Writing Talk Podcast

Beat the post-conference blues and set your writing career on a sustainable path. Writing conferences are wonderful, but it can be hard to know what to do afterwards. Should you change direction, start something new, or compile a massive to-do list and then have a little cry? I'm suggesting a more positive approach that gives […]

When should you ditch the genre you're writing in and try something new? Here's the full podcast I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share it with your friends. You can also support the show by subscribing and leave a review and a rating: Your ratings and reviews will enable the podcast […]

Having a good idea for a novel is the first step, but how do you develop your concept into a great book? Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes This was a wide-ranging discussion, but here are some of the main points: Research genres before you begin, and try to find out where your book would […]

Getting started with podcasting as an author Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes The main resource you’ll need is time – figure on two or three hours (or more) to put each episode together – be realistic! Will your podcast be aimed at readers or other writers – decide this early. Does your idea have […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes We need to do a lot more to address the issues of inclusion, equality and diversity. Too many voices are under-represented. We need to make sure our characters represent the real world and include people from a diverse range of backgrounds. We want to avoice tokenism, stereotypes and cliches. […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes Publishing your book – How can we make your book description work? Today we’re looking at the perennial problem of writing product descriptions (sometimes called blurbs) for our books on Amazon and other stores. Let’s take a step back and think in terms of strategies. Product descriptions are sales […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes Publishing your book – Should You Go Wide or into Kindle Unlimited (KU)? Today we’re looking at the pros and cons of putting your book into KDP select (often referred to as Kindle Unlimited or KU since this is what it’s called for participating readers) and comparing it to […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes Write the first draft of your lockdown novel So at long last, we’re digging into your draft and thinking about how you can best get going with it. By now you should have a place for notes and some form of plan, however simple it may be. You should […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes How to write a novel with a great story In this episode, it would be very tempting to talk about getting cracking with your draft. However, I want to hold back a little bit because I want to do one more bit of thinking before we dive headfirst into […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes How do I outline my novel in lockdown? In the previous episode, we talked about the basic setup that will get you going with your lockdown novel. If you haven’t tried episode yet, you might want to go back and check it out. I talked about having a basic […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes We won’t call this a relaunch but a new beginning. Can you write a novel during lockdown? People often think that period of isolation would be the ideal environment for finally getting down to writing or completing that novel. But the truth is that writing anything much longer than […]

Here’s the full podcast Episode Notes In this episode, we’re how to maintain the motivation you need to finish your writing projects. There are three prongs of attack! Pairing Match an activity that you enjoy with your writing, e.g. listening to a favourite soundtrack. It’s important that the enjoyable activity is one that you are […]

Episode Notes In this episode, we’re discussing the difference between showing and telling in our writing. Why is it important and what can we do about it? It’s a commonly touted piece of advice that we should show rather than tell in our writing but it only goes so far. Advice shouldn’t be followed slavishly […]

Episode Notes Today we’re looking at the craft of writing convincing endings for each chapter of our novels and stories. This podcast was written in response to a listener question in the Writing Talk Podcast Facebook group. If you have questions or issues that you’d like me to discuss, commenting in the group is a […]

Episode Notes Today we’re looking at the craft of writing engaging and believable characters in our novels and stories. In many ways this is an unanswerable question, but like many aspects of writing fiction, it’s an interesting question to investigate. Listening to the actor Michael Sheen on the topic of his approach to portraying real […]

Episode Notes How Can We Deal With a Sense of Being Overwhelmed? The first step is to take a step back. Gain some distance and find a more productive perspective. Writing is a joy and not the most stressful job in the world! Don’t compare yourself with others nor try to emulate them. Each career […]

Episode Notes Writing Science Fiction Live In this episode I take the piece of writing from the previous week and rework it into an opening scene of a science fiction piece. As before, this piece was streamed live (although this time on Facebook rather than Youtube) and written ‘cold’, i.e. with no preparation. This makes […]

Episode Notes Writing Fantasy Fiction Live In this episode I have a go at writing a sample of fiction with no preparation whatsoever. I’m using a random image as a prompt, and in this case it took me into writing in an unfamilar genre: fantasy. I hope you enjoyed it, but the main aim is […]