Writer's Routine
How do the best writers get to work?
In every episode, we'll chat to an author about what they do through a day. Where do they work? What time do they start? How do they plan their time and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller?
Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 43 minutes
- Episodes
- 371
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Lucy Foley, author of 'The Guest List' - Mystery author on twisting the whodunnit, the beauty and benefit of overwriting, and why she loves chaos
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…
BA Paris, author of 'The Dilemma' - Managing to structure your pantsing, forgetting the word count, and the urge to tell stories.
BA Paris has sold over 1 million books, they've been translated into 39 languages, and her new novel, 'The Dilemma' was released in early 2020 to huge acclaim.
The idea is simple: what if you had to t…
Caroline Scott, author of 'The Photographer of the Lost' - Avoiding cliches from the past, bringing the Great War to life, and why editing is where things really come alive.
Caroline Scott's new novel is a 'Radio 2 Book Club Pick', high praise in British books, and is set in the murky time straight after the First World War. 'The Photographer of the Lost' sees Edie go in…
Paul French, author of 'Murders of Old China' - Writer of brand new Audible series talks finding clues in the past, writing for audio, and knowing how to research.
Paul French has just released a 12 part audio series, 'Murders of Old China', through Audible. As the name suggests, it tells the stories of unsolved crimes from the early 20th century of China. We t…
Hugh Montgomery, author of 'Control' - Professor talks making time to write, what makes you creative, and the joy of trying something new.
Hugh Montgomery is a someone who, if he wasn't so darned lovely, you'd probably have to envy quite a lot. He's a practicing clinician, a UK lead on climate change, he's written screen-plays, runs ult…
Mason Currey, author of 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' - On perfecting the writing day, knowing where to start research, and some of the most interesting routines from history.
BONUS EPISODE!
In the late noughties, Mason Currey started blogging about the most interesting, unique and quirky routines from history. 'Daily Rituals' ran for year, and spawned its own book in 2013.…
Amy Heydenrych, author of 'The Pact' - Crime author talks brooding over stories, analysing her work, and breaking her own rules.
Amy Heydenrych has been brooding on the idea for her latest novel, 'The Pact', for some time now. After experiencing office bullying in an old job, she thought about how the feelings it caused, and h…
Ann Cleeves, author of 'The Long Call' - 'Vera' and 'Shetland' writer talks about the urge to tell stories, learning by living and never plotting
Ann Cleeves is a hugely prolific author - she once wrote a book a year for 30 years, and still publishes more or less every 12 months. We talk about that writing year - when she comes up with ideas, …
Chris Hammer, author of award-winning 'Scrublands' - Winner of 'New Blood Dagger Award' talks writing anywhere, nuanced characters and learning from journalism.
Before publishing his first novel, Chris Hammer worked as a journalist. Travelling all over the world reporting stories gave him the ability to write anywhere, and taught him how to tell stories. He …
Jeffrey Archer, author of 'Nothing Ventured' - Internationally successful author talks escaping to write, his exacting daily routine and what selling over 275 million books is really like.
For over 40 years, Jeffrey Archer has sold many, many books. The current count is over 275 million. He's written 37, including a volume of diaries from his time in prison - 26 of those have been Sund…
Harriet Evans, author of 'The Garden of Lost and Found' - The luxury of two places to write, why editing is the most important part of the process, and how to be flexible when the story takes over.
Harriet Evans' 11 novel could be her biggest yet. Even with the huge success of 'The Wildflowers', 'The Garden of Lost and Found' is everywhere at the moment, and tells the story of Juilet. She's sen…
James Wallman, author of 'Time and How to Spend It - Journalist talks making non-fiction read like the classics, the experience economy, and why you need to get outside and be offline.
In his phenomenally successful debut, 'Stuffocation', James Wallman told everyone to stop valuing things, and instead value experiences and the time we have on this planet. He's back to tell everyone…
Ruth Hogan, author of 'The Keeper of Lost Things' - How to plan your writing year, what to do with the first sentence, and how do you get new ideas?
Ruth Hogan's debut novel 'The Keeper of Lost Things' generated huge commercial success and critical acclaim across the world. Telling the story of Anthony Peardew, a short-story writer who collects t…
Owen Nicholls, author of 'Love, Unscripted' - Debut novelist talks pop culture, movie journalism and writing romance.
Owen Nicholls is a pop-culture obsessive, having written for Empire and NME, the mission for his first novel was 'High Fidelty for movies'.
Originally thinking it may be a screenplay, instead he enjoy…
Tom MacRae, co-writer of 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' - On hit West End musicals, writing for stage, and discipline.
Along with Dan Gillespie Sells, Tom MacRae wrote the hit West End musical, 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'. It opened in Sheffield, before transferring to London, selling-out constantly and receivi…
Tim Smedley, author of 'Clearing the Air' - Sustainability writer on making non-fiction accessible, plotting travels and the perfect first chapter.
Tim Smedley is a journalist who has worked for the FT, Guardian, New Scientist and many more. A few years ago, he was so disgusted at the levels of pollutants in the air around London where he lived …
Sheila O'Flanagan, author of 'Her Husband's Mistake' - Prolific award-winner talks first sentences, becoming characters and finding new ideas.
Bestselling author Sheila O'Flanagan is prolific, published around 30 novels and has won the 'Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Her new book is 'Her Husband's Mistake', and sees Rox…
Rob Hart, author of 'The Warehouse' - Critically acclaimed author talks dystopian fiction, standalone novels and editing backwards.
Rob Hart's new book 'The Warehouse' is in the mold of 'Farenheit 451' and '1984', and focuses on one big business that suffocates all others, and the stories of 3 people who work there. Because of th…
Shari Lapena, author of 'Someone We Know' - Thriller writer talks the absurdity of planning, rewriting and discovering the killer.
Shari Lapena's first book, 'The Couple Next Door', was the number 1 adult fiction title for the UK back in 2017, and with 3 books published since we talk about how such success has affected the way s…
Laura Jane Williams, author of 'Our Stop' - Journalist and memoir writer talks debut novels, rom-com characters and dirty drafts.
Laura Jane Williams is a prolific journalist, and successful memoir writer - her books, 'Becoming' and 'Ice Cream for Breakfast', talk about her twenties and quest for love. We chat about the arrogan…