Back in early November 2020, Will Storr spoke to me from a solo writing retreat in Spain, where he was working, sleeping and doing nothing else. This turns out to be Will's process: he also tells me about his zero-distractions writing routine at home, which involves a black-out blind and total immersion.
I first discovered Will's work through the brilliant book
The Science of Storytelling; he's also the author of
Selfie,
The Heretics and
Will Storr Vs The Supernatural, plus the novel
The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone – and several very successful ghost-written autobiographies. Will also won the Amnesty International Award and a One World Press Award for reporting on sexual violence against men. In this episode we discuss his method for creating a three-dimensional character; how he approached interviews in Uganda on the highly sensitive subject of sexual trauma; and the indispensable writing advice he once received from Jon Ronson.
This episode of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Go to
curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.
Buy Will's books at
https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing – your purchases support independent booksellers, and help me to keep making this podcast.
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