Published by Parul Bavishi, Matthew Trinetti
A deep dive into the habits, mindsets, tools, craft secrets and creative practices bestselling writers use to write novels, plays, poetry, and articles. Hosted by the co-founders of the London Writers' Salon, Matt & Parul.
Listen on Apple Podcasts1 hr 9 min
Irish writer Doireann Ní Ghríofa on turning archival fragments into living narrative, writing across the borders of genre, and giving voice to the forgotten lives of women committed to a Victorian asylum. You’ll learn Why the greatest gatekeeper between a writer and the page is often the writer themselves. How a single word buried in clinical notes can become a bridge to a silenced voice. What poetry can teach prose writers about immediacy and the shock of a strong opening. The case for pointing at the gaps in the record rather than papering over them. When a fleeting curiosity is worth following, and what happens once you treat it as real. How third person can give a writer just enough distance to keep going. A sense of fidelity to the reader you imagine standing at your shoulder. How the drowsy space between sleep and waking can become an engine for ideas. The ethics of using real names, and the difference between the dead and the long dead. How the act of leaving things out turns even “fact” into a story. Resources & Links Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa About Doireann Ní Ghríofa Doireann Ní Ghríofa is an Irish writer devoted to exploring how the past makes itself felt within the present. 'A Ghost in the Throat' finds an 18th century poet haunting a young mother, leading her through visions of blood, milk, lust, and murder. Written on the roof of a multi-storey car park in Ireland, it went on to be described as "powerful" (New York Times), "captivatingly original" (The Observer), and a "masterpiece" (Sunday Business Post). 'A Ghost in the Throat' won the James Tait Black Prize and was voted overall Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, while the US edition was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. It was translated into 20 further languages worldwide. Doireann is also the author of seven critically-acclaimed books of poetry, each a deepening exploration of birth, death, desire, and domesticity. Awards for her writing include a Lannan Literary Fellowship (USA), the Ostana Prize (Italy), a Seamus Heaney Fellowship, and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, among others. Her new book, Said the Dead, distils hundreds of hours of archival research into a polyphonic portrayal of a single institution — a derelict Victorian asylum in Cork, and the women once committed within its walls. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 2 min
Debut novelist Tara Menon on writing friendship as a life-shaping bond, the emotional architecture of grief, and researching the natural world for her novel Under Water. You’ll learn Why a platonic friendship can shape a life as profoundly as any romance How to build tension in a story when the reader already knows what’s coming. What an unexpected sea creature reveals about writing the bonds between women. The difference between endless research and knowing just enough to write the scene. Why fiction demands a kind of surrender that criticism never asks for. How grief for a lost friend and grief for a vanishing natural world can become one story. When self-doubt is evidence you’re taking the work seriously. Why cutting a novel down to its essentials can matter more than what you leave in. A writing rhythm that looks nothing like “500 words every morning” (and works anyway). What finally makes the writing worth it, long before publication does. Resources & Links 📄 Interview Transcript Under Water Jane Austen collection Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Middlemarch by George Eliot In Memoriam by Lord Tennyson I Can’t Let Kobe Go by Tara Menon The Fall (2013) Tara’s Website About Tara Menon Tara Menon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Harvard University. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Nation, Paris Review and Public Books, where she co-edits the Literary Fiction section. Tara was born in India, grew up in Singapore, spent a decade in New York, and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her debut, Under Water , is out now. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
47 min
Bestselling fantasy authors Holly Black and Samantha Shannon on building believable magic systems, researching and constructing immersive worlds, and why the right book often only emerges once you’ve written the wrong one. You’ll learn Why the most convincing magic on the page often starts with something you once half-believed was real. How writing the wrong version of a book can be the only route to the right one. What the texture of a world quietly promises a reader before the plot even begins. Why putting a character through the worst is often the best thing you can do for a story. When the certainty that your draft is a disaster is just a normal part of the process. What early hype can do to a writer, and why other writers are the antidote. Where to draw the line between research that serves the book and a rabbit hole that doesn’t. A method for plotting a long series when you know the destination but not the route. What happens when a character starts refusing what you try to make it do. Episode Links Holly Black — original LWS episode: https://londonwriterssalon.simplecast.com/episodes/127-holly-black-crafting-bestselling-fantasy-world-building-character-development-and-the-prisoners-throne Samantha Shannon — original LWS episode: https://londonwriterssalon.simplecast.com/episodes/068-samantha-shannon-the-art-of-writing-fantasy-fiction-plotting-mental-health About the Guests Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy books, including the Novels of Elfhame, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Spiderwick Chronicles, her adult debut, Book of Night, as well as an Arthurian picture book called Sir Morien. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. She invites you to visit her online at blackholly.com or follow her @Hollyblack @blackholly. Samantha Shannon is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season and The Priory of the Orange Tree. Born in West London, she studied English Language and Literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford, from 2010 to 2013, specialising in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Principles of Film Criticism. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
39 min
Award-winning novelist and founder of The Novelry Louise Dean on what separates storytelling from beautiful prose, planning a novel without killing the joy, and how to edit your own first draft. You'll learn Why learning to craft perfect sentences can quietly delay your path to publication. How a single shift from style to storytelling turns a promising writer into a published one. What treating each chapter like a short story does to the terror of a blank novel. The reason every novel is a moral journey (and why you have to throw rocks at your hero). A one-page planning method that steers a draft without smothering the joy of writing it. The one question every writer should be able to answer about their reader. Why your main character should never be a thinly veiled version of yourself. When you can’t afford an editor, how to run a developmental edit on your own work. What to do in the month after finishing a first draft A five-part structure built for the long moral journey of a novel, and why three acts fall short. Resources & Links 📄 Interview Transcript The Great Gatsby The Novelry The Novelry Blog Louise’s books The Novelry Contact — hello@thenovelry.com About Louise Dean Louise Dean is a British author, born in Hastings, who read History at Cambridge University. An award-winning novelist, she is the winner of the Betty Trask Prize and Le Prince Maurice Prize, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her novels have been published internationally. The Wall Street Journal described Louise Dean as one of the world’s top five most under-rated authors. Louise is the founder of the creative writing school The Novelry. About The Novelry Founded by award-winning author Louise Dean, The Novelry is the only writing school where bestselling authors and Big Five editors guide you every step of the way. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 4 min
Writer Katie da Cunha Lewin on how physical spaces shape creative work, why the perfect writing room is a myth, and the rituals and routines that sustain a writing life. You'll learn Why the perfect writing space is largely a myth (and why that can set you free). How physical environments quietly shape creative practice and identity. What our fascination with visiting writers' houses reveals. The cultural baggage around “the writer's room,” and who it quietly excludes. The way motherhood compresses time and forces a new kind of creative discipline. A concept of psychological distance between domestic life and creative work. When creative rituals help (and when writers thrive without them). How to begin designing a writing space that actually works for you. What it takes to find the story inside a work of nonfiction. Why putting yourself on the page makes nonfiction stronger. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) Murder She Wrote (1984-1996) Underworld by Don DeLillo White Noise by Don DeLillo The Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf Lives of Houses Edited by Kate Kennedy and Hermione Lee Downhill All The Way, An Autobiography of the Years 1919 To 1939 By Leonard Woolf The British Library My Work by Olga Ravn The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel , Translated by Rosalind Harvey Amber Medland The Years by Annie Ernaux The Society of Authors About Katie da Cunha Lewin Katie da Cunha Lewin ’s writing has appeared in leading publications such as The Times Literary Supplement, The White Review, Financial Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Prospect. She is the editor (with Kiron Ward) of Don DeLillo: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Her book, The Writer’s Room: The Hidden Worlds That Shape the Books We Love , is out now. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
48 min
YA masters Krystal Sutherland (The Invocations), Joanna Nadin (author of 90+ books for children and adults) and Moira Buffini (Songlight) on hooking teen readers from the very first page, plotting methods that tame a whole novel, and why stories matter so much to young people. You'll learn What sparks the magic system of a supernatural thriller. What it means to find your writing home, and how to know when you've arrived. Why readers decide within the first ten pages, and how visceral detail keeps them hooked. A pantser's case for careful plotting when you're juggling multiple points of view. The most common mistake adults make when writing for young readers. What screenwriters know about tight writing, and what teen TV can teach you about voice. Why treating writing as a job, not a calling, makes rejection survivable. Whether writers should think about their audience. How writing toward a feeling, not a plan, creates cliffhangers you don't see coming. Episode Links #105: Krystal Sutherland #61: Joanna Nadin #179: Moira Buffini About the Guests Krystal Sutherland is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of House of Hollow , A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares and Our Chemical Hearts , which was adapted into a film by Amazon Studios. Her books have been published in more than twenty countries and nominated for the Carnegie Medal and YA Book Prize, among others. Her latest YA novel, The Invocations — the centerpiece of this conversation — won the 2025 Prime Minister's Literary Award for young adult literature. Originally from Australia, she has lived on four continents and currently calls London home. Joanna Nadin has written more than 90 books for children and adults, including the Rachel Riley series, the Penny Dreadful series, and the Sunday Times bestselling Worst Class in the World series. She holds a doctorate in adolescent identity and YA literature and is an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Bristol. Her books have garnered a number of prizes including the Fantastic Book Award and the Surrey Book Award, and she has been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Booktrust Best Book Award, the Telegraph Sports Book of the Year, the Hearst Big Book Awards, and Queen of Teen. She has been nominated six times for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, including for Everybody Hurts and for Joe All Alone , which was made into a BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated BBC drama series. Moira Buffini is an Olivier Award–winning UK playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, writing many plays for the National Theatre and the West End. Films include Tamara Drewe , Jane Eyre , Byzantium , and The Dig . She cocreated and was showrunner of Hulu's Harlots. Her YA debut Songlight — the first in The Torch Trilogy — won the 2025 YA Book Prize, and its sequel Torchfire is out now. She lives in London. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 8 min
Edgar Award–winning novelist Chris Pavone on creating tension that never lets up, editing a book to make it bigger rather than just better, and turning a single apartment building into a portrait of a whole city. You'll learn Why every book has to be one clear thing before it can be anything else. How two decades of editing other people’s books prepares you to write your own. The offhand note from a legendary editor that quietly transformed a debut, and why the vaguest feedback can be the most useful. What it means to edit a book to make it bigger, not just to make it less bad. Why tension, not speed, is what truly keeps a reader turning pages. A counterintuitive case for telling readers what’s coming on page one, then making them wait for it. How to keep generating questions and withholding answers without ever feeling coy. The one-page document worth months of tinkering before a single chapter gets written. What turns a story set in a city into a genuine portrait of that city. When to separate your hopes from your expectations, and what success can actually look like for a working novelist. Resources & Links Chris Pavone’s Website Chris’ Newsletter The Doorman Ernest Hemingway Doubleday Publishing John Grisham The Expats Pat Conroy Jamaica Kincaid Knopf Publishing Adele Parks To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee James Bond Films The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe Jack Reacher by Lee Child About Chris Pavone Chris Pavone is the New York Times bestselling author of The Doorman , Two Nights in Lisbon , The Paris Diversion , The Travelers , The Accident , and The Expats , winner of the Edgar and Anthony Awards for best first novel. He was a book editor for nearly two decades and lives in New York City with his family. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
51 min
Award-winning novelist Missouri Williams on writing strange and ambitious fiction, treating doubt as a generative force, and why idleness is essential to creative work. You'll learn How a destabilising illness and a new language can reshape a writer’s whole relationship to words. Why style isn’t something you construct so much as a way of seeing you’re partly stuck with. The case for drafting without thinking about the end result and keeping the stakes low. What an image you can’t stop returning to can reveal about the book you need to write. When idleness and empty, unproductive time become the most essential part of the work. How doubt can function as a generative engine rather than a block. A method for layering instability into a narrator who sounds completely in control. What a chorus can do on the page that a single narrator can’t. Why being placed outside your depth, where everything has to be relearned, can sharpen a writer. The difference between doubting your work and doubting your right to do it at all. Resources & Links 📑 Interview Transcript Missouri’s Instagram Sisters of Mercy ’s song, “Flood II” The Vivisectors King Lear with Sheep The Doloriad Missouri’s Agent John Ash Samuel Beckett Ágota Kristóf 2023 Winner of Republic of Consciousness Foundation “Form Is Back” Meditations by René Descartes Dead Ink publisher The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser The Republic by Plato About Missouri Williams Missouri Williams is the author of The Doloriad, which won the 2023 Republic of Consciousness Prize, was shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and named a best book of 2022 by Vulture. Her work has also appeared in The Nation, The Baffler, The Believer, Granta, and The Drift. Her newest book is The Vivisectors . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 7 min
Bestselling novelist Holly Ringland on writing from joy instead of fear, the toolkit she built to meet the inner critic with self-compassion, and finding the first true sentence of her debut after decades of silence. You'll learn Why the pain of not writing eventually outweighs the pain of writing. What grief and loss can crack open in a writer that nothing else can. How the first true line of a novel can arrive once you stop listening to the reasons you can't write it. A bullet-point approach to plotting that protects the nervous system from the blank page. What to ask for from early readers, and what to refuse. The distinction between self-doubt and the inner critic, and why it matters. Meeting the inner critic with an equal and opposite internalised force. Breaking procrastination by making the next step impossibly small. Fiction as the lie that tells the truth truest. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript The House That Joy Built The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Zeitgeist Agency Dangerous Writing Holly’s Substack About Holly Ringland Holly Ringland is a writer, storyteller and TV presenter. She is the author of the international bestseller The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which has been translated into thirty languages and adapted into a seven-part TV series starring Sigourney Weaver, produced by Amazon Prime and Made Up Stories. In 2019, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart won the Australian Book Industry Award General Fiction Book of the Year. In 2021, Holly co-hosted an eight-episode ABC TV series, Back to Nature, with Aaron Pedersen. After living between Australia and the UK for ten years, Holly has been based in the Yugambeh region of southeast Queensland since 2020, where she wrote her second novel, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, in her 'office', a vintage caravan named Frenchie. Upon publication, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding became an instant national bestseller, and it was named Booktopia's 2022 Book of the Year. Holly writes a bestselling Substack on the intersection of creativity and connection, The Joy Rise. Her latest book is The House That Joy Built. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
46 min
Attention researcher Dr Gloria Mark (Attention Span), bestselling author Oliver Burkeman (Meditations for Mortals) and book strategist Charlie Hoehn (Play It Away) on designing your day around peak focus, embracing imperfection in creative work and bringing play back to the page. You'll learn The four states of attention every writer should know. Two daily peak focus windows, and a simple method to find your own. The reframe that gives writers permission — most writing isn't flow. How the success of one bestselling book can paralyse the next. A quantity-over-quality method that satisfies the inner perfectionist. Why free writing isn't a warm-up but the engine of the next draft. A counterintuitive trick for handling interruptions when you're trying to write. What play deprivation quietly does to creative output. A small experiment with play that resets your relationship to work. Why fighting your own nature as a writer is a losing game. Resources & Links Dr Gloria Mark Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity by Dr Gloria Mark Chronotype (Sleep Foundation) Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Yohaku no bi: The Beauty of Empty Space Gloria's website Gloria's newsletter Oliver Burkeman Meditations for Mortals Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals The Imperfectionist (newsletter) Deep Freewriting by Stephen Lloyd Webber ILYS software Charlie Hoehn Play It Away The Power of Play | Charlie Hoehn | TEDxSantoDomingo Charlie's website Author Alliance Original Episode Links Dr Gloria Mark's original episode Oliver Burkeman's original episode Charlie Hoehn's original episode About the Guests Gloria Mark is Chancellor's Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She received her PhD from Columbia University in psychology and studies the impact of digital media on people's lives. She has published over 200 articles, and in 2017 was inducted into the ACM SIGCHI Academy, which recognises leaders in the field of human-computer interaction. She has presented her work at SXSW and the Aspen Ideas Festival, and her research has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN, The Guardian, the Dax Shepard show, the Dave Asprey show and many others. She is the author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity. Oliver Burkeman worked for many years at The Guardian, where he wrote a popular weekly column on psychology, 'This Column Will Change Your Life.' His books include the New York Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking. His latest book is Meditations for Mortals. Charlie Hoehn is a three-time New York Times bestselling editor, five-time author, and the founder of Author Alliance. For three years, Charlie was Tim Ferriss' Director of Special Projects and first full-time hire. Together, they launched The 4-Hour Body to #1 New York Times, #1 Barnes & Noble, and #1 Amazon overall. Previously, he was Head of Multimedia for Scribe Media, where he produced over 500 videos and 300 podcast episodes. He is a keynote speaker who has presented to groups at Microsoft, PepsiCo, the Pentagon, U.S. Military, Stanford, TEDx and HEC Paris. His ideas on work-play integration have been featured on NPR's TED Radio Hour, Fast Company, Forbes, Financial Times, Huberman Lab, Chase Jarvis Live, TEDx, and many others. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
55 min
Debut novelist Rebecca Fallon on ambition, motherhood, crafting dual timelines, and writing a novel built around the person who isn't there. We discuss Why quitting a stable job to write a novel can be framed as a calculated bet rather than a leap of faith. How to prototype the writer's life before fully committing to it. What genre fiction can teach a literary novelist about plotting and structure. How a single late-stage scene revealed who the actual protagonist of the book had been all along. The unsexy spreadsheet work behind a novel that moves between timelines. A method for getting inside a child's consciousness on the page. Why each character has to serve a distinct function—and what happens to the ones that don't. How music, photographs, and even PowerPoint can become tools for holding a character's voice. The difference between flow-state writing and the surgical work that comes after. What changes when you stop drafting airy scenes and start asking what each scene needs to earn its place. About Rebecca Fallon Rebecca Fallon is a New England-born Londoner and a graduate of Williams College and the University of Oxford. Family Drama is her debut novel. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
58 min
Bestselling author Steven Pressfield on what it means to have a creative calling, battling resistance, the role of faith in writing, and his memoir Govt Cheese. A remastered version of episode #058. You'll learn: Why a typewriter sat untouched in the back of a van for seven years before becoming a career. How self-sabotage shows up at the finish line, not just at the start. A rule of thumb for telling resistance apart from legitimate doubt. Why the more important a project is, the more terrifying it should feel. When you can finally write about pain, and why distance matters more than rawness. How an idea for a book might arrive as a single sentence and refuse to leave. A one-page method for outlining a novel, and why one page is enough. What John Keats's concept of negative capability can teach a writer in the dark middle of a draft. The metaphor that reframes writers as delivery drivers rather than creators. Why faith in the muse matters most when the writing feels too good to be your own. Resources & Links 📄 Transcript (unedited) Govt Cheese The War of Art Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t "This Might Not Work" – Seth Godin The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler Steve's 'passage through the wilderness' series on Instagram The Creative Act by Rick Rubin The Foolscap Method Instagram videos John Keats's concept of 'Negative Capability' Joanna Penn About Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield (@SPressfield) is the author of The War of Art, which has sold over a million copies globally and been translated into multiple languages. He is a master of historical fiction, with Gates of Fire being on the required reading list at West Point and the recommended reading list of the Joint Chiefs. His other books include A Man at Arms, Turning Pro, Do the Work, The Artist's Journey, Tides of War, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Last of the Amazons, Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign, Killing Rommel, The Profession, The Lion's Gate, The Warrior Ethos, The Authentic Swing, An American Jew, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, The Knowledge, and his memoir Govt Cheese. Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has the technology you need to turn your idea into a professionally published book. Our community anthologies are published using Lulu and we’ve used their direct ecommerce integration and on demand publishing to send the anthology all over the world. The editorial team has found it really intuitive to use. For more information head to lulu.com . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
58 min
Debut novelist Debra Curtis on teaching herself to write by copying poems by hand as a dyslexic child, using contemporary novels as craft manuals to learn structure, meeting the Dalai Lama, the importance of radical forgiveness & publishing her first novel in her sixties after years of rejection. You'll learn: Why copying poems by hand into a composition notebook secretly teaches a dyslexic child to write. The hospital-bed moment with her dying father that became a three-decade family motto. A vision at a marina, a prescription bottle, and the woman who became her protagonist. What hundreds of rejections actually teach you about persistence. Using contemporary novels as instructional guides while drafting your own. How a psychic’s prophecy and a chance encounter in Paris both pointed toward the same agent. Finding your future agent’s name in the acknowledgments of a book you’ve never read. The big editorial note that hurts to hear, and why listening anyway is still the right call. Radical forgiveness as the emotional heart of a novel. The writing ritual built around a sleep mask, noise-cancelling headphones, and a sound machine. Resources & Links: 📄 Interview Transcript The Freeing of The Dust by Denise Levertov Laws of Love and Logic by Debra Curtis Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Publisher’s Marketplace Debra’s Instagram Debra’s TikTok About Debra Curtis: Debra Curtis is a retired professor of cultural anthropology at Salve Regina University, where she specialised in gender and sexuality. This is her first novel. She is the mother of grown-up twin girls and lives in Rhode Island with her husband and her English bulldog, Harry, who is the star of much of her TikTok content. TikTok: @EnglishHarry; FB: @DebCurtis; Instagram: @Deb.curtis.906. Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has the technology you need to turn your idea into a professionally published book. Our community anthologies are published using Lulu and we’ve used their direct ecommerce integration and on demand publishing to send the anthology all over the world. The editorial team has found it really intuitive to use. For more information head to lulu.com . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 7 min
Screenwriters Hannah Bos (HBO’s Somebody Somewhere), Kim Krizan (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset) and Selina Lim (Sex Education, Hanna) on building writing partnerships, developing characters from the inside out, and finding your way into a writers’ room. You'll learn Why a writing partnership only works when you can separate your ego from your ideas. How seven years of making weird theatre in Brooklyn quietly set the stage for an HBO show. What it takes to write a quiet, character-driven show in a TV landscape built for plot. How a master’s thesis on a diarist turned into one of the most beloved screenplays of the nineties. How Before Sunrise was built from index cards on a living room floor. Why thinking about the product kills the work, and what to focus on instead. The case for starting with character before plot, and letting the story follow. What breaking into TV actually looks like. How to set the tone in a writers’ room so the ridiculous ideas can surface. A practical approach to dialogue. Episode Links #070: Hannah Bos — Writing TV From The Heart, HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, Artistic Partnerships, Writing Friendships For The Screen #99: Kim Krizan — Writing 'Before Sunrise' series, Crafting Memorable Characters For Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy & Other Screenwriting Tips #013: Selina Lim — Writing Authentic Dialogue for TV, Writing about Sex, Love & Drama, and A Peek Into a Writers’ Room About the Guests Hannah Bos is a Brooklyn based writer who, along with her writing partner Paul Thureen, is the creator and showrunner of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. The first season received an AFI Award and Peabody nomination, and Hannah and Paul were nominated for a 2022 Humanitas Prize for Comedy Teleplay for the pilot episode. Together they have also written for HBO’s High Maintenance and Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay for their feature Driveways (dir. Andrew Ahn), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Along with Oliver Butler, Hannah and Paul were founders and co-Artistic Directors of The Debate Society, a multiple-Obie award-winning, Brooklyn-based theatre company. As an actor, Hannah has received a Drama Desk Award and Lortel Nomination. Contact: www.hannahbos.com Kim Krizan is the Academy Award-nominated writer of the films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Her book Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale is a tongue-in-cheek examination of history’s dangerous women. She is also the author of Spy in the House of Anaïs Nin, an analysis of the life of the 20th-century rule-bending diarist. Krizan’s work has been hailed as insightful, penetrating, and profound. She lives and writes in Los Angeles, California. You can find her on Instagram and Patreon. Contact: www.instagram.com/kimkrizan Selina Lim is a BAFTA and BIFA-nominated screenwriter, with credits on Sex Education (Eleven/Netflix) and Hanna (Amazon/NBC). Her short films include Painkiller (BBC/B3 Media) starring Benedict Wong, Keeping Up with the Joneses (BFI/Lighthouse) with Maxine Peake and Adeel Akhtar, and BBC Studios/Green Door’s Five By Five starring Ruth Madeley. Selina has also written for Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures/Channel 4) and was in the writers’ room for The Night Manager Series 2 (The Ink Factory/AMC). Contact: www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/selina-lim Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has the technology you need to turn your idea into a professionally published book. Our community anthologies are published using Lulu and we’ve used their direct ecommerce integration and on demand publishing to send the anthology all over the world. The editorial team has found it really intuitive to use. For more information head to lulu.com . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
1 hr 7 min
Literary agent Juliet Mushens on what makes her offer representation, how she builds bestselling careers from debut to long-term success, and why writers need a life outside of publishing. We discuss Why tension is the single most important quality an agent looks for in any genre of fiction. How personalized feedback from an agent signals you’re closer than you think. The editorial conversation that happens when an agent offers representation. What to consider when choosing between multiple agent offers, and why gut matters more than questionnaires. How some of today’s biggest bestsellers had their first and second books rejected — and what changed. Why writing for the market rarely produces the best books, and how to hold the tension between passion and positioning. The publishing myths that refuse to die, from social media requirements to green book covers. How agents negotiate contracts and why an escape clause matters. The concept of inconvenience over convenience and what it means for writers in the age of AI. Why building a sense of esteem outside writing is essential to surviving the highs and lows of publishing. Resources & Links Mushens Entertainment Submissions Mushens Entertainment Blog Get Started in Writing Young Adult Fiction by Juliet Mushens Juliet Instagram Mushens Entertainment Instagram About Juliet Mushens Juliet Mushens has been an agent for over a decade. More than a dozen of her clients are Sunday Times bestsellers, with half a dozen claiming the number one slot in the last two years alone. Her clients include million-copy no. 1 bestseller Jessie Burton, multi-million copy NY Times bestseller Taran Matharu, and record-breaking multi-million copy no. 1 bestseller Richard Osman. The Times ran a piece recognising her as the first agent to represent the number 1, 2, and 3 UK bestsellers in the same week: ‘Star literary agent first to top the charts three times’, a feat she repeated in 2022. Juliet sits on the advisory board of Book Brunch, is currently President of the British Fantasy Society, and sits on the board of the Women’s Prize Trust. You can find her on Twitter as @mushenska. Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has the technology you need to turn your idea into a professionally published book. Our community anthologies are published using Lulu and we’ve used their direct ecommerce integration and on demand publishing to send the anthology all over the world. The editorial team has found it really intuitive to use. For more information head to lulu.com . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
58 min
Singer-songwriter and author Josh Ritter on writing songs for the muse instead of waiting for it, letting creative ideas find their shape across songwriting, painting, and fiction, and building a sustainable creative life over more than two decades. We discuss: Writing for the muse instead of waiting for it. Why working across multiple art forms keeps each one alive. The craft behind a single narrative song, from first image to finished track. Balancing creative compulsion with everyday life. What sharing work publicly teaches you about your own work. How the relationship between an artist and their audience evolves over decades. Mental health and the myth of the tortured creative. Getting through the dead stretch when nothing seems to come. The campfire model of building a creative career. Resources & Links: 📄 Interview Transcript Josh’s Substack Hello Starling I Believe in You, My Honeydew Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding) About: Josh Ritter is an American singer-songwriter, musician, artist, and author. He performs and records with The Royal City Band. He writes on Substack at Josh Ritter’s Book of Jubilations . His latest album, I Believe In You, My Honeydew, is out now. Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has the technology you need to turn your idea into a professionally published book. Our community anthologies are published using Lulu and we’ve used their direct ecommerce integration and on demand publishing to send the anthology all over the world. The editorial team has found it really intuitive to use. For more information head to lulu.com . For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
53 min
Novelist, memoirist, and Corporeal Writing founder Lidia Yuknavitch on writing from the body, finding form in the natural world, and why the stories we need most come from the places we’ve been afraid to go. We discuss: Why the element that makes you vibrate — water, forest, rock, wind — might be the key to unlocking your creative access path. How to find your core metaphors through a body-based meditation practice. A practical portal for memoir writers. Why abandoning linear plot doesn’t mean abandoning form. The difference between prompts and portals. Why writers who’ve survived the hardest things carry a skillset the rest of the world urgently needs right now. A reframe for anyone afraid of writing badly. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript Corporeal Writing The Chronology of Water Thrust Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison She Had Some Horses by Jo Harjo Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich Writers’ Hour About Lidia Yuknavitch is the National Bestselling author of four novels: Thrust, The Book of Joan, Dora: A Headcase, and The Small Backs of Children, winner of the 2016 Oregon Book Awards Ken Kesey Award for Fiction as well as the OBA Reader’s Choice Award. She has also published a critical book on war and narrative, Allegories Of Violence (Routledge). The Misfit’s Manifesto, a book based on her recent TED Talk, was published by TED Books in 2017. Verge, a collection of short fiction, was released in 2020. Her widely acclaimed memoir The Chronology of Water was adapted for film directed by Kristen Stewart. Her newest memoir, Reading the Waves, was published by Riverhead books in 2025. She founded the workshop series Corporeal Writing in Portland Oregon, where she teaches both in person and online. She received her doctorate in Literature from the University of Oregon. She is a very good swimmer. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
57 min
Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace on mattering, resilience through relationships, and the writing practices behind two New York Times bestselling nonfiction books. You’ll learn Why resilience as a writer has far less to do with self-care routines and far more to do with the people you surround yourself with. How to tell whether your idea is a series of articles or a book, and what structural test separates one from the other. A practical way to ask for feedback on your writing that actually leads to useful criticism instead of vague encouragement. Why putting yourself in a nonfiction book can transform it, even if every journalistic instinct tells you not to. The writing schedule that let a journalist with three kids produce two bestselling books, and why it starts at 4AM. Why your inner critic tends to sleep in, and how to take advantage of the hours before it wakes up. A visual trick involving artist sketches that can help you push through the frustration of early drafts. What a lesson from Morley Safer at 60 Minutes reveals about the tension between accuracy and storytelling in nonfiction. The surprising research behind mattering and why it goes deeper than self-esteem, belonging, or purpose on their own. A 30-second daily practice that can help you reconnect to your sense of purpose when long-term projects leave you feeling stuck. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript The Mattering Movement Mattering by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Lives Well Lived Podcast Episode w/ Jennifer Breheny Wallace Julia Cameron on LWS Podcast The Oprah Podcast w/Jennifer Breheny Wallace Subscribe to Jennifer’s Newsletter Jennifer’s IG About Jennifer Breheny Wallace Jennifer Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic — And What We Can Do About It, which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace has contributed to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Jennifer began her journalism career in television at “60 Minutes”. She lives in New York City. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
56 min
Description: Neuroscientist and bestselling author David Eagleman on the brain science behind creativity, what actually causes writer's block, and how pre-commitment strategies like the Ulysses contract can help writers finish what they start. You'll learn: Why creativity isn't a rare gift, and what's actually happening in every brain when it absorbs and remixes the world around it. The three core algorithms behind creative thinking, and how to use them deliberately when you're stuck on a project. What's really going on in the brain when a writer feels blocked, and why the fix might be simpler than you think. A compelling case against the "shower idea" myth, and why sitting down to work may be where your best thinking actually happens. How a concept from ancient Greek literature can help you set up contracts with your future self to finish what you start. A surprising writing routine behind roughly a million published words, and why it happens at the same chain restaurant every time. A method for juggling multiple creative projects without losing momentum on any of them. Why switching genres and feeling like a beginner is one of the best things you can do for your brain as a writer. How to think about the difference between fiction and nonfiction when it comes to what AI can and can't replace. The moment at age 13 that shaped an entire career in science communication, and what it reveals about writing for an audience. Resources & Links: 📄 Interview Transcript David’s Website Inner Cosmos The Creative Brain Cosmos by Carl Sagan The Runaway Species Ulysses contract Sum David’s Substack About David Eagleman: David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and an internationally bestselling author. He is co-founder of two venture-backed companies, Neosensory and BrainCheck, and he also directs the Center for Science and Law, a national non-profit institute. He is best known for his work on sensory substitution, time perception, brain plasticity, synesthesia, and neurolaw. His books include Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, The Runaway Species, and Livewired. He is the writer and presenter of the Emmy-nominated PBS series The Brain with David Eagleman and hosts the podcast Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!
40 min
Acclaimed short fiction writers Sarah Hall, Jonathan Escoffery, and Niamh Mulvey on building immersive worlds in compressed spaces, grounding stories in real human stakes, and writing openings and endings that transform both character and reader. Timestamps: (00:01:06) Sarah Hall, from Episode 161 (00:14:43) Jonathan Escoffery, from Episode 56 (00:26:40) Niamh Mulvey, previously unreleased conversation You'll learn: Sarah Hall's "keyhole" approach to short stories — and how the unseen world beyond the scene gives a story its depth. Why trusting your preoccupations beats forcing a theme, and how over-awareness of your own subject can kill the fiction. A technique for thickening a thin first draft: telescope into your character's childhood, then out to their future. Why Jonathan Escoffery believes stories without real-world stakes will lose to equally crafted stories that engage with the world, every time. How Escoffery pairs imagination with lived emotional experience to make unfamiliar settings resonate — and why personal growth feeds artistic growth. What choosing a linked story collection over a novel taught Escoffery about pacing, pause, and propulsive energy. Why Niamh Mulvey thinks showing off your best writing in an opening is a mistake — and what to do instead (start specific, name a character, put two people in relation). A prompt for finding your story's urgency: ask "why this moment?" and aim for the energy of really good gossip. How character desire shapes place and plot at the same time, so setting becomes what your character wants rather than backdrop. Mulvey's "third element" — a character, object, or event seeded early that can emerge later to unlock your ending. Resources & Links: Join our LWS community! Sarah's full episode and notes Jonathan's full episode and notes If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery Hearts and Bones: Love Songs for Late Youth by Niamh Mulvey The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan About Sarah Hall: Sarah Hall is one of the UK's most talented authors. Twice nominated for the Man Booker Prize, the first and only writer to win the BBC National Short Story Award twice, she has written ten highly acclaimed novels and short story collections. About Jonathan Escoffery: Jonathan Escoffery is the author of the linked story collection If I Survive You , a New York Times and Booklist Editor's Choice, an IndieNext Pick, and a National Bestseller. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Oprah Daily, Electric Literature, Zyzzyva, AGNI, Pleiades, American Short Fiction, Prairie Schooner, Passages North, and elsewhere. About Niamh Mulvey: Niamh Mulvey is from Kilkenny, Ireland. Her short fiction has been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee and Southword and was shortlisted for the Seán O'Faoláin Prize for Short Fiction 2020. Her short story collection Hearts and Bones: Love Songs for Late Youth was published by Picador. The Amendments is her first novel. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com. For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com. * FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON Twitter: twitter.com/WritersSalon Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!