The Writing Life

Norwich-based poet and writer Shannon Clinton-Copeland speaks to our virtual residents Akshita Nanda, Crispin Rodrigues and Daryl Qilin Yam about writing and literary life in Singapore. Their residencies are supported by Singapore’s National Arts Council.  Akshita, Crispin and Daryl touch on everything from the relationship between writing and culture, to writing as a method for finding common experiences. They also discuss understanding across social, cultural and linguistic borders.  Virtual residencies for writers and translators can bring national and international voices and ideas to places like Norwich. Through commissions, online events and podcasts like this one, those voices can also reach a global audience.  You can find out more about our virtual and in-person residences on our website: nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk.

Comedian and writer Caimh McDonnell shares insights on writing humor, discussing his book 'The Stranger Times' set in a weird Manchester world. The conversation covers characters, dialogue, conflict, genre, and inversion of expectation. McDonnell's journey from comedy to successful author is explored, offering valuable tips for incorporating humor into storytelling.

For this episode, we speak to the wonderful Kirsty Logan. Kirsty is completely devoted to books: she is the award-winning author of several novels, including The Gloaming and The Gracekeepers, and short story collections including A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales. She recently wrote the Audible Original The Sound at the End, an Arctic ghost story. She’s also a book reviewer, editor and mentor. Kirsty’s new novel, Now She is Witch, came out this month. It is a medieval witch revenge story unlike any other. We discuss the book as well as aspects of craft, including character, theme, structure, research, routine and inspiration. We talk about how to build complex characters within fairy tales, the difference between historical fiction and Medievalism and how witch stories reflect our feelings of being under threat in our world. We talk about identity, revenge and research beyond the internet. Kirsty also starts our conversation with a reading - a poem she wrote during a writing residency.

National Centre for Writing’s Rebecca DeWald talks to translator Clare Richards. Rebecca is our Emerging Translator Mentorships Programme Manager and Clare is a previous mentee, who was mentored by Anton Hur. Clare is a translator of Korean, but has a passion for the more challenging scripts such as Japanese, as she explains in their conversation. As a neurodivergent person, Clare is perfectly placed to reflect on our ablist workplaces and the male-skewed view of autism - and she also describes how learning new languages can help change the way we think and communicate. Clare really found her calling in literary translation allowing her to build a way of working that suits her skills and preferences. She has also set up a Discord channel for D-deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people and you can find her on Twitter @clarehannahmary Clare is just one of our Emerging Translator mentees. The scheme itself matches experienced translators with emerging translators for a six-month period. During this time they work on practical translation projects together and learn about the ins and outs of professionalizing as a literary translator. You can find out more about the scheme on our website.

Novelist and NCW tutor Megan Bradbury shares strategies for building a writing routine, including dealing with avoidance excuses and using noise-canceling headphones. She discusses the importance of balancing creativity and structure in writing, finding one's own writing style, and creating a writing routine while balancing domestic life. The chapter explores practical tips for setting boundaries, maintaining inspiration, and embracing organic ideas.

This episode is a Writing Life special, featuring an hour of new writing read by the writers on this year’s National Centre for Writing Escalator programme - recorded earlier this year at the showcase event, here at Dragon Hall.   Melody Bowles Bang Wang Ben Cartwright Shirley Day Isabelle Higgins Adam Leeder Joanna Miller Carrie Patten Rick Roydes Mark Stocker Escalator is our talent development programme. And each year, we look for ambitious, challenging, unconventional and affecting new voices in fiction writing from the East of England. The region is made up of a diverse society of people, and supporting writers who are under-represented on UK bookshelves has become a core objective of the project.  The programme has been running since 2004 and includes eight months of mentoring, training, guidance and networking for participants. To date we’ve supported more than 130 writers, many of whom have gone on to sign with agents, publish and win awards and critical recognition for their novels and short stories. We had a fantastic group of writers in 2022 and we hosted them here for the annual Escalator Showcase event where they all read from their work. This is the audio from that event. https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/escalator/  

Crime and noir novelist Julia Crouch shares tips on gripping readers through character development, narrative tension, conflict, and twists. She discusses the role of dead bodies, creating intrigue, and sowing seeds of suspense. Julia's expertise in domestic noir shines as she offers technical advice for captivating storytelling.

Award-winning Belgian writer Els Beerten shares insights on character development and using the senses to bring places and people to life. Topics range from exploring historical narratives through character depth to using writing as a tool for connection and sensory experience.

Writer and teacher Jenn Ashworth discusses the nuances of short stories vs. novels, including character development, modular storytelling, and the appeal of short fiction in uncertain times. She also shares insights on crafting compelling narratives and the challenges in promoting short story collections in the publishing industry.

How to write about love in its various forms with Maddie Mortimer.  Maddie is the author of Maps Of Our Spectacular Bodies which won her a 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize.  The first part of our conversation was about her Desmond Elliott Prize win, but we soon started talking about the novel, writing craft and writing love. This episode features the section of the conversation about writing love, from the intimate and tender to the physical and visceral, from the romantic to the familial.  As part of the Early Career Awards, we regularly publish our free EC Packs - bundles of advice, interviews, audio and video to help writers tackle particular areas of writing. We have packs on Editing, Beginnings, Structure, Plot, World Building and lots more. Access them for free on our website. This podcast forms a part of our new Early Career Pack - on the subject of love. It includes exercises, articles and indeed, this episode of the Writing Life.