The Creative Writer's Toolbelt

Yes I'm back! I want to do two or three more episodes before I finish, to address the extraordinary times we are living in, and in this episode I am talking to two writer / entrepreneurs, Wendy H Jones and Abidemi Sanusi about how writers can survive and thrive in Lockdown. We discuss motivation, routine, self-care for writers, and just getting started.

Sadly, this is the last episode of the podcast, at least for now. From the end of March I am putting The Creative Writer's Toolbelt on hiatus. Listen to this episode for my explanation of why I am finishing (nothing sinister!) and news about a possible writer's event that I'd like to host at some point in the future somewhere in the UK.

This episode features one of my favourite guests, an editor who manages to combine a formidable expertise with a friendly and accessible manner, you’ll most likely know her from her YouTube channel, but she also featured in a two part episode on the podcast in 2018, it’s the wonderful Ellen Brock. In this conversation Ellen gives us some recommended reading for mastering the structure of story, provides some insights on how to manage point of view in close third person, and also gives us some great advice on what advice we should actually use and what we should discard.

This episode is a conversation with Barbara Poelle, agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. We talk about the importance of having good critique partners, how to approach an agent at a conference, and that old favourite – showing not telling. Enjoy!

This episode is a conversation with the Vietnamese born writer, Abbigail N. Rosewood, about her first novel 'If I had two lives'. In this conversation we talk about withholding judgement to maintain the story, how to use sensory information to introduce a character, how honesty can lead to empathy, and what it means to be understood as a writer.

Writing is hard, branding and marketing can be even harder! So I was delighted to have the chance to talk to branding and marketing expert Dana Kaye. Dana works with authors to develop a coherent authentic brand, and effective and innovating marketing initiatives.

This episode features a friend of mine who has worked hard to overcome the issues so many of us writers face. Joan Histon is a writer, a speaker, and a spiritual director. She has faced the kinds of challenges and obstacles that you and I have faced with our writing, and yet she overcome these, and has now published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and she has a three-book publishing deal.

How did she get there? How did she power through to the success she has now had? I invite you to continue listening to find out.

This episode is a conversation with Hollywood script writer, ad exec, and YA author Gregg Millman. Gregg has been on the writing teams for documentaries, films and TV series, and more recently has worked with a number of global brands across a range of media and platforms.In this episode we talk about the process by which TV drama’s get written, how advertising works, and the power of editing. We also talk about the changing nature of YA writing, the importance of the book cover, and how complementary characters can enhance the story.

Have you ever wanted to write for the theatre but haven’t had the incentive or help to get do it? Have you ever wondered what makes a Broadway producer decide to bring a show to the bright lights and the big stage? Well you are about to find out because this episode is a conversation with Tony award winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport. Ken shares his insights for writing and launching your work.

Do you trust your work? Do you trust yourself enough to let your work go wherever it wants to go, to be authentic? That’s one of the questions, and challenges I explore with my guest in this episode of the podcast. His name is Brother Guy Consolmagno, and he is a Jesuit Brother and also an MIT trained research astronomer and he is currently the Director of the Vatican Observatory, making him in colloquial terms, the Pope’s Astronomer.