May 18, 2025

#145: Maggie O’Farrell — Confessions of a Novelist: Writing from Instinct, Why Revision is Essential, Facing Doubt & Finding the Story’s Heartbeat (From the Vault)

42 minutes

Award-winning and bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait author takes us behind the scenes of her creative process—from the early struggles of starting out to the discipline and instinct that shape her acclaimed novels.

We explore the irresistible drive to write, the role of characters in steering a story, and how she blends history with imagination. Maggie also shares her thoughts on revision, redrafting without ego, and what it really takes to endure in the writing life.

We discuss:

The insatiable urge to write and the challenges of beginning a novel
Letting characters lead and reshaping a story mid-draft
Weaving fact and fiction in historical narratives
Why revision is where the real writing happens
Honest feedback, creative resilience, and writing for the long haul

ABOUT MAGGIE O'FARRELL

Maggie O’Farrell is the author of Hamnet (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award) and I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, both Sunday Times number 1 bestsellers. Her other works include The Marriage Portrait, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, After You’d Gone, The Hand That First Held Mine (winner of the Costa Novel Award), and Instructions for a Heatwave. Maggie’s work is praised for its lyrical prose, emotional depth, and its ability to bring overlooked historical figures to life.
*

RESOURCES & LINKS

📄 Transcript (unedited)
Arvon
Upcoming Arvon Courses
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning
Alessandro Allori's portrait of Lucrezia D’ Medici
Read Zoe's notes from the interview

This podcast was done in collaboration with Arvon, the UK’s leading creative writing charity. Arvon passionately believes that everyone can benefit from the transformative power of creative writing. It hosts residential, online and community-based writing courses and events, embracing over 6,000 people each year, tutored by some of the most respected writers in the UK today. Find out more at arvon.org.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Lulu. If you're interested in self-publishing, Lulu has free resources such as helpful tutorials, templates to help you layout a book, design for print, and they have a very watchable YouTube University channel. Our community anthology is in fact published using Lulu. Check them out at 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!

...more