Companion Pieces

Another quiet episode where I talk for five minutes while you get ready to do 15 minutes of work, and, after the 15 minutes, return to pat you on the back. Books mentioned: The Left Hand of Darkness , by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne , by Jonathan Stroud. Sound for the 15 minutes: rain on the woodshed, by the pied wagtail nest. This is the last episode of this season. I’ll...

I talk about what I’ve been reading and what I’ve learned from it, craft-wise, and then I get my head down and do 15 minutes of work, while you do the same. Sound for the 15 minutes: what I can hear out of my studio window, including tree sparrows, a whitethroat, plenty of rooks, an oystercatcher and the gamekeeper’s dogs barking (in the distance). Books mentioned: Rivers of London , by Ben Aarono...

I talk about plot and structure, and getting half-way through my target word-count without having really got half-way through the plot. As always, that’s followed by 15 minutes of sound for you to work to. Sound for the 15 minutes: the six pied wagtail nestlings in my woodshed (now successfully fledged), and their parents. Books mentioned: The Science of Storytelling , by Will Storr, and Save the...

I talk for about ‘comp titles,’ figuring out who my book could be for, and the importance of knowing what your secondary characters might be up to while the main characters are getting on with the plot. Sound for the 15 minutes: wind in the cherry trees with background cuckoo and lambs. Books mentioned: Northern Lights by Philip Pullman; and The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. This is a...

I talk about using tropes from other genres (while you get ready to work), spend 15 minutes thinking about how romance tropes could help my book (while you do 15 minutes of your own work), then sum up (while you relax). Book mentioned (that I haven’t already mentioned): The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good , by Kirsty Applebaum. Link to the list of romance tropes I used: https://jerichowriters...

I talk about what I’ve taken from the books I’ve been reading recently, and my wish to be a bit funnier in the book I’m writing. Then - as usual - there are 15 minutes of sound for you to do your creative work to, and then I come back and sum up. Books mentioned: The Bone Clocks , by David Mitchell; The Catcher in the Rye , by J. D. Salinger; and The Wee Free Men , by Terry Pratchett. Sound for th...

I talk about writing ups and downs, give us 15 minutes to get some work done - in my case, correcting voice typing - and wonder whether voice typing is as good a way of moving from notebook to computer as I thought it’d be. Podcast mentioned: Making Trouble with Molly Naylor: The Trouble with Time, featuring Ian McMillan. Sound for the 15 minutes: evening garden noises, including a male pheasant s...

Some particularly lovely sounds this week as spring springs round here (bees, lambs, all kinds of birds). Otherwise, me talking about a difficult writing week and giving myself (and you, if you need it) a pep-talk. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drawingfromtheinkwell.substack.com

I talk about quiet moments in books (scenes of lower conflict), my experience of re-reading a favourite childhood author, and making lists. But most importantly, I give you 15 minutes of gentle sound to do some creative work to. Book mentioned: The Magicians of Caprona , by Diana Wynne Jones. Podcast mentioned: Death of 1000 Cuts , hosted by Tim Clare. Sound for the 15 minutes: the burn (stream) b...

I talk about books I’ve been reading that have multiple main characters, and things I’ve learned from them - or haven’t. But mostly, as usual, this is 15 minutes of quiet time to get some work done. Books mentioned: The Night Watch , by Sarah Waters, and The Golem and the Jinni , by Helene Wecker. Sound for the 15 minutes: noises from the garden (including common gulls, sheep, and farm traffic). T...

As always, this is a podcast to ease you into doing 15 minutes of focused work, and then pat you on the back (aurally) once you’ve done it. In this episode, I talk briefly about what needs to happen in acts I and II of a novel in the three-act structure, and spend a little time figuring out what to do with my 15 minutes. This episode is especially for you if you know you’d like to do some kind of...

I talk about diversity of mood, action, and setting. Then I go into more detail than you need on my research. I make a good start on a new scene. And finally I sum up. Sound for the 15 minutes: wind in the trees, with common gulls, oystercatchers, linnets and chaffinches. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drawi...

I discuss the success and failure of different ways of getting myself to write, spend 15 minutes thinking of possible answers to a plot question (while you also work), then come back with a quick summing-up and a book recommendation. Sound for the 15 minutes: birds in the breeze in the cherry tree (mostly linnets and chaffinches, I think). Books mentioned: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, and T...

You know the drill: I talk while you prepare, I write while you write/draw/whatever, then I sum up and you pat yourself on the back for having done 15 minutes’ good work. Sound in this episode: Sound in this episode: wind and birds in the beech hedge, including coal tits, a very assertive tree sparrow, and some passing jackdaws. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with othe...

I talk about linking plot and character. Then I write a first draft of my opening scene (!), while you have 15 minutes to do your own work. Afterwards, I discuss writing in the first person, and ways of cursing and wishing in Roman Britain. Book mentioned: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. Sound for the 15 minutes: birds in the cherry tree. This is a public episode. If you would like to d...

I have only 15 minutes to write, so I do 15 minutes of writing. (And invite you to spend 15 minutes on your own creative work.) People and things mentioned: Charlotte Durance , and her play sketchbook. Poetry Unbound , with Pádraig Ó Tuama. Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of Beowulf. Sound for the 15 minutes: the burn under the bridge. You may also hear a dipper (the UK’s only aquatic songbird...

I talk about writing up to a word limit, versus cutting down to it, and spend 15 minutes writing some words that I can cut. Sound for the 15 minutes: SUNSHINE!! (Wind and birds in the branches.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drawingfromtheinkwell.substack.com

In which: I feel I’ve been having too much fun and ought to do the boring but essential work of figuring out what happens in my book; I have doubts about how essential that really is, but spend 15 minutes on it anyway; and I come back feeling more cheerful. Sound: the wind in the trees, with very occasional bird noises. Book mentioned: Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge. This is a public episode. If...

If you’re finding this series helpful or interesting, please would you recommend it, and maybe even review it? It’s available through most podcast platforms (but not Spotify), and also on Substack. I talk for a little under three minutes at the beginning of this episode, so please be prepared to be prepared to do your creative work. A longer summing-up, though, so you can look forward to a break d...

I talk about Beowulf for five minutes (while you get yourself geared up to work), set myself a slightly-too-difficult task, find it is slightly-too-difficult, pick myself up, dust myself down, misquote some poetry, and decide to do something easier next time. Referred to in this episode: Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf translation, The Song of Hiawatha (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), and Night Mail (W.H. Au...

Another episode where I make time and space for me - and you - to do some creative work. Topics touched on: the importance of fun, the weather in South-East England in 479 CE, and the weather in Scotland right now. To let me know if there’s anything you’d like more of in Companion Pieces, please take this survey: https://drawingfromtheinkwell.substack.com/survey/5956457 It has been very sweet to h...

1. I chat. 2. I go quiet. 3. I write and you write (or draw, or anything else you need 15 minutes of focus on). 4. I sum up. More specifically: I find that the more I read over my notes, the more notes I make, without ever quite starting writing this book. I set off to describe Grendel’s mother and find that the language of Beowulf is too fresh in my brain. I ponder what listeners might like more...

I spend five minutes having a quiet crisis about having written a lot on the book without actually having written any of the book, spend 15 minutes writing, and cheer up. Please use the 15 minutes to do your own creative work. Books mentioned: The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White, and The Tree that Sat Down by Beverly Nichols. The 15 minutes of quiet sound in this episode is the rain on the roof...

I congratulate you on sticking around for a fourth episode. I talk briefly about how the writing’s going, then spend 15 minutes grappling with the ethics of drinking from a talking skull, and report back. Feel free to use the 15 minutes in the same way, or to work on some other creative project. The quiet minutes in this episode are soundtracked by the crackling of my studio fire (and the wind in...

In this episode, I continue to pursue the voice of one of my main characters and make some discoveries about the otherworld. As usual, you get a bit of chat from me, fifteen minutes of quiet to concentrate on your own work, and a little bit more chat. The sound for the fifteen minutes was recorded under the elder trees in a field near my house. Contains funny partridge noises and a little farm tra...