Not Too Busy To Write

Annie Ridout writes in multiple genres including non-fiction, poetry, journalism and now fiction. Her latest non-fiction book Shy: How being quiet can lead to success explores the positive aspects of shyness as well as how to manage some of the more challenging sides of it. We talk about embracing our natural personalities, expanding our comfort zones and dealing with rejection as a writer. We also dive in to the topic of platform building as a writer, Annie's slightly unusual route to publishing and juggling running a business with writing books and raising kids. It's a chock a block episode!

Links

Shy: How being quiet can lead to success - Annie Ridout

Freelance Mum - Annie Ridout

Redhead By The Side of The Road - Anne Tyler

Confusion - Elizabeth Jane Howard

You can find Annie Ridout on Instagram @annieridout

You can see all the podcast reading recommendations at Bookshop.org

Reading and writing go hand in hand. In their most conversational episode yet, Ali and Penny talk about what they read to inform their writing practice; and Ali discovers she owes Agatha Christie an apology.

Some books act as guide books, others as inspiration, others as companions to the writing process, all are vital ways to breathe life and depth into writing, Ali and Penny unpick just how they use their reading to do this. Be warned, they talk about a lot of books, but you'll leave the episode feeling inspired and ready to tackle your current or next project.

In Episode 9 Ali and Penny talk to Jodie Chapman about her debut novel, Another Life, out now on Penguin Michael Joseph.

Another Life tells the story of Nick and Anna, and the one seminal summer the pair spend together that marks each of them in its own way. Years later, tragedy brings the two back into each other's orbits, but is it too late? Jodie Chapman describes the book as a book about love in all its forms, and it's this idea that forms the backbone of her conversation with Ali and Penny.

Anna is trapped by the expectations of the religion she's raised in, one where there are no birthday celebrations, or Easter or Christmas, and the end of days hangs heavily over her. We talk about using life to inform your writing, and the risks and opportunities this presents.

Another Life is narrated by Nick, we talk about writing from the male perspective, about motherhood and the fear of toxic masculinity as well as the immense privilege and challenges of raising boys; and how life life is never black and white, only ever hues of something else.

It's a packed episode - enjoy!

Links

Another life - Jodie Chapman

Sorrow and Bliss - Meg Mason

Peel Me a Lotus - Charmian Clift

Many Different Kinds of Love - Michael Rosen

No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood

You can shop all the podcast book recommendations on the Not To Busy To Write Recommends at Bookshop.org

You can find Jodie Chapman in instragram @jodiechapman

When life is busy, we don't always get the long stretches of time we would ideally like to have to write. So how do you train yourself to write in tiny spaces of time?

Ali and Penny discuss the techniques they have used over the past few years when time is short. From keeping up the frequency so your mind is never far from the project, to using mini rituals and music to short cut your way to writing mode, this is an episode which questions our default excuse to avoid writing because we only have tiny pockets available to us.

Links mentioned

Janet Murray Membership (virtual co-working)

London Writers Salon (writers hour)

Books

Medical Muses: Hysteria in 19th century Paris by Asti Hustvedt

Holy Anorexia by Rudolf M Bell

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

You can find all of our book recommendations at

Not Too Busy To Write - Bookshop.org

In Episode 7 Penny is absent due to self-isolation, so Ali takes the helm. She introduces their slightly ambitious plan to read the Women's Prize longlist before the announcement of a winner in July.

Ali talks to Tetyana Denford about the first in her new trilogy of books, Conversation with Grief. Conversation with Grief was born after the death of Tetyana's grandmother, when Tetyana was forced to sit with her grief in the vacuum of a pandemic. They talk about how grief changes shape, how it constantly surprises us and how sometimes, the only thing we can do is invite it in. They also talk about how motherhood is a form of grief and how the opposite of grief is love.

All of Tetyana's books are self published. In the second half of the episode she shares insights into the process, and talks about the challenges and rewards of wearing so many hats simultaneously. She also talks about how self publishing isn't a less than option, but one that requires just as much work and dedication as a more traditional publishing route.

Conversation with Grief is available to preorder.

Motherland by Tetyana Denford

Tetyana's youtube series is here.

Books mentioned in the episode are:

Patricia Lockwood: No One is Talking About This

Glennon Doyle: Untamed

Sarah Moss: Ghost Wall

A Little Life: Hanya Yanagihara.

All Books mentioned on the podcast are now all in one spot on our very own Bookshop.org list

https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/not-too-busy-to-write-recommends

The blank page can be terrifying, paralysing even. How do you overcome the fear of starting something new?

In Episode 6 Ali and Penny - both at the start of new projects - talk about the different tools they use to make a strong start on something new. They examine artistic considerations as well as more practical techniques including: goal setting, spreadsheets, progress checkers, and the all important writing community.

They also talk about ways of reframing the idea of 'dreams'. Is it a dream to write a book, or an ambition?

Links mentioned

Pacemaker - online wordcount app

Clare Seal's (My Frugal Year) progress grid

Story Genius - Lisa Cron

Heavy Light - Horatio Clare

Mrs Death Misses Death - Salena Godden

Women's Prize for fiction 2021 long list

How does perfectionism hold our writing back?

From not sharing our work, to not getting started at all, Ali and Penny dig into how to manage our perfectionism as writers. Asking can perfectionism ever be a positive thing for our work? We look at avoiding comparison, when to ignore your inner critic (and when to listen) and allowing yourself to be vulnerable.

Books mentioned:

White Feminism - Koa Beck

The See-Through House - Shelley Klein

A Slice of the Moon - Sandi Toksvig

The End of the Sky - Sandi Toksvig

Aside from sitting down to actually write, where else do we get our creative energy and ideas from?

From solo afternoon trips to the cinema, visits to modern art installations and long drives alone, this episode is all about how we feed our creativity, spark new ideas and solve creative problems. Becoming aware of how we feed our creativity is one thing - but how do we then protect that creative time? Penny and Ali talk about how they prioritise those activities by treating it as part of the process and why they think we should all take it seriously.

Links mentioned in the show

5x15 spoken word events

Hay Festival Player

Arvon at Home

Edinburgh Book Festival

Mr B's Emporium Book Subscription

Galley Beggar's Press subscription

Girl A - Abigail Dean

Pew - Catherine Lacey

The Silence - Don Delillo

The Divers' Game - Jesse Ball

This week Ali and Penny are joined by debut author, Ilona Bannister, whose novel, When I Ran Away, is released in the UK on 4th March by Two Roads books and on 30th March in the US with Doubleday Books.

When I Ran Away is a startling novel, funny and hard hitting, it tells the story of GiGi, an American mother of two living in London who just can't manage to do it all.

In this fascinating and wide reaching episode, Ilona talks about how, after having children, she felt it was hugely important to write honestly about the effects of motherhood, trauma and grief, and in doing so breaking the narrative that we can have it all.

Ilona tells Ali and Penny about her journey to publishing, how she set her own deadlines, treated the novel writing process like work before it was paid work, as well as what steps she took to maximise her changes of success.

Books discussed

When I Ran Away - Ilona Bannister

Wow, No Thank You - Samantha Irby

Mrs Death Misses Death - Salena Godden

Luster - Raven Leilani

H(A)PPY - Nicola Barker

Insatiable - Daisy Buchannon

You can find Ilona Bannister on Instagram @ilona.bannister

You can find Ali Millar of instagram @ali_millar_writes

And Penny Wincer on instagram @pennywincer

The myth of ideal conditions can discourage us from getting on with a project, it's tempting instead to wait until things get easier or better. Just how do we let go of this idea and get down to work?

Ali and Penny talk about how they've learnt to dismiss ideal conditions, instead accepting where they are, even if it's a bit shit. They examine the upsides of time constraints and how it can be important to dismiss what other (often male) writers say about routines, as well as why why neither of them believe in the muse.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Why I won't try to be super-mum - by Penny Wincer for The Telegraph

Mother for Dinner - Shalom Auslander

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-Joo