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The Creative Writer's Toolbelt

161 Episodes

48 minutes | 9 months ago
Episode 161 Writing your memoir
Has the Covid19 virus forced you into being at home with time on your hands? Could now be the time to start that memoir project you've been meaning to get around to for so long? If so, this is the episode for you. My guest for this episode is the journalist, editor, commissioning editor and speaker Ali Hull. Ali is the Deputy Editor of Sorted magazine, and a freelance commissioning editor, who has worked with at least a hundred authors on their books, many of which were memoirs. She has also co-authored a book on grief, and written many press releases, features, interviews and reviews. Since 2003, she has spoken on numerous writing courses, around the UK and in Ireland.
63 minutes | 10 months ago
Episode 160 Lockdown for writers
Yes I'm back! I want to do two or three more episodes before I finish, to address the extraordinary times we are living in, and in this episode I am talking to two writer / entrepreneurs, Wendy H Jones and Abidemi Sanusi about how writers can survive and thrive in Lockdown. We discuss motivation, routine, self-care for writers, and just getting started.
6 minutes | 10 months ago
Episode 159 Thank you for listening, and goodbye
Sadly, this is the last episode of the podcast, at least for now. From the end of March I am putting The Creative Writer's Toolbelt on hiatus. Listen to this episode for my explanation of why I am finishing (nothing sinister!) and news about a possible writer's event that I'd like to host at some point in the future somewhere in the UK.
59 minutes | a year ago
Episode 158 Take the advice that works for you. A conversation with freelance editor Ellen Brock
This episode features one of my favourite guests, an editor who manages to combine a formidable expertise with a friendly and accessible manner, you’ll most likely know her from her YouTube channel, but she also featured in a two part episode on the podcast in 2018, it’s the wonderful Ellen Brock. In this conversation Ellen gives us some recommended reading for mastering the structure of story, provides some insights on how to manage point of view in close third person, and also gives us some great advice on what advice we should actually use and what we should discard.
55 minutes | a year ago
Episode 157 - Keep your eyes on your own paper! Maintaining your balance as an author - with Barbara Poelle
This episode is a conversation with Barbara Poelle, agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. We talk about the importance of having good critique partners, how to approach an agent at a conference, and that old favourite – showing not telling. Enjoy!
59 minutes | a year ago
Episode 156 - Observing your characters with compassion. A conversation with Abbigail N. Rosewood
This episode is a conversation with the Vietnamese born writer, Abbigail N. Rosewood, about her first novel 'If I had two lives'. In this conversation we talk about withholding judgement to maintain the story, how to use sensory information to introduce a character, how honesty can lead to empathy, and what it means to be understood as a writer.
80 minutes | a year ago
Episode 155 Dana Kaye saves the day! Branding Marketing and a Crisis Consultation if you need it. With branding and marketing expert Dana Kaye
Writing is hard, branding and marketing can be even harder! So I was delighted to have the chance to talk to branding and marketing expert Dana Kaye. Dana works with authors to develop a coherent authentic brand, and effective and innovating marketing initiatives.
40 minutes | a year ago
Episode 154 - From perseverance to publication. A conversation with writer and speaker Joan E Histon
This episode features a friend of mine who has worked hard to overcome the issues so many of us writers face. Joan Histon is a writer, a speaker, and a spiritual director. She has faced the kinds of challenges and obstacles that you and I have faced with our writing, and yet she overcome these, and has now published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and she has a three-book publishing deal. How did she get there? How did she power through to the success she has now had? I invite you to continue listening to find out.
39 minutes | a year ago
Episode 153 Kandy Kingdom's Most Wanted! A conversation with Greg Millman
This episode is a conversation with Hollywood script writer, ad exec, and YA author Gregg Millman. Gregg has been on the writing teams for documentaries, films and TV series, and more recently has worked with a number of global brands across a range of media and platforms.In this episode we talk about the process by which TV drama’s get written, how advertising works, and the power of editing. We also talk about the changing nature of YA writing, the importance of the book cover, and how complementary characters can enhance the story.
32 minutes | a year ago
Episode 152 - From the page to the stage with Tony Award winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport
Have you ever wanted to write for the theatre but haven’t had the incentive or help to get do it? Have you ever wondered what makes a Broadway producer decide to bring a show to the bright lights and the big stage? Well you are about to find out because this episode is a conversation with Tony award winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport. Ken shares his insights for writing and launching your work.
70 minutes | a year ago
Episode 151 - Do it without having to prove you're good! Encouragement for the writer's life with Cynthia Morris
This episode can be summed up with a single, wonderful word: encouragement! My guest is the author, artist, and coach Cynthia Morris, and in this episode we discuss the fears writer's feel, the need to be kind to ourselves, and how we should sneak up on ourselves to write something great.
39 minutes | a year ago
Episode 150 - 'Trust the truth; trust your writing.' A conversation with the Pope's Astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno
Do you trust your work? Do you trust yourself enough to let your work go wherever it wants to go, to be authentic? That’s one of the questions, and challenges I explore with my guest in this episode of the podcast. His name is Brother Guy Consolmagno, and he is a Jesuit Brother and also an MIT trained research astronomer and he is currently the Director of the Vatican Observatory, making him in colloquial terms, the Pope’s Astronomer.
84 minutes | a year ago
Episode 149 Cops and Writers! Tips for authoring your police procedural with Wendy H Jones and Sergeant Patrick O'Donnell
One of the most popular genres for fiction writers is the murder mystery or police procedural. But this is also a genre where writers can easily get things wrong. In this episode I'm joined by crime writer Wendy H Jones and we speak to Patrick O’Donnell, a serving officer with 25 years of experience in a large city police department in the US. In this conversation we cover: responding to a homicide, the arrest and court process, hostage situations, and what writers usually get wrong with police work.
54 minutes | a year ago
Episode 148 - More than Pandas! The renaissance in Chinese Science Fiction and what it means for readers and writers in the West
This is a special episode examining the rise in the popularity and influence of Chinese Science Fiction. In the last twenty years, Chinese Sci Fi has flourished across a range of media, spurred by successes like Liu Cixin's Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem, and this year's Chinese funded and created movie The Wandering Earth. In this episode I talk to two writers: Chen Qiufan and Peng Simeng, and an editor, Gabrielle Wei of Science Fiction World, all based in China, to discuss the issues that are important to Chinese writers and to find out what opportunities writers from the West might have in this newly emerging market.
43 minutes | a year ago
Episode 147 - Perseverance branding and podcasting for writers with Sarah Werner
My guest for this episode is my friend Sarah Werner. Sarah is a creator, producer, and encourager of fellow creatives. She is also the host of the 'Write Now' and 'Girl In Space' podcasts. Sarah always manages to combine warmth and wisdom in what she says, and in this conversation she shares insights and practical tips for developing perseverance and resilience as a creative, developing a brand for ourselves and our work, and the why and how of creating your own podcast as a writer.
22 minutes | a year ago
Episode 146 - A request to hear about YOUR writing challenges and it's time for a story!
This episode starts with a request. Tell me your writing challenges! What are the technical craft problems you're facing? Give me the challenge of research and presenting a solution for you and all of us here on the podcast. Also, it's story time. Sit back and listen to the original, unpublished opening chapter to 'The Centauri Survivors' my recently published novel.
65 minutes | a year ago
Episode 145: Own it! How to take charge of your own destiny as a writer with Abidemi Sanusi
My guest for this episode is Abidemi Sanusi. Abidemi is a Nigerian born former human rights worker turned author, and has been writing and publishing books across multiple genres for fifteen years. Her novel, Eyo, about a 10 year old girl trafficked to the UK with promises of a better life, was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. She's also the founder of abidemi.tv, the website for ambitious writers', and she provides business success templates for freelance writers. A self-confessed tech geek, she is also the founder of writethemes.com - gorgeous Wordpress themes for writers that turn their Wordpress website visitors into paying fans.
54 minutes | a year ago
Episode 144 What writers can learn from 'Emeralds of Oz'. A conversation with Peter Guzzardi
My guest for this episode has spent over 40 years in the publishing business, editing everyone from Professor Stephen Hawking to Douglas Adams. And now it's his turn to write a book rather than edit one, and so Peter has written "Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow" a look at the wisdom we can glean from one of the greatest films ever made, which went out on general release on this date 25th August, exactly 80 years ago.
19 minutes | a year ago
Episode 143 Disrupted! How self-publishing became the most significant thing to happen to the publishing business for centuries - with Orna Ross
This episode is the second part of my conversation with Orna Ross: poet, author and founder and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Here Orna and I discuss the amazing impact of self-publishing, the rise of the indie author, the priorities for indie authors, the challenges that they face, and how they can benefit from being part of ALLi, the largest global non-profit organisation for independent authors.
20 minutes | a year ago
Episode 142 The renaissance in poetry: new opportunities in poetic expression with Orna Ross
The combination of new social media platforms and the rise of opportunities for self publishing has led to an amazing renaissance in poetry and poetic expression, both digitally and on the page. This is truly an exciting time for poets, and there are lots of new opportunities for poetic expression opening up. In this episode I talk to award winning author, poet, and founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Orna Ross about her work and the ways in which new and established poets can take advantage of the resources that are available.
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