Writer's Routine

Thirty Three, have a look see.This week's author, sharing the intricacies and eccentricities of her working day, is Natasha Scripture. Natasha has worked as a journalist, a humanitarian worker, and she's been on a lot of dates too. Finally, after being sick of hearing her Mum say she needed to find a man, Natasha decided to go on an international adventure to find out if that was true. What was originally meant to be a sassy, fun guide to the dating detox, turned into a globe-trotting transformational memoir, which asks what love is and whether we really need it at all?We talk about how you plan and plot a memoir, what it's like to open up your life to such emotional scrutiny, and why she always has the best ideas in the most annoying places. Also, how she worked was influenced by, and stands apart from, the classic 'Eat Pray Love', and what she learned from her adventure of self-discovery.Our top writing tip that may change the way you work forever is from one of the UK's most successful crime authors, who wants to put you in the most comfortable pair of pyjamas you can imagine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thirty-Two, this is an incredible treat for you.This week's guest is one of the UK's bestselling crime-authors, Mark Billingham. In June 2018, Mark will publish his 18th novel, his 15th in the incredibly successful 'Thorne' series. This time copper Tom Thorne gets involved in a case that takes much inspiration from a real-life crime and mystery that still hasn't been solved today.We talk about how Mark's writing style and method has changed in the 17-or-so years since he published his first novel 'Sleepyhead', which was later made into a TV show starring David Morrissey, and we find out if seeing his hero on the screen affected his view of story-telling too. You can find out how being a obsessive crime-fiction fan turned him into one of the genre's best, and why the name of this fine podcast gives him the shivers.Also, we'll get a top writing tip from a debut romantic-comedy author who wants you to put down your pen, rest your fingers, and just tell your story.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WE'RE AN AWARD WINNING PODCAST! On Saturday, in a ceremony alongside BBC Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio X and countless other titans of broadcasting, we managed to bag SILVER in 'Best Culture' at the British Podcast Awards. Thank you. Thank every single one of you. Even if you were going to download this but have been put off by this sycophantic blurb - THANK YOU.Sophie Jenkins is our guest this week, sharing the Writer's Routine which helped get her debut novel published! It's a romantic comedy, 'The Forgotten Guide to Happiness', which stars Lara and the unusual living situation which a lonely 80 year old writer who helps find her love.It's not the sole work of a debutant though, Sophie has been around words most of her life: working as a journalist, as a writer-in-residence, and even studying it as a Masters - so she knows how to tell a good story. Although, it was almost a completely different story. Sophie wrote a whole other draft, handed it to her agent and was told, 'to get it sold, you're going to need to make changes'... those changes ended up being about 90% of the book. Sophie was fine with that though, and you can hear why in the show.Also, you can find out how she gets to know her characters, whether they could exist independently of the story or indeed, each other. And we talk about why comedian and worrier Jon Richardson helped her imagine the perfect hero for the story.We get a top writing tip that may change the way you work forever from a thriller author who wants to COMPLETELY DISAGREE with every romantic notion of novel writing EVER.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.