Writer's Routine

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 literatureandlatte.com.@writerspodwritersroutine.compatreon.com/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 can!@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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 Twitter.@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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 Podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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 swears.@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com 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 fancy.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.