Cheers! Welcome to our year-end Holiday Party for 2025.

How Long Did Famous Novels Take to Write (infographic)?

Kafka’s diaries are heartening

Why We Should Keep Notebooks (According to Joan Didion)

Milena on being more intentional as a reader/writer

The last chapter of Stephen Pressfield’s The War of Art and his blurb of Adam’s American Tiger

Who couldn’t use 3 years uninterrupted in a cabin in the woods to finish your novel lol

Revisiting “Beginner’s Mindset” and the concept of the Duning-Kruger Effect: The “Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a specific area overestimate their competence, while experts often underestimate theirs, stemming from a lack of self-awareness about their own deficiencies or the complexity of the topic. Essentially, you need some knowledge to realize how much you don't know; the unskilled lack this meta-cognitive ability, leading to inflated confidence, while the skilled recognize the vastness of what's unknown, sometimes leading to underconfidence.”

Milena's Two Favorite Books of 2025! Milena read (or listened to) 64 books this year, and her faves all come down to language

Joining up with yours truly and our favorite TWF interviews in 2025: Albom, Zang, Lockhart, Skolnick, and Jeneva (freakin) Rose lol, and a shoutout to the most popular episode of the year with Emma Knight

We were named one of the “12 Best Writing Podcasts” by LARB, and won a Spotify “2025 Most Shared Show” Award

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

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[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

Show Notes:

How Long Did Famous Novels Take to Write? (infographic)

Ever wondered how long it takes to write a classic? via @agelessliterature

Why We Should Keep Notebooks (According to Joan Didion) via @literahua

Milena’s Two Favorite Books of 2025

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

Listen to a replay of 2025's most popular episode!

New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and entrepreneur Emma Knight spoke to me about finding the courage to write fiction, the Loch Ness Monster of motherhood, and her breakout debut novel The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus.

Emma Knight is an author, journalist, Co-Founder and Head of Brand at Greenhouse, an award-winning organic beverage company, and co-author of The Greenhouse Cookbook (2017), a national bestseller.

Her debut novel and instant New York Times bestseller, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, is described as a “coming-of-age story, part family drama, and part campus novel.”

#1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune called the book “A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us . . . I couldn’t put it down.”

Emma Knight also has an MA in Journalism, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, Literary Hub, and more.

[Discover⁠ ⁠⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ ⁠⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ ⁠⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Emma Knight and I discussed:

The contrast of her whirlwind world tour after five years of writing

Why you can only write one sentence at a time

The process of removing your ego from the work

Taking the same advice she shared with her daughters

Why it's so much better to make things up for a living

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus⁠ by Emma Knight (Amazon)

⁠Emma Knight talks how debut novel is a metaphor for motherhood⁠ - Today

⁠Emma Knight on Instagram⁠

Kelton Reid Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

Part 1 of 2 Throwback to a Pre-Pandemic podcast! Pete has some big news on the radar …

The New York Times bestselling novelist, award-winning adventure writer, and journalist, Peter Heller, spoke with me about his early life as a starving poet, breaking into journalism, how he makes things up for a living, and what it's like to be compared to your heroes.

Peter is a longtime contributor to NPR, and a former contributing editor at Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in fiction and poetry, is the author of four nonfiction books, and winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Literature.

Heller is also a notable bestselling author of a half-dozen novels including The Dog Stars – a lauded breakout bestseller, now published in 22 languages – The Painter, and Celine (a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize that won the prestigious Reading the West Book Award, shared in the past by Western writer Cormac McCarthy).

His latest novel, and Edgar Award Nominee, The River, has been called a "... heart-pounding survival story of .... two college students on a wilderness canoe trip – [and] a gripping tale of a friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence."

The New York Times called The River, “[A] modern-day survival tale .... [with] the urgency of a thriller.”

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Peter and I discussed:

How the author channels his fictional characters

The only way to start a novel

Why once you start "making it up" you can never go back

Productivity hacks for writing 1000 words a day, rain or shine

The importance of connecting with your  #writingcommunity

And fantastic advice from other award-winning authors to help you relax and let it rip   

Show Notes:

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

Part 2 of 2

Bestselling author and award-winning journalist Adam Skolnick returns to chat with us about the mystery of the creative process, why timing is everything in crafting a story, and his much-anticipated debut novel, AMERICAN TIGER.

I am joined by my co-host Milena Gonzalez.

Adam Skolnick is an author and award-winning journalist who covers travel, adventure and endurance sports, and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Wired, Lonely Planet, and Men's Health.

He's the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, and the ghostwriter and audiobook narrator of the bestselling David Goggins memoirs, Can't Hurt Me and Never Finished. A frequent contributor on The Rich Roll Podcast, he lives in Southern California where he was born and raised.

His debut novel, American Tiger (available for preorder now, out  December 2, 2025), “Based on true events, rooted in the stunning Southern California landscape, and populated with vivid characters, [the book] is more than a frantic tiger hunt. It's about a child's quest for self-discovery, her stoic father's struggle to come to terms with their past, and the innate wildness of every living thing.”

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert said of the author, "Adam Skolnick is a tireless investigator of the human experience, writes like a dream, and American Tiger is a gorgeous, subtly subversive yarn ringing with truth."

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In Part Two of this file Adam Skolnick, Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

Why the journey of becoming a dad changed the scope and tenor of his novel

The only way to write something great

Telling his moving story from a unique point of view

 The many paths to publication

Receiving signs from the universe

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

americantigerbook.com

American Tiger by Adam Skolnick (Amazon)

adamskolnick.substack.com

Adam Skolnick on Instagram

AdamSkolnick.com

Adam Skolnick on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

Part 1 of 2

Bestselling author and award-winning journalist Adam Skolnick spoke with us about earning his 10,000 hours, living with yours truly in a trailer in the mountains, and his much-anticipated debut novel, AMERICAN TIGER.

I am joined by my co-host Milena Gonzalez.

Adam Skolnick is an author and award-winning journalist who covers travel, adventure and endurance sports, and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Wired, Lonely Planet, and Men's Health.

He's the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, and the ghostwriter and audiobook narrator of the bestselling David Goggins memoirs, Can't Hurt Me and Never Finished. A frequent contributor on The Rich Roll Podcast, he lives in Southern California where he was born and raised.

His debut novel, American Tiger (available for preorder now, out  December 2, 2025), “Based on true events, rooted in the stunning Southern California landscape, and populated with vivid characters, [the book] is more than a frantic tiger hunt. It's about a child's quest for self-discovery, her stoic father's struggle to come to terms with their past, and the innate wildness of every living thing.”

Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful, wrote that the book,  “Gripped me from the first page. Rarely have I read a novel with such an exquisite sense of place.”

[This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."]

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In Part One of this file Adam Skolnick, Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

His latest adventures and his next non-fiction book

What it was like to go through a horrible dry spell as a writer

The evolution of his process from non-fiction to fiction

Our superhero origin story

How he wrote and published a true labor of love

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

americantigerbook.com

American Tiger by Adam Skolnick – December 2, 2025 (Amazon)

adamskolnick.substack.com

Adam Skolnick on Instagram

AdamSkolnick.com

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

#1 New York Times bestselling author Mitch Albom spoke with us about his humble beginnings as a sports journalist, the origins of Tuesdays with Morrie, and the universal themes he explores in his latest novel TWICE.

I am joined by a co-host this week, none other than The Book Babe, Milena Gonzalez.

Mitch Albom is the internationally acclaimed author of 12 New York Times bestselling books. He is best known for Tuesdays with Morrie, the best-selling memoir of all time, which tells the story of his college professor, Morrie Schwartz.

His books have collectively sold 42 million copies worldwide; have been published in 51 territories in 48 languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed TV movies.

His latest novel, Twice, is described as “... a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along.”

Time magazine wrote of the author, “Think of Mitch Albom as the Babe Ruth of popular literature, hitting the ball out of the park every time he’s at bat.”

Mitch Albom is also a journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster, musician, and philanthropist.

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Mitch Albom, Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

Learning the art of storytelling at the dinner table as a kid

His past life as a musician playing nightclubs in Greece, and dive bars in NY

How he didn't write a word until he was 23 years old

Writing Tuesdays with Morrie and the hurricane of notoriety that followed

What it’s like to play in a band with Stephen King and James McBride

The different writers from different eras that have influenced his career

Why you need to swim in the water of creativity as a writer

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

mitchalbom.com 

Twice by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom Amazon Author Page

Mitch Albom on Facebook

Mitch Albom on Instagram

Mitch Albom on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

Bestselling author and award-winning podcaster Barbara DeMarco-Barrett spoke with me about producing 20+ years of Writers on Writing, why writers don’t retire, and her debut noir short story collection POOL FISHING.

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett’s first book Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer Within, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and honored with an American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award.

Her latest book of short stories, Pool Fishing, is “... centered around deviant women …. in a world with characters who live on the fringes of society-physically, psychologically, or financially”. 

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is creator, executive producer, and host of the award-winning podcast, Writers on Writing, where she interviews authors, agents, and poets. She taught at the UC-Irvine Extension, where she received a Distinguished Instructors award, and is professor of creative writing at Saddleback College’s Emeritus Institute and lecturer at Chapman University.

Her fiction and poetry have been published in Coolest American Stories 2022, CrimeReads, Dark City Crime & Magazine, Serial Magazine, Beach Reads, among others. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her short story, “Rowboat,” in Kelp Journal (Dec. 2023).

Her essays and articles have also been published in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Orange Coast Magazine, Westways, The Los Angeles Times, Writer’s Digest, and Poets & Writers and many others.

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and I discussed:

Writing Pen on Fire early in her career

Why she feeds off of the energy of the writing community

How to write a noir short story

Hanging out with Raymond Chandler in Beverly Hills

Why you need to quit the negative self talk and be a good literary citizen

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

barbarademarcobarrett.com 

Writers on Writing podcast

Pool Fishing: Stories by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (Amazon) 

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Facebook

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Instagram

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett on Twitter

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

#1 New York Times bestselling author E. Lockhart spoke with us about her past life in academia, falling in love with the YA scene, and returning to the world of TikTok favorite We Were Liars with her latest beachy gothic WE FELL APART.

I am joined by a co-host this week, none other than The Book Babe, Milena Gonzalez.

E. Lockhart is author of #1 New York Times bestsellers We Were Liars (also now a hit original series on Prime Video) and Family of Liars. Her other books include Again Again, Genuine Fraud, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

Recently celebrating 11 years in print, Lockhart’s We Were Liars has sold more than 2 million copies, become a TikTok sensation, and remained a regular New York Times bestseller since its publication.

Her latest novel returns to the world of We Were Liars with WE FELL APART described as “...an intricate, highly bingeable psychological suspense novel exploring themes of privilege, family legacy, freedom, and parental abandonment.” #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games Jennifer Lynn Barnes called it, “Compulsively readable to the very last page.”

E. Lockhart is also the inventor of DC Comics superhero Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero. She has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Award and an honoree for the Printz Award. She has a PhD in English literature from Columbia University and chaired the committee on Young People's Literature for the National Book Awards. 

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file E. Lockhart, Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

The dangers of bottomless espresso

How her process has evolved over the years and across genres

What getting a two-book deal for a YA novel did for her career

Writing the back matter for the new Deluxe Editions of her trilogy

What it was like to Exec. Produce the TV adaptation for We Were Liars

Getting readers to lie about her twist endings

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

emilylockhart.com

We Fell Apart: A We Were Liars Novel by E. Lockhart - Book 3 of 3: We Were Liars (Amazon) 

E. Lockhart Amazon Author Page

Family of Liars: the songs in the novel by E. Lockhart (Spotify)

How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Jennifer Lynn Barnes Writes: Part One - Redux

E. Lockhart on Instagram

E. Lockhart on Twitter

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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

In honor of Novel November and every writer who needs 1000 Words, I'm republishing author Jami Attenberg's interview. Keep calm and write on ...

New York Times bestselling author, Jami Attenberg, spoke with me about documenting the process of being a writer online and off, building a global literary movement, and her latest, 1000 Words: A Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All-Year Round.

Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books of fiction, including The Middlesteins, All Grown Up, and her recent memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You. Her work has been published in 16 languages, she is the founder of the annual #1000WordsofSummer project and maintains the popular Craft Talk newsletter.

Jami Attenberg’s latest is 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. “Inspired by [her] wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this writer’s guide features encouraging essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from [over 50] acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, Celeste Ng, Meg Wolitzer, and Carmen Maria Machado.”

Lit Hub said of the book, “It will be the new Bird by Bird, you heard it here first.” A Booklist, Starred Review called it “A fantastic set of essays… Readers of this collection will feel surrounded and bolstered by like-minded people who have been in the trenches.”

[Discover ⁠The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at ⁠writerfiles.fm⁠]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please ⁠click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Jami Attenberg and I discussed:

The blessing and the curse of knowing you’re a writer 

How she built an online writing community into a literary movement

Her tongue-in-cheek approach to the craft

The reason she uses the seasons as a metaphor for writers

How to harness the power of write-alongs

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

⁠JamiAttenberg.com⁠

⁠1000wordsofsummer.substack.com⁠

⁠1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round⁠ by Jami Attenberg (Amazon)

⁠Jami Attenberg Amazon Author Page⁠

⁠Jami Attenberg on Twitter⁠

⁠Jami Attenberg on Instagram⁠

⁠Kelton Reid on Twitter⁠

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

#bookstagram influencer, reviewer, and writer Milena Gonzalez (aka Diary of a Book Babe) returns to speak to me about hanging out with Jeneva Rose and Penny Zang, her latest five-star finds, and her top book pick of 2025.

Milena Gonzalez graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a double major in Literary Journalism and English. She spent eight years as owner, designer, and screen printer of a small business, Lady & Little. 

Milena is a Southern California mom to three kids. She is currently working on her third novel, a psychological suburban thriller. Learn more about her at diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram.

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Milena Gonzalez and I discussed:

Diving deeper down the Doll Parts rabbit hole

Our future chat with #1 New York Times-bestselling author of We Were Liars, E. Lockhart

Emily Henry’s Netflix adaptation

The importance of finding other voices and your writing community

Adam Skolnick’s return to the podcast

My rapid-fire AMA with Milena

A few gratuitous F-bombs

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer

The Writer Files x Diary of a Book Babe: Vol. 1

Doll Parts: A Playlist by Penny Zang (Spotify)

How Acclaimed Debut Novelist Penny Zang Writes

How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Jeneva Rose Writes

How Acclaimed Debut Novelist Jinwoo Park Writes

diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram

Kelton Reid Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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