Death Of 1000 Cuts

In today's episode I look at the first page of a listener's story and suggest ways of making it better. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how can I get some tips for editing my novel? - how can I write a great first line? - how should I describe my characters? - what makes good dialogue? - how can I think about the flow of a sentence? If you'd like to submit your work for a future show, you can do so via my website, here: http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/ If you'd like to support me, please buy my novel, THE HONOURS. It's temporarily unavailable on Wordery, so here's a link to wonderful UK indie bookshop, Mr B's Emporium, who ship worldwide: https://mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-honours/ Finally, you can support the running of the show directly via my Ko-fi page: http://ko-fi.com/B0B17913 And here's today's extract (PS - I realise now 'against' is a two-syllable word - oops!): THE DENTIST (by Morgan) Joy wore a short, black, cotton dress, her hair tied back in a blond ponytail. Around her neck was a thin, golden chain with her star sign, a ram’s head. I had given it to her when we first met. I wore an open-necked, pale blue shirt under a dark-blue suit. It brought out the color of my eyes. We were celebrating my first proper television role. The restaurant terrace shimmered gold, the candle flames restless in the breeze from the ocean. The crashing waves drowned out the piano tinkling through the speakers. "I'm proud of you, honey," said Joy. “A speaking role.” "Let’s hope I don’t develop a stutter.” "Aw, that would be adorable!" said Joy, pinching my cheek. "Ow!" "Oh, sorry, honey, is that the bad side?" "It's okay," I said, "I'm just minding it, so it'll go away sooner." "You know..." started Joy. Our starters arrived, ending the conversation. I had curried oysters, Joy had asparagus salad. My mouth throbbed. I’d almost gotten used to it. I was pretty sure the tooth was rotten, that the cure would be worse than the disease. Lost in these thoughts I bit down on a mouthful and a sharp pain jolted my head. There was a hard lump in my mouth. I held my cheek and went to the bathroom. At the mirror I picked a cracked and rotten piece of tooth from my mouth. It was laced with blood and the smell of seafood.

This episode I chat to multi-award-winning writer Helen MacDonald, author of H IS FOR HAWK, about finding the right words, finding your voice, and pushing through in the face of self-doubt. We discuss her poetic influences, Top Gun, madness, painting and masculine crisis in interbellum England. We really dig down into how you might go about turning your experiences, traumas and big questions into meaningful writing that connects with others. And, as well as talking about how to deal with setbacks and doubt, we cover that so rarely discussed of topics: how to cope with success. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how can I find my voice as a writer? - what sort of writing routine should I establish? - how can writing poetry help with my prose? - what's it like when your book does really well? - what are some techniques for overcoming low self-confidence? If you enjoy this episode and you haven't yet read H IS FOR HAWK, I suggest you click here to get it delivered (with free P&P) to your door. It really is as good as the reviews and awards say - I found it magnetically compelling: https://wordery.com/h-is-for-hawk-helen-macdonald-9780099575450#oid=1908_1 Oh, and I did a novel! If you like me and want to do me a solid, chuck me a few pence by buying my book, THE HONOURS, please: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 And you can support the podcast directly via my Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you so much for continuing to listen and share Death Of 1000 Cuts.

In this episode I chat with social psychologist James W Pennebaker about his research into expressive writing, and the tiny words we use each day but don't notice. We talk about a specific way of writing that can improve your mood, sleep, immune system function and even help your body heal faster. We discuss computer analyses of language, from old diaries to emails to poems, and how a particular category of words that accounts for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of your vocabulary makes up almost 60 percent of the words you use. And we find out how your output of these almost subliminal words can predict everything from status, age and gender to the likelihood the writer will take their own life. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - can writing make me feel better, and if so, how? - what are some different categories of language? - how is language processed in the brain? - how can I make my characters' dialogue more genuine, and representative of their backgrounds? - what does my writing say about me? This is a very different show to our usual style, but it's truly fascinating. I really recommend you check out THE SECRET LIFE OF PRONOUNS, which our discussion only scrapes the surface of. There's a huge wealth of knowledge in there for writers: https://wordery.com/the-secret-life-of-pronouns-james-w-pennebaker-9781608194964#oid=1908_1 You might also like James W Pennebaker's OPENING UP BY WRITING IT DOWN, a book about his research into the benefits of expressive writing, which includes exercises to try it out for yourself: https://wordery.com/opening-up-by-writing-it-down-third-edition-james-w-pennebaker-9781462524921#oid=1908_1 And of course if you haven't treated yourself to it yet, there really is no better tonic for the troubled heart than my novel, THE HONOURS. Buy it here, with free shipping - it will come to your door, it looks beautiful, and you'll be helping me out: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 Finally, you can always support the podcast directly by dropping a few beans into the upturned guitar case that is my ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you so much, and I hope you find this episode enlightening.

In this episode I chat to novelist and film-maker Guy Gunaratne. We chat about how he got into telling stories, the movie that changed his life, and the challenge of listening to the voices of the five very different characters in his debut novel, IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY. We also chat about saunas, road talk, finding the stories that obsess you, freestyle rap battles, and the performative nature of talking about being an author. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how can I find a character's voice? - what are the best techniques for writing in the first-person? - what are some ways to keep going to the end of my novel? - how can I discover the stories behind the issues I care about? - how can I bring a theme or topic to life? Please support the authors we have on the podcast. You'll be helping them have careers and write more stories, and also you'll find yourself reading great novels you didn't expect to. I urge you to treat yourself to Guy Gunaratne's brilliant IN OUR MAD AND FURIOUS CITY, available with free shipping here: https://wordery.com/in-our-mad-and-furious-city-guy-gunaratne-9781472250193#oid=1908_1 One way to support the podcast and me is to order my novel, THE HONOURS. You can get it here with free shipping: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 And of course you can chuck me a few quid directly via my Ko-fi page: www.ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you very much for your continued enthusiasm and support. It means the world.

This episode I report from deep in the middle of teaching a writing retreat at Arvon's Totleigh Barton. Many issues about creative writing, developing your practice, and growing as a writer are on my mind, so I try to get down to some fundamental principles as they occur to me. This is an unscripted episode, where I have a go at getting to the bottom of a problem or topic and puzzle out what I think about it. At the time of recording, I was rereading Osip Mandelstam's JOURNEY TO ARMENIA, and also Dorothea Brande's BECOMING A WRITER, the first truly iconic creative writing manual, originally published in 1934. I felt pretty amazed and inspired by both, so I talk about - and read from - both texts. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - the best way to build a sustainable writing practice - how to cultivate your imagination - how to silence your inner critic - a classic exercise to get through writers' block and stimulate ideas - how a writing retreat works Here's Dorothea Brande's bestselling classic, BECOMING A WRITER - I think it's brilliant. Reading it helped me loads: https://wordery.com/becoming-a-writer-dorothea-brande-9780874771640#oid=1908_1 Here's Osip Mandelstam's JOURNEY TO ARMENIA. It's so good: https://wordery.com/journey-to-armenia-osip-mandelstam-9781907903472#oid=1908_1 Have you bought my novel, THE HONOURS, yet? You'd be doing me a great favour if you did: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 Finally, if you'd like to help out the podcast, I have a coffee page where you can bung me a few quid to help keep the lights on. Every little is appreciated: ko-fi.com/timclare

In this episode I chat to SF author Gareth L Powell about his pistol-toting flying ace monkey, ACK-ACK MACAQUE, writing sentient spaceships, winning awards and being nice on the internet. We get into his new novel, EMBERS OF WAR, and he shares his best writing tips for novice authors. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how much should I plan my story? - how do I get to know my characters? - how do I write from the perspective of unusual / non-human characters? - what's the difference between a story being absurd and funny? - what's it like winning a major award? - how can I write compelling dialogue that flows well? You can find Gareth's website here: https://www.garethlpowell.com/ Here's his Patreon page where you can support him and get all sorts of goodies depending on your supporter level, including feedback on your work: https://www.patreon.com/GarethLPowell Here's his Twitter: https://twitter.com/garethlpowell?lang=en What's that? You want to read his excellent novels? Why not try big SF adventure EMBERS OF WAR: https://wordery.com/embers-of-war-gareth-l-powell-9781785655180#oid=1908_1 Or if you like monkeys liberated from cyber-servitude, smoking cigars and shooting stuff up (and who doesn't), try ACK-ACK MACAQUE: https://wordery.com/ack-ack-macaque-1-gareth-l-powell-9781781080597#oid=1908_1 And of course, if you fancy reading something by me, THE HONOURS is a cosy interbellum yarn with sawn-off shotguns and nameless terrors hidden in the walls of a Norfolk country house: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 And yo, if you want to drop the podcast a few bucks to cover expenses and keep us on the air, you can do so in a couple of clicks, here: ko-fi.com/timclare

On this episode, author Tim Clare (that's me) shares 7 easy ways to help your writing that aren't actually writing. That's right! I've gone all lifestyle guru. Except not really. These are 7 small tweaks you can make to your daily routine or lack thereof, that have helped me write quite a bit. What are they? Well... - Get In The Shower - Get A Wall Calendar - Make A Could-Do List - Read Stuff You Hate - Tidy Up - Move - Tempt Yourself I don't think I've ever sounded more like a curmudgeonly dad than reading those titles back to myself. But of course if you'd like to know the advice appended to each of those tasty lil lexical meathooks you'll have to listen to the episode. They're all pretty simple to roadtest, cheap or free, and chosen to yield disproportionately great results. If you can do something that only takes 5 minutes, and makes your day 5% better, that's worth it, right? In this episode I quote from Natalie Goldberg's classic creative writing manual, WRITING DOWN THE BONES, and you can grab yourself a copy here: https://wordery.com/writing-down-the-bones-natalie-goldberg-9781611803082#oid=1908_1 Here's a link to info on how to do the Pomodoro Technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique And oh! Oh! Be a love and buy my novel, THE HONOURS: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 Here's the page where you can chuck the show a few bucks directly: https://ko-fi.com/timclare And don't forget you can contact me via http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk or on Twitter @timclarepoet Thanks very much for your support.

In this episode I chat to novelist Claire North (aka Catherine Webb) about her amazing career spanning 20 (!) novels so far, starting when she was just 14. We chat about genre, growing up geeky, dystopias, craft, and changing the world - and her latest novel, 84K, set in a frighteningly familiar corporate near-future where everything - including murder - has a price and ad support. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - does genre matter? - who decides what genre my book is? - can stories change the world? - what are some ways in to writing about big themes or social issues? - how can I write consistently? You can grab a copy of 84K by Claire North here: https://wordery.com/84k-claire-north-9780316316804#oid=1908_1 Here's THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST, which we chat about: https://wordery.com/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august-claire-north-9780356502588#oid=1908_1 You can follow Cat on Twitter: @ClaireNorth42 Please support me and the show by buying my cool book, THE HONOURS: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 You can also drop me a couple of bucks directly to help with the show's overheads, via my ko-fi page: ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you!

This episode I chat to Peter Newman, author of Fantasy trilogy THE VAGRANT, THE MALICE and THE SEVEN, and - released in the UK *this week* (!) - his latest, THE DEATHLESS. I grill him for precious, precious info on how he builds worlds, his philosophy on creating characters, and what makes Fantasy so compelling. We end up chatting about everything from roleplaying on school buses, to why goats make the perfect jesters to critique humankind. Whatever genre you write in, there are bucketloads of down-to-earth advice from an experienced author on how to keep writing and find the good stuff. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - what makes a good protagonist? - how do I write stories set in a dystopia? - how do I make my readers care about my characters? - what's Grimdark Fantasy and should I write it? - what are good ways to think about world-building? - how can I convey my world while keeping the story going? - what things do readers need to know, and when? Peter Newman's latest novel (out this week!) is THE DEATHLESS, and you can grab yourself a copy here: https://wordery.com/the-deathless-peter-newman-9780008228989#oid=1908_1 But you should read all Pete's novels! (I enjoyed them) A good place to start is THE VAGRANT, which we discuss on the podcast: https://wordery.com/the-vagrant-peter-newman-9780007593132#oid=1908_1 2nd in the trilogy is THE MALICE: https://wordery.com/the-malice-peter-newman-9780007593194#oid=1908_1 And it closes with THE SEVEN: https://wordery.com/the-seven-peter-newman-9780008180164#oid=1908_1 You can grab my novel, THE HONOURS, here: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 You can also drop me a couple of bucks directly to help with the show's overheads, via my ko-fi page: ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you!

To mark the 100th episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts, my writing advice podcast, I thought I'd record a Q&A, answering listeners' questions. Here are the questions I answer, in the order I answer them. Thanks very much to everyone who submitted questions! - How do you know when you’re being original? - When can you quit the day job? Should you quit the day job? - How do you balance writing and family life? - I'd love more tips about writing characters that are consistent and iconic but also growing and complex. 'How do word people better?' - What's the last literary novel you read that you rated highly? - Do you ever have trouble concentrating on your writing, and if so, what do you do to stay focused and productive? - What inspired you to write The Honours? - How do you decide when something is done? A piece of work might never reach the ideal image of it we have in our minds, so at what point then do we stop and send it off? - How do you know when you should give up on a particular piece of work? - What boardgame do you enthuse about to other people who love them and what boardgame do you enthuse about to other people who don't? - is "secret vampires" your favourite song by the pop group bis? - Would you advise forcing yourself to finish what you start or trust you're finishing the important ones? - I’d love to know your views on research.. are you a thorough mini expert in your subject before you even start? Or do you start then realise you need to research? - How much did you query before you found an agent? - Any tips on getting through the big first revision after completing a novel first draft? I find it much harder to summon the enthusiasm to edit than I did to create - Who is your favourite member of Steps and why? - When I read books by other authors, what should I be looking for that can help me with my own writing? - How do you finish stories? As in when do you stop iterating on them? - Writing right now feels like a completely safe space. Is it harder to feel like that once you’ve been published? What can you do about that? If you get value out of the show and you'd like to see us continue for another 100 episodes, the best way to show your support is to buy my novel, THE HONOURS: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 You can also drop me a couple of bucks directly to help with the show's overheads, via my ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/timclare Thank you!