Education

Writer's Routine

Dan Simpson

In every episode we look inside the daily diary of a writer, to peak at the secrets of their success. How do they plan their day and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a...

Episodes

20 of 424 episodes

Daisy Stephens, author of 'The Island of the Lost' - Horror writer discusses making sentences chilling, editing to add more words, and creating a good query letter

Daisy Stephens is a journalist who has written stories forever. When she was young she filled notebooks with them, now living in a house-sha...

55:38Oct 22, 2026

Laurell K. Hamilton, author of 'A Glimmer of Death' - Romantasy writer discusses splitting an entire book in half, finishing a series, and her late ADHD diagnosis

Laurell K. Hamilton is a pioneer of romantasy and urban fantasy. One of the biggest names in the genre, Sarah J. Mass has cited Laurell as a...

1:06:23Oct 15, 2026

Elif Shafak, author of 'In One Brief Moment All Eternity' - Bestselling writer discusses why writing is at the core of humanity, how it damages your health, and why you need to ask childish questions

Elif Shafak is an incredibly successful and influential author. Born in France to Turkish parents, Elif was raised by her single mother and...

1:04:11Oct 8, 2026

Jenna Helwig, author of 'The Foreign Correspondent's Wife' - Cookbook writer discusses turning to mysteries, being focused with research, and the recipe for a perfect thriller

Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cook...

42:33Oct 1, 2026

Benjamin Abravenel, author of 'The Past, Again' - Debut author discusses learning from history, hybrid-publishing, and keeping busy in retirement

Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passiona...

49:57Sep 10, 2026

Claire McGowan, author of 'The Other Couple' - Million-Copy Bestseller discusses what's changed in 5 years, spreading the net wide, and challening yourself to make things better

This week, we're chatting to the million-copy bestseller, Claire McGowan. She's an Amazon bestselling crime and thriller author, with almost...

43:54Sep 3, 2026

Scott Mariani, author of the 'Ben Hope series' - Bestselling thriller writer discusses keeping the discipline, finding new mysteries, and learning what readers want

This week we're chatting to one of the UK's best-selling thriller writers. Scott Mariani has published 30 novels in the 'Ben Hope series', a...

1:15:23Aug 27, 2026

Simon Wroe, author of 'Ghost Month' - BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick discusses listening to your instinct, getting into your characters' heads, and writing a novel for London

Simon Wroe started work as a chef and still works in a kitchen. Only this time, he writes novels in them. He's worked as a journalist for Th...

58:35Aug 20, 2026

Kevin Wade, author of 'One Good Eye' - 'Blue Bloods' showrunner talks learning the rules of crime shows, writing 20 individual mysteries, and switching to novels

Kevin Wade is a screenwriter and show-runner, behind some of the biggest films and series of recent times. After acting for a bit, he starte...

1:02:58Aug 13, 2026

Matt Hill, author of 'Wrecks' - Speculative fiction author discusses a big editing change, feeling guilty about creating, and keeping the pace up

Matt Hill is a Philip K. Dick nominated author, having published 6 books over the last 13 years. 'Lamb', 'The Breach', 'Zero Bomb', 'Graft'...

58:14Aug 6, 2026

Vaseem Khan, author of 'Quantum of Menace' - CWA Award Winner discusses bringing to life a caricature, having the energy to keep going, and editing on the go

Vaseem Khan tried to be an author for a long time. He wrote widely, in all genres, even analytically studied the greats to learn from how th...

1:00:33Jul 30, 2026

Ajay Chowdhury, author of 'Eden Falls' - Thriller writer discusses creating with AI, finishing things off, and writing in different genre

Ajay Chowdhury was the first winner of the Harvill Secker Bloody Scotland Prize. His 'Kamil Rahman' crime stories are incredibly successful,...

52:11Jul 16, 2026

Cathy Bramley, author of 'Somewhere Only We Know' - Sunday Times Bestseller discusses inspiration from location, being particular, and embracing being an author

Cathy Bramley has published 18 novels, and sold over 2 million of them. Since her debut in 2015, it's taken a while to finalise she is actua...

50:35Jul 9, 2026

Julie Owen Moylan, author of 'Elizabeth and Marilyn' - Historical fiction writer discusses thorough research, her path to publication, and remembering you've done the hard stuff before

Julie Owen Moylan's debut novel, 'That Green Eyed Girl', was a Waterstones' Welsh Book of the Month and a runner up for the Paul Torday Memo...

41:11Jul 2, 2026

Joseph Eckert, author of 'The Traveller' - Sci-fi writer discusses great hooks, 15 years of planning, and editorial push-back

This week, we're chatting to Joseph Eckert whose debut novel has been 15 years in the making, and almost took him to Hollywood. It's an incr...

49:34Jun 25, 2026

Foluso Agbaje, author of 'The Talk of the Party' - Thriller writer discusses writing in Dubai, worldwide influences, and her pursuit of perfection

This week, we chat to Foluso Agbaje. Her debut, 'The Parlour Wife', was published to widespread acclaim in 2024. She's following it up with...

50:33Jun 18, 2026

Sara Sheridan, author of 'The Jewel Keepers' - Book of the Year winner discusses treasure hunt thrillers, long lunches, and the role of a writer

Sara Sheridan's 2022 novel, 'The Botanists', was the Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year, and was a pick for 'The Queen's Reading Room'. H...

52:18Jun 11, 2026

Ollie George Clark, author of 'Youngest Faircrest and the Search for a Sorcerer’ - Award-winning writer discusses making reading accessible, why strict word-counts help the pace, and finding the audience

Ollie George Clark is an award-winning right, who is having a moment. He's got 3 new TV comedy-dramas under commission. He's written plays t...

1:03:53Jun 4, 2026

Kate Lord Brown, author of 'The Silver Thread' - Historical fiction bestseller talks about writing out of order, fact or fiction, and thorough research

Kate Lord Brown is a bestselling historical fiction author. She was a finalist in ITV's 'The People's Author Contest', has been shortlisted...

47:42May 28, 2026

Lucy Ashe, author of 'The Model Patient' - Historical Thriller writer discusses finding control, why a book deal changes things, and unpacking therapy

This week, we're chatting to Lucy Ashe. Lucy trained at the Royal Ballet school, and now works as a teacher in Brooklyn, whilst writing bril...

1:00:07May 21, 2026