Death Of 1000 Cuts

On today's episode I chat with (my) editor Jo Dingley about finding books, making them better, and getting them to readers. Jo is an editor at Canongate in the UK and has years of experience finding stories, working with authors to make their books better, and helping those books launch and find an audience. We talk through what her job entails, what the secret sauce is that editors are looking fo...

This episode's chat is with author Chris McCrudden, talking geeky comedy, stories, and the hard numbers of book sales. In this wide-ranging chat recorded back in January, Chris talks Greek myth, the perils of satire, his winding road to publication, finding time to write and why writing tips bring him out in hives. We discuss his comedy SF novel BATTLESTAR SUBURBIA and its bracing mix of humour an...

In this episode I chat with New York Times Bestselling Author VE Schwab about magic, moving between worlds and some surprising revelations about pain. We chat about her early work, the very first book she got published, the perils of the 'sophomore slump', rediscovering joy and autonomy in novel writing, and exploring aspects of your personality through different characters. This is a great episod...

In this episode I chat with author Gareth Hanrahan about his Fantasy debut THE GUTTER PRAYER. We geek out about tabletop roleplaying, and the lessons he's learned from making stories up on the spot. He talks through his process for creating worlds and cool stuff within them, and the challenge of writing stories with no protagonists for players to immerse themselves in, versus the challenge of havi...

This episode I chat with author Jess Kidd about death, genre and being haunted by the past. Jess Kidd is the author of HIMSELF, THE HOARDER and most recently, THINGS IN JARS. We talk through her process for writing her novels, and what she's learned along the way. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how can I discover a character's voice? - how do I know what genre I'm writ...

On today's episode I chat to Millie Seaward, publicist for Little, Brown, about the art of getting books to readers. She answers questions like: - what kinds of books are easiest to sell? - what types of books get most reviews? - what makes a book an 'event'? - what's a blog tour and is it worth it? - what types of publicity sell the most books? If you'd like to support me, the podcast and all the...

Today I take a look at a listener's first page and suggest ways to make it better. It's an old school Death Of 1000 Cuts 'In The Barber's Chair' episode. Hurrah! I chat a bit about exposition, writing convincing dialogue, world-building in Fantasy and Science Fiction, and centring your protagonist's conflicts. Lots of meat and potatoes stuff on editing your work to make it better. If you'd like to...

This is the first episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts, Season 3, the podcast for writers. It's all about creative writing, and stories, and how to write more, better, and be happier as you do. In this episode I preview what I've got planned for the new season of the podcast this year, and share my writing goals for 2019. Hopefully you'll be inspired to make some of your own! If you'd like to support me,...

In this episode I chat to researcher, neuroscientist and psychologist Paul J Zak about the power of narrative and what goes on in our brains when we get lost in a great story. We chat about his research into oxytocin and how it affects our decisions, how the brain responds to stories versus events happening in real life, how the physiological costs of paying attention affect the types of story sha...

Today I chat to writer and performer Molly Naylor, about the basics of what makes a story work, vulnerability, and constructing a career in the Arts. Molly co-wrote the Sky comedy drama After Hours, has brought several solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, is a poet, playwright and runs the night True Stories Live in Norwich, where people get on stage and tell true stories from their lives. We get i...

This episode I chat to Australian Fantasy novelist Garth Nix. His career spans over two decades and he's sold more than 5 million books around the world. We chat about how he got started, his love of libraries and Dungeons & Dragons, Tolkien, his time working in publishing, his breakout novel Sabriel and how he wrote it, his philosophy on planning versus discovering as you write, his writing routi...

Buy THE HONOURS: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-honours/ Pre-order THE ICE HOUSE: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-ice-house/ This week the podcast is dedicated to exploring my first novel, THE HONOURS. Today's episode is an unscripted chat about writing the sequel, THE ICE HOUSE. Where it came from, things I love, what matters to me as a writer. That kind of business. Also, a final, impassioned s...

Buy THE HONOURS: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-honours/ Pre-order THE ICE HOUSE: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-ice-house/ This week the podcast is dedicated to exploring my first novel, THE HONOURS. Today's episode dives into the research I did so I could write about 1930s England and the gun-obsessed protagonist, Delphine. I talk as honestly as I can about how I used research as a displacemen...

Buy THE HONOURS: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-honours/ Pre-order THE ICE HOUSE: mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-ice-house/ This week the podcast is dedicated to exploring my first novel, THE HONOURS. This second episode looks at four figures who achieved notoriety between the wars in Britain, and re-examines their reputations - in the eyes of many - as 'monsters'. Who were they? Why were they s...

Buy THE HONOURS: https://mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-honours/ Pre-order THE ICE HOUSE: https://mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-ice-house/ This week the podcast is dedicated to exploring my first novel, THE HONOURS. This first episode is about adventure stories, their roots in social justice, and how the British establishment used them to send a generation to their deaths. My hope for this week...

In this episode I chat to author R F Kuang about her debut novel THE POPPY WAR. We chat Fantasy, grimdark, character arcs, representation of marginalised people, Shonen Manga, maintaining a positive attitude towards your work and writing great fight scenes. You get grab a copy of THE POPPY WAR here: https://wordery.com/the-poppy-war-rf-kuang-9780008239800#oid=1908_1 Here's NK Jemisin's BROKEN EART...

This episode is all about how readers can best help authors they love. Where and when should you buy their books? What's the best way of sharing praise? What can you do to boost authors you want to see more of? And is it possible to do all of this while getting big benefits for yourself, like - I don't know - maybe increased resistance to illness and a longer life? Come with me, friends. If you're...

This is the Death Of 1000 Cuts Pitch Rush Special episode. 55 authors, 55 novels looking for agents and editors. I read out a rapid-fire showcase of 100-word synopses and extracts. This is a great episode to listen to if you're trying to figure out how to pitch your novel, how to write a synopsis, how to write a query letter, and what makes the best extract of your work to share. It's also a great...

In this episode I chat to author R O Kwon about her novel THE INCENDIARIES. We talk about the pain of losing her faith and how her yearning for God lit the fuse that would become THE INCENDIARIES, a story about characters pulled into a religious terrorist sect. We talk about the 10 years the novel took to write, how she dealt with the challenge of writing convincingly about fanaticism, and what it...

Planning on doing NaNoWriMo? Don't. It's a bad idea, and in this episode, I explain why. I also chat about ways you can get yourself writing more, while loving it. This is a writing ramble episode, which is one of my completely unscripted talks with just me, you and the mic. A few people said they'd like to hear my thoughts on NaNoWriMo, so here they are. I hope it stimulates some useful thoughts...

This episode I speak to bestselling author Jonathan Stroud about finding stories, developing characters, and channelling demons. Jonathan Stroud is the author of the 4-book BARTIMAEUS series - about an alternate London run by magicians, and the demons who serve them - which is published in 35 languages and has sold over 6 million copies. He also wrote the LOCKWOOD & CO series, about a plague of gh...

In this episode I chat to author Tade Thompson about creating worlds, unsympathetic protagonists and the 'killable other'. Tade Thompson is the author of ROSEWATER, a near-future SF novel set in Nigeria. We have a great conversation about the roots of his writing in the visual medium of comics, why we're driven to create for ourselves, the uncomfortable truths that lie within us and the art of mak...

This episode I chat to author Kirsty Logan about fairy tales, the subconscious, and stories outside the mainstream. Kirsty Logan is the author of Fantasy novel THE GRACEKEEPERS, about an ocean-filled world where land is scarce, a travelling circus boat, a bear, and a girl charged with tending the souls of the dead. We talk about her fascination with fairy tales while growing up, her short stories,...

In this episode I chat with author and creative writing teacher Andrew Cowan about writing fiction, finding details, perfectionism and helping bring others' stories to life. Andrew talks switching from pottery to fiction, finding his own voice, ways round perfectionism and self-doubt, and his career in teaching creative writing on residential courses and at the University of East Anglia. He shares...

In this episode I chat to Dr Tim Pychyl, psychologist and head of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University, Canada. Tim has devoted over 20 years to the 'breakdown in volitional action' we call procrastination. Since I get more letters about struggling with procrastination than all other creative writing topics combined so I thought it was worth approaching one of the world's lead...