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....
May 03, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 29
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 ...
Apr 20, 2018•36 min•Season 1Ep. 28
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 ...
Apr 14, 2018•33 min•Season 1Ep. 27
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 l...
Apr 06, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 26
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 ...
Mar 29, 2018•39 min•Season 1Ep. 25
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 for...
Mar 16, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 24
TV presenter and workaholic author Fern Britton gives us our 23rd Writer's Routine! Fern has just published her 8th novel, Coming Home. It tells the story of a woman returning to her Cornish hometown after many years away, and how she fixes the relationships that have been broken through time. Fern's books are mostly all set in her beloved Cornwall, in fictitious villages that treat you the same way as a hot-water bottle. They're warming, comfy but have that odd element of mysterious danger. Mak...
Mar 09, 2018•15 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Crime-writer writer Helen Fields dives into the depths of her diary to bring us tips and advice from her writing routine! Helen has just published the third of her 'D.I Callanach' thrillers, 'Perfect Death'. It's all about murders, with a gruesome, ingenious twist, and after working in Law with police, social services and Doctors for many years, Helen has a peculiarly accurate insight into the crimes she writes. She's also told stories using every method available to her, running a film producti...
Feb 16, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 22
AJ Finn explores the minutely insignificant but weirdly wonderful details of his writing routine! AJ has just published 'The Woman in the Window', and it's set to be the biggest psychological thriller since 'Gone Girl' and 'The Girl on the Train'. It has sold in 38 territories - the most of a debut ever, entered the New York Times Bestseller list at No.1 - the first time a debut novel has done that in over 11 years, and its film rights have already been bought by Fox 2000! While working in publi...
Feb 09, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 21
One of the UK's most prolific and loved authors, Anthony Horowitz takes us through the daily routine which has lifted him to huge success! Which works as a title. Not entirely true though. Anthony doesn't so much have a routine that he fits his writing into, it's more trying to find a time when he can tear himself away from his work. Story-telling for Anthony is a compulsion, it's work he immerses himself into. His 'Alex Rider' series launched him to national attention in the early 2000's, with ...
Feb 02, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Murder mystery author Derek Farrell explains his Writer's Routine! Derek writes the 'Danny Bird Mysteries', a series of books that focus on a barman-cum-amateur-detective, and the cases he stumbles upon through the sleazy streets of London. Finally writing and getting these stories published has not been as plain-sailing as finding a bright light in the West-End though. After finishing one story which ended up cosy and alone in his top drawer - for his birthday, friends bought him a writing cour...
Jan 26, 2018•27 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Crime and Thriller writer Mark Edwards brings us our first Writer's Routine of 2018! With 7 solo-books to his name, and 6 co-written works, a few years ago Mark finally turned into a full-time writer. His novels have a dedicated following, who crave stories packed with suspense, mystery and the frequent feeling that something supernatural may turn up. Mark is in the mould of Ruth Rendell or Stephen King, and like many full-time writers, has to squeeze his work between the hours the kids are at s...
Jan 19, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 17
It's our last Writer's Routine of 2017! So now, for something a little bit different. Artist, illustrator and writer Richard Graham brings us his daily ritual! Richard upcycles old junk, furniture and other bric-a-brac to make 3D pieces of character art. With this, he then imagines a story involving the pieces, and writes picture books for kids! His first 'The Cranky Caterpillar' is a tale of an insect stuck in a piano, moodily beating the keys, until a girl finds him, and sings some colour into...
Dec 18, 2017•25 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Crime-writer Mark Hill tells us how he goes about his day! Radio-producer Mark Hill has a life-long love of crime fiction, and spotting the tricks and traits of the genre forced his hand to write a book of his own! 'Two O'Clock Boy' tells the story of a killer seemingly getting revenge on everyone in a children's home many years ago. It's the first of his 'Drake and Crowley' thriller series, and it's gone so well, that you can expect a second very shortly. In the show, we talk about what plannin...
Dec 08, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Co-author of 'Sleeping Beauties', Owen King tells us this week's writer's routine! In writing terms, Owen King could not have found himself in a better place. His dad, Stephen King, is one of the world's most successful authors, publishing over 50 books across horror and fantasy, he has sold over 350 million copies, and he's co-written the brand new 'Sleeping Beauties' with his son, Owen! So, if you're here to get writing tips from the best, this week's guest has learned his craft from the absol...
Dec 01, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Broadcaster, writer and award-winning podcaster Simon Mayo shows us how an extremely busy person fits in a writing routine! Simon presents the drive-time show on BBC Radio 2, one of Europe's most popular radio stations. He is one half of 'Kermode and Mayo's Film Review' on BBC Radio 5 Live (Hello to Jason Isaacs), and used to present one of the most prestigious shows on the air, as the host of the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show. In amongst all this, he's found the time to publish 4 novels! His 'Itch...
Nov 24, 2017•22 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Thriller-author, satirist and journalist Paul Burston digs deep in his writer's routine! One of the founding editors of 'Attitude' Magazine, Paul published his first fiction book, 'Shameless', back in 2001. It detailed a single man's life in the Soho clubbing scene. So naturally, he had to partake in much research as a single man in the Soho clubbing scene. 2016 was a big year for Paul, he was featured in the British Council’s #FiveFilms4Freedom Global List, celebrating '33 visionary people who ...
Nov 17, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 13
'Man of Mercia' James Wilde shares the secrets of writing historical fiction! In the most polite way possible, James Wilde seems like a man of another time. He lives in a family home in the forest, takes long walks across the fells, and camps in the black, barren night whilst dreaming of ideas. He also reads all them, and he always has. He reads tales of fantasy, tales of fact, and he dreamed of marrying the two in a historical fiction series. He did just that with his best selling 'Hereward' Se...
Nov 10, 2017•30 min
Bonnie Scot Gerry Rose shares his Writer's Routine! After spending a lifetime adoring books and stories, but limiting his bubbling creativity to bedtime stories to his kids, Gerry finally did something he was almost embarrassed to do - get his ideas down on to paper and write a book. He has just released the second book in his 'Elliot' series, a trilogy of thriller books that look at one detective's life across three different eras. 'Rinsed' focuses on 2 weeks in summer 2005, when London was in ...
Nov 03, 2017•28 min
Comedy writer and now bonafide author Paul A. Mendelson tells us his working day. Paul has written for everything, pretty much. Starting in advertising, he has scripted radio drama, movies, TV drama, and is the creator of BBC's 'My Hero'. You know, with Ardal O'Hanlon off Father Ted, Hugh Dennis and that moody receptionist. This year he has dived into novels, releasing an adults book, 'In the Matter of Isabel', and his first children's novel 'Losing Arthur' has just been published. The latter is...
Oct 27, 2017•31 min
Crime-writing extraordinaire and gruesome guru DM Mark is this week's guest! DM is David. David is DM. After his 'McAvoy' crime series are bestsellers and critically acclaimed, David became bored of murders in the 21st century and took a dive back in time, travelling to the 1800s. Hull is ravaged by cholera, you can barely walk along the streets for the dying, and the grass over graves is hardly sealed when it gets broken again for another corpse. It is into this already bleak world, that David ...
Oct 19, 2017•31 min
An ex-copper turned crime author give us today's writing routine!Paul Finch used to work for the Greater Manchester Police, and upon leaving found that everything the force taught him and the stories he saw along the way might have another use.First, Paul wrote for 'The Bill', and has since gone on to write may scripts across film, TV and animation. He pens horror fiction, loads of sci-fi too and has even given his ideas to the Doctor's (Doctor Who? Doctor Who!) universe.It's with crime fiction ...
Oct 12, 2017•29 min
The author of a brand new book on gender equality shares his writing routine!David deVire has had a busy life. He's been an armed policer officer, worked with the University of Oxford on exams, and went from being a property millionaire to homeless... almost overnight.He's always had a fascination with people, the relationships between everyone and how we can learn more about the role of men and women in history. So, with all the free time that he had because of the homeless thing I mentioned ea...
Oct 06, 2017•33 min
Bestselling thriller writer Simon Toyne explores his writing routine! In 2007, bored in a job and dreaming of telling stories, Simon quit to finally get one down. Only, he didn't do things by halves. Simon moved his whole family across the channel for a French adventure with the idea that in 7 months, he would finish his first book. The slight issue was... he had no idea what it would be about. Cue a stormy sea crossing, a last-minute hotel booking to get any sleep they could manage, the spindly...
Sep 29, 2017•33 min
Publishing editor and now published author Phoebe Morgan explores her writing routine!After years of working as an editor in a publishing house, making other writer's work better, Phoebe sat down to tell her own story. Her debut novel, 'The Doll House' is a psychological thriller about 2 sisters who, after just losing their much-loved father, find their life disturbed and intruded upon by someone seeking revenge. It's inspired by a doll house she used to played with, and the story has been bubbl...
Sep 21, 2017•26 min
Hay 30 list-making author Jaroslav Kalfar shares his writing routine! In 2017, to celebrate their 30th birthday the Hay Festival selected 30 people they think will shape the world in the next 30 years, and today's Czech debutant made the cut! Jaroslav's acclaimed novel 'Spaceman of Bohemia' gives us a Czech astronaut who, while sent on a mission he will probably never return from, sees his marriage break-down, starts to go insane, and meets a gigantic alien spider with an obsession for bacon. It...
Sep 14, 2017•26 min
Crime author Angela Clarke gives us another writer's routine! 'Trust Me' is the third book in her 'Social Media Murders Series', and has just been released to critical and commercial acclaim, but to simply call Angela a 'crime writer' is a bit of a disservice. Angela is a Sunday Times best-selling author, playwright, columnist, screenwriter and public speaker. Her memoir 'Confessions of a Fashionista' is an Amazon Chart best-seller. She is a frequent contributor across radio and in newspapers. S...
Sep 08, 2017•28 min
It's children's fiction king-pin Steven Butler, with his writing routine!Steven is an actor, a singer, a voice-over artist, a passionate cook and somehow finds time to jot down some best-selling books. In this episode, we'll find out how he organises his day to keep creative and focused, while doing about a billion different projects.Steven writes brand new books in the world-famous and loved 'Dennis the Menace' series, has penned 'World Book Day' titles, and was shortlisted for the prestigious ...
Aug 31, 2017•29 min
Crime-writing behemoth Karin Slaughter is here with our first ever writer's routine! With over 35 million copies of 17 books sold, in over 36 languages, Karin is one of the world's most popular thriller writers. Her new novel, 'The Good Daughter', focuses on a woman's attempt to come to terms with a traumatising childhood, and explores what being a defence lawyer is like in small-town America. Although the subject of the book is pretty harrowing, the interview is mainly about over-used words, Wi...
Aug 24, 2017•28 min
A short and sweet summary of everything that's to come in Series 1 of 'Writer's Routine'.You can hear a few extracts from our best interviews, where we discover the daily diaries from all sorts of authors as they talk about how they turn a tiny, glimmer of an idea, into a best-selling series. In this show, we'll learn how to get maximum efficiency out of any creativity.Oh, and the music underneath that brings to mind an erratic, underperforming coffee-shop in Montmatre? You'll get used to it. Ho...
Aug 22, 2017•3 min
