The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

How NY Times Bestselling Author Lisa Scottoline Writes

05.19.2021 - By Kelton ReidPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

#PodcastersForJustice New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winner, Lisa Scottoline, spoke with me about what she learned from literary lion Philip Roth, impostor syndrome, and her latest book, Eternal.

“I think all writing is writing, and all writing is good. And whether it gets published or not, it all ... makes you better.” – Lisa Scottoline

Lisa is a #1 bestselling author of 33 novels. She's gone from law school standout to writing chart-topping legal thrillers over the course of her prolific career, has sold over 30 million copies of her books in the US, and been published in 35 countries.

Her latest is Eternal and her first historical novel, a departure that she calls the culmination of her life's work. It's described as "... a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events."

“[Her] expansive WWII-era historical novel follows three childhood best friends as love, loyalty and sacrifice mix and their beloved Rome falls to the Nazis.” – GMA

Lisa also writes a weekly humor column with her daughter, Francesca Serritella, for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which have been adapted into a series of memoirs. She has served as President of the Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, “Justice in Fiction,” at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater.

Stay tuned after the interview for a sample of the audiobook excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio read by Cassandra Campbell.

Stay calm and write on ...

Discover The Writer Files Extra

You can now have The Writer Files podcast dropped right into your email inbox every time there’s a new show. No more shaking your podcast app!

As a subscriber, Kelton will send you added insights, the chance to get TWF merch (like "Stay Calm and Write On" t-shirts anyone?), curated collections of shows like The Publishing Series and The Writer’s Brain, updates, and occasional special offers. Learn more at the link below and take our AuthorPods podcasting course survey.

Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please "Follow" us to automatically see new interviews. In this file Lisa Scottoline and I also discussed: Her favorite rejection letter

Why writers just need to "get it down, then get it good"

How the identity of a writer changes over the years

Her unique research process

Why your sentences need to justify themselves

And more!

Show Notes: Scottoline.com

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline [Amazon]

Survival In Auschwitz : If This Is a Man by Primo Levi [Amazon]

The Writer's Brain on Impostor Syndrome

Lisa Scottoline on Facebook

Lisa Scottoline on Instagram

Lisa Scottoline on Twitter

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More episodes from The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience