Writer's Routine

Dirty Thirty! (no swearing in the pod though)It's the Pearl Anniversary of our very first podcast! Debut thriller writer James Buckler brings us the details, crevices and crannies of his working day, with his Writer's Routine.James' debut 'Last Stop Tokyo' tells the story of Alex, an Englishman on the run in Japan, and his adventure with the the alluring and illusive Naoko, as we discover the who, what and why of his chasers. It's a thriller without anything not of the ordinary. You'll find no gadgets, no car-chases and no secret agents, but James hopes you'll turn the pages quicker than ever before.Working in film and TV has taken James all around the world, from the US to Canada, before finally settling in Japan for a year. A situation whilst heading through customs in Tokyo Airport became the first chapter of his story, and a conversation with a Japanese student while he was there sparked an idea that became the rest of the plot.We talk about how he splits his time between writing and freelance film production, the three things he needs to know before he starts work, and what he's learned penning his first book and how he may change things moving to his second.Our top writing tip that may change the way you work forever is from a mystery author and could massively affect your mindset starting work each day.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29, feeling fine...ish. Ok, we're barely keeping it together. This book isn't what I thought it would be and so far my writing process is changing the cork-board colour on Scrivener. If this is you, you've in the right place.Mystery-writer Barbara Nadel brings us this week Writer's Routine. This year, 2018, she will publish her 29th and 30th novels. She's only been putting them out there for 19 years - we'll try and get to the bottom of that incredibly prolific work-rate in the next 30 minutes. Barbara is best known for her 'Inspector Ikmen Mysteries', set in Istanbul which blends the geography, politics and romance of Turkey with one victim's grisly end - 'no matter where you are in the world, there's always a murder-mystery to be solved'. She has also published crime and thriller mysteries around the East End of London, we talk about the differences in writing her different settings.Also, we talk about the 3 things she needs to know before she starts typing, what she thinks about 'guilty pleasures', and the twist of fate that helped her first book get published. Our writing tip that may change the way you work forever is all about names, and the creative ways you can find them for your characters.If this show has helped you finally get a story down, I'd love to hear the story of that. Let me know in the comment box of the iTunes Podcast Store Review section, and tell me which author from the series has given you the inspiration to get things done.Finally, we're up for a British Podcast Award! We're one of 6 up for 'Best Culture' at the end of May, which you can't help us win. BUT, you can vote for us in the 'Listener's Choice' Category over at britishpodcastawards.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28, tell a mate. Please. We could do with the listeners.Crime-writing revenge weaver Sarah Ward runs us through her working day! Sarah has published 3 books in the 'DC Childs Series', all thrillers with long-brooded over passion at their heart, and set in the Derbyshire Peaks. We talk about why her most productive hours are in the morning, what she uses to write on trains, and the idea she needs at the core of her story to even contemplate writing it.If you have a minute, please do leave us a review over on the iTunes Podcast Store, drop us a vote in the British Podcast Awards (britishpodcastawards.com) and TELL A FRIEND. As I say, listeners always needed.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27, dear Lord in Heaven. Suitably, if you're of the praying persuasion then I could really do with the Big Man's help... we've been nominated for a British Podcast Award for Best Culture, and EVERY LITTLE HELPS. You can marvel at this unexpected turn of events over at britishpodcastawards.com.This week, domestic-noir author Julia Crouch shares her writer's routine! She's published 5 books, all focused on the terrible things we do to one another in the name of love. We talk about how her varied and ranging career has always involved telling stories, whether that's with a pen as an author, or with a pencil as an illustrator. Also, you can hear why wasting hours on social media is actually perfectly normal for a writer, it's almost the freelancer's watercooler, and we chat about the 2 things that really get her exciting while working on a story.Also, we get a top writing tip that may change the way you work forever from a screen-writer, who co-wrote the huge hit film, 'The Death of Stalin'!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26, get your kicks. Peter Fellows co-wrote the hit film 'The Death of Stalin', alongside David Schneider, Ian Martin and Armando Iannucci. It's another success on Iannucci's, one of the UK's biggest comedy writers, Wikipedia page - along with Alan Partridge, 'The Thick of It' and 'Veep', which Peter has also co-written for.The film stars Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough and Peter talks about what it's like writing jokes to come out of their mouths, and what it's like pitching Hollywood actors a gag whilst on set. Also, we chat about how a tiny, elevator-pitch-of-an-idea gets fleshed out over countless emails, until it's finally ready to play in cinemas. And, you can find out the type of joke Peter never really wants to tell.It's a sweary episode, as that's what happens when you stick a comedy-writer in front of a microphone for more than 5 minutes, so BE WARNED. It's not excessive, but it's there.Also, we get a top writing tip that may change the way you work forever from a thriller debutant.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the quadranscentennial episode of the podcast, the debut crime writer and children's story-telling hero MJ Ford brings us his Writer's Routine!Michael has just published his first thriller for adults, 'Hold My Hand'. It starts with a boy snatched by a clown, and picks up the story 30 years later as the police find what may be the kid's body in the woods. The last few years have seen something of a zeitgeist for 'killer clowns', what with Stephen King's IT being remade into a movie, and kids in America thinking it's funny to terrorise neighbours dressed as them, so we chat about whether it's ever good to tag your story onto a zeitgeist in the hope it sells.He's be around words for most of his career, working as an editor, in a collaborative writers room, and as a children's novelist - both being commissioned to write to spec for a publishing house, and as a ghostwriter for celebrities on their kids books.We talk about the mystical 5 act structure, what it's like to toss around story ideas with other authors, and how much say a writer has in the process of publication.You can get one tip that may change the way you write forever from the YA author Cass Green, and she'll reveal the long-running controversial comedy that has helped the way she plots!@writersroutinewritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All-round word junkie Cass Green brings us today's Writer's Routine!Cass has written for just about every place where you can read a word. She's penned Young Adult books, worked as a journalist on broadsheets and glossy mags, she teaches creative writing, and has just published her second full-blown adult thriller, 'In A Cottage In A Wood'.We talk about why her planning method seems to change every time she sat down to write something new, one piece of advice that changed the way she works forever, and her favourite place to write.Also, we get one tip that could change the way you tell emotion in your stories from Helen Fields, the author of the 'D.I Callanach' series.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TV presenter and workaholic author Fern Britton gives us our 23rd Writer's Routine!Fern has just published her 8th novel, Coming Home. It tells the story of a woman returning to her Cornish hometown after many years away, and how she fixes the relationships that have been broken through time. Fern's books are mostly all set in her beloved Cornwall, in fictitious villages that treat you the same way as a hot-water bottle. They're warming, comfy but have that odd element of mysterious danger.Making her name on 'Ready, Steady, Cook', 'This Morning' and 'Strictly Come Dancing', Fern now spends most of her time gazing over farmland and a blank Word Document from her cottage-study. We talk about how a huge filing cabinet helps her plan stories, why her listeners forced her hand in continuing a finished tale, and how she makes her characters 3 dimensional.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crime-writer writer Helen Fields dives into the depths of her diary to bring us tips and advice from her writing routine!Helen has just published the third of her 'D.I Callanach' thrillers, 'Perfect Death'. It's all about murders, with a gruesome, ingenious twist, and after working in Law with police, social services and Doctors for many years, Helen has a peculiarly accurate insight into the crimes she writes. She's also told stories using every method available to her, running a film production company and even self-publishing two fantasy books before signing up to the big leagues.We talk about how naming your characters is one of the most tricky parts of the process, why she thinks some authors think the job's too easy, and how self-publishing led her to finally getting signed up by a proper house.Also, the author of one of the most hotly-anticipated books of the year, AJ Finn gives us one writing tip that will change the way you work forever - and it's so easy, you may not even have thought of it.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AJ Finn explores the minutely insignificant but weirdly wonderful details of his writing routine!AJ has just published 'The Woman in the Window', and it's set to be the biggest psychological thriller since 'Gone Girl' and 'The Girl on the Train'. It has sold in 38 territories - the most of a debut ever, entered the New York Times Bestseller list at No.1 - the first time a debut novel has done that in over 11 years, and its film rights have already been bought by Fox 2000!While working in publishing, the film-noir and crime obsessed AJ thought of a single idea for a story: that of an agoraphobic woman spying a terrible crime through a window, and trying to convince the world of what she saw. It took a further 3 years to flesh out the narrative, and 12 more months to write. AJ has an interesting way of drafting his work too, in that he doesn't do it conventionally. We talk about how he made sure every single one of his 100 chapters was perfect during the show.Also, we chat about getting into the mind of a 38 year old addict who never leaves the house, and how AJ made sure he could write as his lead character truthfully. There's talk of language, and how the actual placing of words was a surprisingly tough part of the job, and what pressure he feels starting his second novel off the back of one of the most hotly anticipated thrillers in years.We've got something BRAND NEW as well, where one of the country's best authors reveals one tip that may change the way you work forever!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.