This Writing Life

This Writing Life

By James KiddArtsBooksFiction
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This Writing Life episodes

  • Episode 85 - DBC Pierre: Part 4

    The fourth and final part of DBC Pierre's conversation with This Writing Life podcast begins with a discussion of fraud. Pierre writes about this at the start of his excellent writing guide, Release the Bats, and hit headlines following his Man Booker victory for seemingly defrauding a former friend out of his house. ----more----After some Jeffrey Archer preamble, Pierre responds ('I think I can be concise'):

    • 'There are in the liar and the bullshitter a great many qualities which are useful to fiction writing...It is incredibly useful to have been a bullshitter, but at a certain point you need to have made the distinction between what is and isn't.'
  • 'I wasn't a happy fraud...You need to remain ignorant for that to work...'
  • 'People bullshit because their worlds aren't good enough...'
  • 'Life's too complicated to be disappointing'
  • living up to Vernon God Little: Pierre on his life of writing
  • parties, agents and writing with people looking over your shoulder
  • the future (and beer at the Faber Social)

    • Release the Bats is published by Faber & Faber and can be bought: here.

    14 min
  • Episode 84 - DBC Pierre: Part 3

    'I don't believe in inspiration.' So says DBC Pierre at the start of his third This Writing Life podcast, brought to you after two small party political broadcasts. Following a little drug chatter, I ask how Pierre disorients his senses these days? ----more---- From here we meander to:

    •  how Pierre gets down to writing
  • how Pierre started writing, circa Vernon God Little
  • 'I had a mindset that writing was for masters...and would be way above me'
  • Pierre's handwriting challenge
  • how did Pierre get over his literary anxiety?
  • 'I wrote in anger one day...'
  • who was on Pierre's jury of imaginary readers?
  • Pierre as one of life's observers

    •  Part four of four to follow.

    13 min
  • Episode 83 - This Writing Life Special: Richard Russo on 2016's US Presidential Election
    Richard Russo has written 11 books, 8 screenplays, won a Pulitzer Prize (for Empire Falls), and most recently published the excellent Everybody's Fool, the sequel to one of This Writing Life's favourite novels, Nobody's Fool.


    When we met in London, we talked about everything from book signings to working with Paul Newman. Russo also discussed Clinton-Trump and the 2016 US Presidential Race. This Writing Life posts it now as a Special Podcast. The exchange begins with some general chatter on confusion and self-made men.


    Our lengthy interview with Richard will be posted later in 2016.

    7 min
  • Episode 83 - This Writing Life Special: Richard Russo on 2016’s US Presidential Election
    Richard Russo has written 11 books, 8 screenplays, won a Pulitzer Prize (for Empire Falls), and most recently published the excellent Everybody's Fool, the sequel to one of This Writing Life's favourite novels, Nobody's Fool.


    When we met in London, we talked about everything from book signings to working with Paul Newman. Russo also discussed Clinton-Trump and the 2016 US Presidential Race. This Writing Life posts it now as a Special Podcast. The exchange begins with some general chatter on confusion and self-made men.


    Our lengthy interview with Richard will be posted later in 2016.

    7 min
  • Episode 82 - This Writing Life Special: Gary Younge on 2016's US Presidential Election
    With a week to go before polling day in 2016's US Presidential Election, This Writing Life posts the first of two special 'Clinton-Trump' podcasts. The first is part of a longer and forthcoming interview with journalist Gary Younge about his extraordinary book, Another Day in the Death of America.


    At the end of our conversation, I asked Younge for his take on Trump vs Clinton. Having spent well over a decade reporting on American politics, society and culture for the Guardian, he had plenty to say.


    The rest of the interview will be posted later in November.

    6 min
  • Episode 82 - This Writing Life Special: Gary Younge on 2016’s US Presidential Election
    With a week to go before polling day in 2016's US Presidential Election, This Writing Life posts the first of two special 'Clinton-Trump' podcasts. The first is part of a longer and forthcoming interview with journalist Gary Younge about his extraordinary book, Another Day in the Death of America.


    At the end of our conversation, I asked Younge for his take on Trump vs Clinton. Having spent well over a decade reporting on American politics, society and culture for the Guardian, he had plenty to say.


    The rest of the interview will be posted later in November.

    6 min
  • Episode 81 - DBC Pierre: Part 2

    In his second This Writing Life podcast, DBC Pierre talks learning to write by remembering what he has read. For dialogue, he looked to Len Deighton.

    ----more----
    After a discussion of how written speech differs from spoken speech, he moved towards:

    • tell vs show: writing dialogue in Vernon God Little
  • is Pierre an instinctive writer?
  • 'I am going to speak differently to you than I will to the Queen or a child or an enemy'
  • how flamenco on late night Spanish television helped Pierre find his voice in Release the Bats
  • 'rocket fuel': Pierre's enthusiasm for writing and writers
  • what stops Pierre writing?
  • dog racing, writers and nature
  • 'I am the black sheep in the family. It is my job to have lots of promise and not to fulfil it.'
  • Pierre's father and family hierarchy
  • did Pierre worry that analysing the creative process might wreck the creative process?
  • Pierre on 'the century of neuropsychology'
  • 'Nothing has changed in human nature in two and half million years'
  • 'Our anger and conflict...drive us to write'
  • does writing help?

    • Part three to follow. 

    18 min
  • Episode 80 - DBC Pierre: Part 1

    Part one of DBC Pierre's interview chat with This Writing Life podcast starts in media res. With a fan blowing our hair in attractive fashion (apologies for the whoosh behind the voices), we talked on a lovely summer's day at a London hotel. Pierre was in town to launch his new book, Release the Bats, an exuberant, personal and inspiring writing guide, with hints of memoir. A call-to-pen with hints about his colourful life. ----more----


    As the tape tolls, we are talking about talking about Will Carruthers' memoir, Playing the Bass with Three Hands: Pierre was to appear at an event with the former Spiritualized bassist that evening. After some meditation on the hotter aspects of being a bass player (some caution is advised), we meander via music, the composition of Pierre's Man Booker winning Vernon God Little, and Pierre: the frustrated rock star. From here we saunter to:

    • Pierre's own music taste
  • why Pierre doesn't listen to music: 'The music provides a soundtrack that makes the writing better than it is'
  • why Pierre writes throughout the night
  • Pierre's routine for writing Vernon God Little
  • 'You can go crazy at night and let yourself fly'
  • losing the plot and creating a plot: Pierre, licence and liminal spaces
  • writing vs editing
  • to plan or not to plan, that is the question...
  • non-fiction vs fiction
  • why write Release the Bats?
  • Pierre on creative writing courses

    • Part 2 of 4 to follow.


    18 min
  • Episode 78 - Rosa Rankin-Gee: Part 4
    Part four of Rosa Rankin-Gee's This Writing Life podcast interview opens with some bad pronunciation, some Borges, a little light reading and some Vocalzone throat lozenge chatter. Rosa really begins by examining the idea of imagining the worst things possible as a way of forestalling the worst reality possible. ----more----

    • too much too young? Are children today under too much pressure?

  • what Rosa knew as a teenager?
  • reinvention, social media, the internet and youth
  • is there an innocence in The Last Kings of Sark that would be impossible in ten years?
  • what next for Rosa Rankin-Gee (that difficult second novel)?
  • The Book Club: Rosa's Parisian salon/soiree...
  • DJ Rankin-Gee: 'Craig David's all over their boink....'
  • Rankin-Gee en Paris

  • The Goldfinch, Yoko Ono, Mary Renault: final book chatter and hissing
    • Rosa Rankin-Gee's website is: here.

    17 min

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