Tim Lott, author of 'Yes! No! But Wait! - The One Thing You Need to Know to Write a Novel' - Award-winner discusses why spaces don't matter, why plot is everything and dealing with guilt
Writer's Routine
How to Write a Good Novel
Every character, and every beat of a plot in my book has got to have some kind of purpose for being there. I give myself absolute permission to write rubbish when I start, you know, it doesn't matter. It's going to be a bad novel, but it'll be a novel. And then I'm going to start making it a good novel. By the fifth draft, I'm probably down to just tweaking. But even that tweaking can go on for quite a long time. Several more drafts. The real writing is done as much by removing stuff as by putting stuff in. Any writer really does have to have the courage and resolve to remove stuff which doesn't serve the story
00:00
Transcript
Play full episode
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
