mood boards, plotting, planning and where people go wrong writing for [email protected]/writersroutinewritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahmad Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author, storyteller and LGBTQ-refugee activist. He was forced to flee his home of Syria, and his debut novel 'The Clothesline Swing' is a sprawling, twisting tale trying to make sense of it. It focuses on 2 lovers in Syria, telling stories to work through what life in the country is. It sends the imagination all over the place, with no seeming link - and this is deliberate. Danny wanted his readers to feel detached and without ground to tread, and he explains why during the chat.Also, we find out why Death plays a huge role as a character, how it was influenced by the classic 'One Thousand and One Nights', and why he was forced to leave Syria and the implications of what it means to be a refugee.Writing-wise, we chat about intersectionality, the practicalities of plotting and working on multiple outlines for different characters.If you enjoy the show and want to show your support, please do help us out at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mel Sherratt has published 12 books, and written many, many more, across a wide range of genres. She loves writing so much that even now, in the middle of a proper book deal, she's writing other books for herself and to self-publish. Her new novel is called 'Tick Tock', it's a procedural crime novel in her 'DS Grace Allendale' series.We talk about the different stages of her writing, when she starts to put in clues as to the killer, how she knows how many time her killer needs to strike, and how she can get ideas for a gruesome story anywhere. You can hear how her characters dictate her plot as much as her planning does, also what she thinks a good crime story needs to be and why she needs to switch up the genres she works in, and the characters she works with.If you love the show, and have had any help from the authors we've chatted to so far, please do give some help back and support the show on patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not many authors have debut success like Trent Dalton. His book 'Boy Swallows Universe' won the 'Debut Fiction Prize' and 'Book of the Year' at the Australian Indie Awards, and went straight into the top 10, selling over 100,000 copies. It's a semi-autobiographical story about all Eli, in Brisbane in 1983, muddling through family life, trying to not be coaxed into drug-dealing, and having to save his mum from prison.Trent works as a journalist, so we talk about the challenges of writing features or news-pieces by day, then heading to the rumpus room to tell the story he yearns to write at night. Also, we chat about work/family balance, planning, plotting and writing tight.You can also get a writing tip from a top crime [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeffery Deaver has published over 40 novels. He's a globally renowned author, writing crime and thrillers. To him, they're not lauded works of art, they're intricate puzzles, fun and games for the reader - and we talk about how he builds these. His new book is 'The Never Game', introducing the enigmatic investigator Colter Shaw, and we hear the first idea for the story, and why it went to Colter, not another of his myriad characters.Jeffery works anywhere he can - any chance he gets to type away, if that's at home, on the plane, perhaps at a dog show, he will. We chat about how he finds time and space to work no matter where he is. There's also talk about research, about genre and some ace tips about timesaving.Give us a [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Critical Incidents' is Lucie Whitehouse's 5th book, and it marks something of a departure for her. Her previous novels are mainly focused on psychological thriller, whereas the new one is procedural. This means things need to be spot on, the way the police work, the way the crime is committed and how it's solved. We talk about the move, how she found changing styles liberating and where it takes her next.You can also hear how Lucie Whitehouse prefers working in an all-women space, why she needs to leave the house to write, and how well she knows her characters and why even sometimes they come to her fully-formed, from thin air.There's a top writing tip from a rom-com author in there, and we'll get your writing advice [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mhairi McFarlane has published 5 novels, her new first 'You Had Me At Hello' was a huge bestseller, and her new one 'Don't You Forget About Me' looks set to do the same. It tells the story of Georgina, and her new boss at work who turns out to be an old flame... only he seemingly doesn't remember her at all.We talk about the planning of rom-com novels, how she likes to embrace the contrivances that must happen and focus on ways to build surprises into stories. You can hear how she plans her years worth of writing, and works her routine around that, why 'pub-a-clock' plays a large part in her story-telling, and what she thinks of the term 'chick-lit'.Also, there's some of your writing tips, and one from an award-winning author [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Namwali Serpell had been named one of the best African writers under 40 before she'd even published a novel. She's a student of the craft, and now a teacher of it at the University of Berkeley. Finally, after finishing a book that will forever sit in a drawer, she's publishing her first novel, 'The Old Drift'. It's a huge project, telling the stories of 3 families across generations in the new nation of Zambia.We chat about how to tell this story she needed a rigid structure of planning and plotting, also how she backed up her thorough characters and huge ideas with plot, and how she wants this book to be remembered in hundreds of years.There's also a top writing tip in there from one of the most successful crime authors working today, all about making friends. You can send your top tip over to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Val McDermid is one of the most successful crime authors in the world. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, they've sold over 15 million copies and show no sign of letting up. She has written procedural crime, cold-case crime, and even penned the first ever 'cynical, socialist, lesbian, feminist journalist'.We talk about how her method of writing has changed over the course of 38 books, moving from heavy plotting to hardly plotting at all. Also we chat about how much she cares about her readers, and how she knows which of her characters will solve the crime currently swirling around her mind.There's some of your writing tips, and one from another crime writer too. You can send your advice to the show over at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C.L. Taylor has just released her 6th thriller 'Sleep', after having much success in psychological thriller over the last 10 years, even writing YA fiction too. We talk about how she works her story-telling around children, family life and Twitter.Also, we talk about the busiest year of Cally's life, writing a book having just gone back to work, with a child, and a lot of words to crack through. She's also won a prize for the 'Most Unreliable Narrator Award', which I was VERY interested to learn about - you can hear why she thinks she won it during the chat. We learn how the idea for 'Sleep' came about, and why a slightly bored response from her editors sparked the story to life.Fire over your tips and advice for us too, [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although she's not a fan of the word, Sarah Pinborough is a prolific author. She's written over 20 books across a wide range of genres, always looking to keep interesting and varied. Her new book, 'Cross Her Heart' takes inspiration from a real-life crime, and tells the story of a group of women all trying to keep their past a secret. It's been called a 'feminist novel', and you can hear why Sarah revels in that description.Also, we talk about her method of triple-writing, why her books have recently gained great success and how getting a dog has completely rejuvenated her writing day.We'll get your writing tips on too, and hear from a Booker Prize nominee who wants you to take a [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Adam Foulds shares his writer's routine. He's a Booker Prize nominee, being shortlisted for 'The Quickening Maze', and is now publishing his fifth novel, 'Dream Sequence' about an actor who becomes embroiled in a strange, twisted relationship. It's literary fiction, and we talk about why that genre pulls Adam's creativity in, and why he thinks different authors write in different styles.Adam is also a poet, and discusses the difference between writing novels and poetry, and what it's like to wait for the lightning of an idea to strike. We talk about plotting through character, forcing inspiration and how he hopes to improve as a writer.We'll get some of your writing tips on too, and a top bit of advice from Frank [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is a Carnegie Medal Award winning author - his 2004 novel 'Millions' is incredibly successful, and was turned into a film by Danny Boyle, for which Frank wrote the script. It was even Danny's idea that Frank should write the novel in the first place. He's published 10 novels, brought back 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and wrote the Opening Ceremony to the 2012 Olympic Games.We chat quite a bit about scriptwriting - along with 'Millions', Frank has written many scripts for Michael Winterbottom, including '24 Hour Party People' and 'A Cock and Bull Story'. He tells us the difference between writing screenplays and novels, the story points you need to hit, and the simple forms an idea can take.We'll get a top writing tip from a debut thriller author, and even some advice from you - if you've got a tip that you want to share, fire it over to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.