Leigh Turner diplomacy and writing

Whose fault is the President Putin's invasion of Ukraine? What about the Soviet invasion of Hungary, or the building of the Berlin Wall? Think twice before you ascribe blame or you may be a victim of "reverse conspiracy theories". Also available as a blog.

Who is really responsible for the devastating Russia-Ukraine war?  It may not be who you think. Why did President Putin do a U-turn? Listen to find out what really brought about a catastrophic war at the heart of Europe. #Russia #Ukraine #Putin #RussiaUkraine

My Istanbul thriller "Palladium" has been eleven years in the making. This podcast introduces the cover art: how it came to be designed, what input I made, and how the results came out. Find out how an author gets involved in the cover of the book - or not! Since I made this podcast, the publishers have changed the cover again.

You can read the blog post on which this podcast is based, and see the cover, on my rleighturner.com blog. 

"Ulysses" matters: 100 years after Joyce's great masterpiece first appeared, you can read and enjoy it on many levels. A quotation shows why you have nothing to be afraid of.

"Of course, Mr B proceeded to stipulate, you must look at both sides of the question."

A discussion of James Joyce and "Ulysses", illustrated by a few quotes. My main messages: a) Ulysses matters, and b) it's not necessarily hard to read.

Read the blog post on which this podcast is based on my rleighturner.com blog.

In "He Knew He Was Right", Anthony Trollope shows he is an outstanding writer on relationships between the sexes.  Lessons on gender from 1869 are 100% relevant today.

How men think, how women think and whether there is a difference is one of the abiding puzzles of life.  We all want to understand other people.  Many of us want to understand the opposite sex.

How to understand women, or men?  You can do worse than start with Trollope’s "He Knew He Was Right". The novel also contains one of the great studies of stubbornness in literature. Ask yourself: are you sure you're right?

Read the blog post on which this podcast is based on my rleighturner.com blog.

Media skills aren't just a useful add-on for diplomats. These days they're fundamental to getting the job done, in diplomacy as in many other careers. When a crisis erupts, or you are thrust in front of a TV camera or a cluster of microphones, it's no good thinking "I should have done the media training". But there are lots of ways you can prepare yourself, in addition to formal training - including seizing every opportunity to practice, practice and practice. The time to start building your media skills is now.

Subscribe for regular podcasts from Leigh Turner. Read the blog on which this podcast is based here. 

American historian Barbara Tuchman came up with an elegant formula relevant to keeping things in perspective in today's bad news saturated internet age. You may even find her law helps you. You can read the post on which this short podcast is based at my rleighturner.com blog. Happy listening. 

"The Second Phial" is a complete short story set in the Moscow of 1993. It is a horror story - I hope. 

This podcast is not suitable for children.

Friends sometimes ask me: 'where do your ideas come from?' When they read, or listen to, "The Second Phial", they tend to ask 'I don't want to know where you get your ideas from'. Don't read it if you are easily disturbed. But please do subscribe to my podcasts either way!

I lived in Moscow from 1992 to 1995, heading up the Economic Section of the British Embassy. I met a lot of scientists, and witnessed how they struggled to survive in the chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. But "The Second Phial" springs entirely from my imagination.

You can read the blog on which this episode is based, including the full story, on my rleighturner.com blog. Happy listening.

Rejection and writer's block are constant companions for many writers. I've been there. But don't despair - you can do lots of things to regain your mojo and your motivation. Here are seven tips on how to cope - and maybe turn challenges into opportunities. You can read the post on which this podcast is based at my rleighturner.com blog.  Thanks for listening. Episode photo © Stefan Arnswald.

Scenes and sequels are a great way to ensure your story is strong, packed with tension, and flows well. They can also help to structure - and speed up - your writing. This podcast, based on this blog post, includes some practical examples from my Berlin thriller "Blood Summit" - you can read those examples on the blog. You can read more than fifty other blog posts of writing tips at my rleighturner.com blog. Thanks for listening! Episode photo © Stefan Arnswald.