The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

Longtime literary critic and publishing insider, Bethanne Patrick, is back to chat with me about the return of her hit podcast Missing Pages, her front-row seat to the sea change in publishing, and her life-affirming first memoir LIFE B.Bethanne Patrick is a world-renowned literary critic, author, and host of the chart-topping and Signal Award-winning podcast Missing Pages. Her work appears frequently in the Los Angeles Times as well as in The Washington Post, NPR Books, and Literary Hub.Missing Pages is back – the Webby Award-nominated podcast named a “must-listen” by The Washington Post and The Guardian – has a second season on deck that features authors, experts, publishing insiders, and a circus of NYC media elites.Host Bethanne Patrick sits down with notable guests to set the record straight on the secretive world of book publishing again. From the rise of Colleen Hoover and book bans across America to the idea of who owns what in fan fiction, Missing Pages investigates it all. Bethanne also recently published her first memoir, Life B, “A bracing and fresh look at a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness,” described by NY Times bestselling author Lori Gottlieb as, “Insightful, honest, [and] ultimately life-affirming …”[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Bethanne Patrick and I discussed: What it was like to have her podcast nominated for a Webby Award The sui generis of the Colleen Hoover effect What the ambitious second season of Missing Pages plans to tackle The origins and evolution of the novel  How she wrote her first memoir And a lot more! Show Notes: Missing Pages on Apple Podcasts Missing Pages on Twitter How Literary Critic & Publishing Insider Bethanne Patrick (AKA TheBookMaven) Writes: Part One bethannepatrick.com Life B By Bethanne Patrick [Amazon] Bethanne Patrick on Instagram Bethanne Patrick on Facebook Bethanne Patrick on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#1 NY Times bestselling author, Andrew Child, spoke to me about his lifelong obsession with storytelling, working with Jack Reacher co-author and brother Lee Child, and their latest in the series THE SECRET.In addition to four Reacher novels, Andrew Child – the pen name of author Andrew Grant – has also written his own hit thriller series including RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, Invisible, and Too Close to Home. His brother Lee Child is the creator of the international bestselling, award-winning, 28-book series of Jack Reacher novels, and winner of Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards.NPR said of the books, “The Reacher novels are easily the best thriller series going,” and James Patterson said of the brother’s collaboration, “Two Childs are better than one.”[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Andrew Child and I discussed: His past lives in theater and the corporate world The two saddest words in the English language What it was like being a Beta reader for Lee’s early Reacher novels The evolution of the Child brother’s low-tech writing process How to outwrite self-doubt  And a lot more! Show Notes: jackreacher.com The Secret: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child and Andrew Child [Amazon] Andrew Grant Amazon Author Page Jack Reacher on Facebook Jack Reacher on Instagram Jack Reacher on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Molly McGhee, critically acclaimed debut novelist, talks about her part in The Great Publishing Resignation, the emotional toll of losing a parent, and the themes explored in her book on contemporary work and debt. She also discusses her past life as an editor and using writing as a coping mechanism.

Award-winning climate journalist Amy Westervelt discusses her accidental career in climate reporting, the origins of climate denial, and the challenges of investigative journalism. They explore urgent climate concerns, deceptive industry tactics, and the importance of genuine journalism in combating disinformation. Amy also talks about the significance of incorporating climate themes in storytelling and the need for new narratives addressing the climate crisis.

Critically acclaimed debut novelist, Isa Arsén, spoke with me about humanizing machines and the creative process, how to write soft sci-fi, and her genre-bending, “timey-wimey” literary debut SHOOT THE MOON.Isa Arsén is an author and audio engineer based in South Texas and has published several short stories and pieces of experimental interactive media.Shoot the Moon is Arsén’s debut novel, inspired by her own childhood in New Mexico. Named a BookBub Best Book of Fall and Shondaland Best Book for October 2023 among others, it has been described as “...a puzzle box time travel story,” about an “... [intelligent] but lonely NASA secretary and her relentless drive to live a big life in a world that would keep her small.”Publishers Weekly called it an, "Innovative . . . [novel that] navigates the back-and-forth of the story’s time-travel events, threading them into the highlights of women’s scientific achievements."[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Isa Arsén and I discussed:  Studying music composition and blending the organic and machine Why “music is how we decorate time” Her unique blend of interests, including Dr. Who What it means to write in the age of genre-benders Why storytelling is a quirk of evolution And a lot more! Show Notes: inarsen.com Shoot the Moon by Isa Arsén [Amazon] Isa Arsén on Instagram Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The Writer Files" features Laurell K. Hamilton, bestselling author of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. In this episode, she discusses her writing process and how it has evolved over the years. She shares insights on finding words, wisdom, and mental wellness, and celebrates the 30th novel in her series. Hamilton also talks about her lean, mean writing approach, the importance of not beating yourself up over slow progress, and how to refill your creative tank. Additionally, she explores tapping into science, history, and mythology for realism in fiction. A fascinating conversation with a successful and influential paranormal fiction author.

Bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author, Anne Enright, spoke to me about eagles and moles, the interior engineering of a novel, her love of Irish poetry, and her latest THE WREN, THE WREN.Anne Enright won the Man Booker Prize and the Irish Fiction Award for her novel The Gathering. She has also been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish Book Awards, and was the first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015-2018).Her latest novel The Wren, the Wren, was named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by TIME, The Millions, Literary Hub, and others, and is described as the story of “... three generations of … women who must contend with inheritances―of poetic wonder and of abandonment by a man who is lauded in public and carelessly selfish at home.”The New York Times called it, "... a powerful, thoughtful book by one of the great living writers on the subject of family," and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan said of the book, “The Wren, the Wren is an electrifying romp through language itself―its dizzying possibilities and satisfactions―led by one the most gifted writers working in English today."Anne Enright has also published two books of short stories, her essays on literary themes have appeared in the London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books, and she writes for the books pages of The Irish Times and The Guardian.[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Anne Enright and I discussed:  The moment of burnout that changed her career How she used to be a night owl scribe Why you shouldn’t over-panic, or over-plan The fallacies of impostor syndrome and inspiration How to create a fictional poet out of thin air Taking a long look at James Joyce across the table And a lot more! Show Notes: Anne Enright - Wikipedia The Wren, the Wren: A Novel by Anne Enright (Amazon) Anne Enright Amazon Author Page Book Review: ‘The Wren, the Wren,’ by Anne Enright - The New York Times Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author and award-winning screenwriter, Dwain Worrell, spoke to me about making the move from the writers' room to the cafe, the art and science of suspense, and his debut novel ANDRONE.Dwain Worrell is an award-winning Marvel and Disney+ TV producer, filmmaker, and novelist whose writing credits include Marvel’s Iron Fist, CBS’s Fire Country, Amazon Studios’ The Wall, and the Disney+ series National Treasure, among others. Dwain also worked as a translator of Mandarin Chinese in Beijing for nearly a decade.His bestselling debut novel, Androne, is described as a “... near future … highly cinematic and propulsive story [centered] around a terrifying event called the Ninety-Nine, where all major military installations on Earth [are] eviscerated, heralding humanity's start of a war with an unknown enemy.”Niels Arden Oplev, Director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo called the book “A crazy-cool ride into the unknown …. [Androne] reads like a high-end videogame on steroids with a destiny of Shakespearean magnitude.”       Publishers Weekly wrote, “... taut intrigue … reels readers into a thrilling yet thoughtful narrative about the futility of war and the cost of doing the right thing…”[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Dwain Worrell and I discussed:  Making the move from screenwriter to novelist during a WGA strike How he discovered theater after having his basketball dreams dashed Why writing for TV is harder (and easier) than prose The inspiration that went into his latest sci-fi thriller Our mutual love of Hans Zimmer soundtracks Hanging out with Shakespeare at Chili’s And a lot more! Show Notes: Dwainworrell.com Dwain Worrell - IMDb Behind the Science of Writing Good Suspense - Writer's Digest Androne By Dwain Worrell (Amazon) Dwain Worrell on Instagram Dwain Worrell on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, spoke to me about how to write seven novels in 18 months, the psychology of fiction and fandom, and her latest YA mystery, THE BROTHERS HAWTHORNE.Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 acclaimed young adult novels, including The Inheritance Games trilogy, Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals, The Lovely and the Lost, and The Naturals series.Her latest is The Brothers Hawthorne, described as “Knives Out-esque” by Publishers Weekly, it is a story of [two brothers] “Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, [who] —with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.”Jen is a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science including a Ph.D. from Yale University, and “...is one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of fandom and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination.”[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I discussed:  Her study of autism and why neurodivergents rely so heavily on story How her bestselling trilogy went viral on TikTok Why she writes for reluctant readers How to write mysteries with intricate puzzles, twists, turns, and reveals Her theories on why readers love fiction And a lot more! Show Notes: Jenniferlynnbarnes.com The psychology of fiction with Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Re:Thinking with Adam Grant - TED Audio Collective The Brothers Hawthorne By Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Amazon) Jennifer Lynn Barnes Amazon Author Page Jennifer Lynn Barnes on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#1 New York Times bestselling author, James Rollins, spoke to me about his alter ego, veterinarian Dr. Jim, how to write two staccato-paced novels a year, and his latest Sigma Force installment, TIDES OF FIRE.James Rollins is the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Sigma Force series, six standalone adventure thrillers, a novelization of the Indiana Jones franchise, and many others totaling over 44 novels (even he can’t remember the exact number).His latest in his most popular series is Tides of Fire: A Sigma Force Novel, [set on] “...an international research station in the Coral Sea [that] comes under siege during a geological disaster that triggers massive quakes, deadly tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. To stop the world from burning, it’s up to Sigma Force to uncover a secret buried at the heart of our planet…”Publishers Weekly said of the book, "The X-Files meets Seal Team Six in Rollins’s imaginative, pulse-pounding 17th Sigma Force thriller . . . . Rollins’s gleeful everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach works well here, nimbly balancing popcorn action with mind-blowing scientific speculation. The author has rarely been better at making the implausible feel plausible."James Rollins’s novels have sold over 20 million copies and are published in more than 40 languages worldwide.[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm][If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]In this file James Rollins and I discussed:  How 49 rejections early in his career didn’t sway his passion for writing Keeping all of the plots and characters organized in his many series The panic that comes with every undertaking Why he adds illustrations and appendices to his books The unique research process that goes into his prescient novels And a lot more! Show Notes: JamesRollins.com Tides of Fire: A Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins (Amazon) James Rollins Amazon Author Page James Rollins on Instagram James Rollins on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices