In part two of my interview with author and writing teacher Christopher Castellani, we talked about all the quirky psychology that goes into creating, including:
- Why his books tend to get longer and longer the more he revises
- The painful process of falling out of love with a book you’re writing
- Sometimes it’s the timing of a project and not the quality of the idea that makes or breaks it
- Bouncing around between various works in progress
- The longest list of things his inner critic says of anyone I’ve ever talked to
- Scheduling when he’ll feel sorry for himself as a way to quiet those negative thoughts
- Finding the weird bits of your psychology to motivate yourself (Christopher’s is getting excited about working on two projects at the same time because then he gets to feel like he’s cheating whenever he stops working on one and starts working on the other)
- A really thoughtful reason why “show don’t tell” is overdone
- Why he had four separate legal pads for his last project, and how he used them to tap into his characters’ subconsciouses (and ultimately, his own)
- How he tricks himself into working
Connect with Christopher (and check if he’s doing an event near you!) at christophercastellani.com.
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!

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