Death Of 1000 Cuts

This is Day 3 of the 100 Day Writing Challenge by Tim Clare, a free course via podcast for writers of all levels. Each episode has a 10 minute writing exercise, including a timer, related to some aspect of the craft. Over days and weeks, these build together to help you gain confidence and get match fit for writing whatever you want. This course was made possible by the generous support of Arts Co...

This is Day 2 of the 100 Day Writing Challenge by Tim Clare, a free course via podcast for writers of all levels. Each episode has a 10 minute writing exercise, including a timer, related to some aspect of the craft. Over days and weeks, these build together to help you gain confidence and get match fit for writing whatever you want. This course was made possible by the generous support of Arts Co...

This is Day 1 of the 100 Day Writing Challenge by Tim Clare, a free course via podcast for writers of all levels. Each episode has a 10 minute writing exercise, including a timer, related to some aspect of the craft. Over days and weeks, these build together to help you gain confidence and get match fit for writing whatever you want. This course was made possible by the generous support of Arts Co...

This is the introduction to the 100 Day Writing Challenge, written and presented by author and creative writing teacher Tim Clare. In this episode, Tim Clare explains what the 100 Day Writing Challenge involves, the background to his creating it, and what you'll need if you want to join in. It's a 100 day free writing course by podcast that asks just 10 minutes of writing a day. This course was ma...

In this unscripted, unedited episode I talk about why it can be so hard to let go of old habits when we're writing, and how harsh self-criticism can feel like a safety net, even when it prevents us from learning, planning and creating. If you'd like a free weekly writing exercise you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/gbmfcP If you'd like to support me, it'd be ace if you picked up a copy of my n...

In this episode I chat to Chris Gribble of the National Centre for Writing. We talk about the books that changed his life, and his work at the NCW supporting new and emerging writers. It's a really interesting chat! This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - what does a new writer need? - what challenges do debut authors face? - where can new writers go for help? Here's the Nation...

In this episode I chat to bestselling author Joanne Harris about bending reality, the allure of the trickster, and managing expectations. Joanne has written - and continues to write - in a variety of genres, from Fantasy to Psychological Thrillers, and in this episode we talk about why these stories have more in common than might first appear. We discuss how genre boundaries don't really exist whe...

This is a live episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts, recorded at the National Centre for Writing in Norwich, UK on November 1st. I take a look at some first pages and offer feedback, and the audience join in with their suggestions too. Then I finish by answering some quick questions. It was really fun to do an episode with a roomful of people. I hope you enjoy it! We talk about why error-avoidance and tr...

This episode continues a short series on the psychology of writing, looking at the stories we tell ourselves when we tell stories. Here I look at the many ways in which we might tell ourselves we're not writing the right kind of story, what we write isn't proper fiction, and we're not proper novelists. I talk a bit about the uncomfortable feeling when our intuitive mental image of what a novel or...

In this episode we continue a short series on the psychology of writing. What stories do we tell ourselves when we tell stories? Writing a novel is a long business, and at some point, you're going to hit snags. Your enthusiasm or confidence might lag. Different writers typically have different points where they hit 'the Wall'. What can you do when it feels like your book has come off the rails? Wh...

In this episode I continue our short series about the psychology of writing. What stories do we tell ourselves when we tell stories? I investigate the idea of expectation - the awareness of an audience out there, who will ultimately evaluate the novel you're working on. How might it impact your ability to write? How might your relationship to that putative audience shift over your career? And what...

This episode is the first in a short series about the psychology of writing. What stories do we tell ourselves when we tell stories? How can we write more, write better. and be a little bit happier when we do those things? Drawing on months of conversations with neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists and nearly 200 episodes of podcast, I try to zero in on some answers. More importantly, I g...

In this episode I chat about genres as games, thriving within rulesets, my take on what makes a book 'literary', and how self-criticism doesn't even work on its own terms. If you'd like a free weekly writing exercise you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/gbmfcP If you'd like to support me, it'd be ace if you picked up a copy of my novels, THE HONOURS, & the new sequel THE ICE HOUSE. THE ICE HOUS...

In this episode I chat with poet and playwright Luke Wright about finding your voice, your subject matter, and mixing politics with personal, human drama. Luke Wright is an acclaimed poet with twenty years of performance experience behind him, a slew of hit solo shows and latterly a trio of critically-acclaimed verse plays, the latest of which is THE REMAINS OF LOGAN DANKWORTH. He's also a very go...

On today's show I chat with author Mike Shel about writing Fantasy, indie publishing, writing for games, and tackling anxiety. Mike Shel is the author of THE ACHING GOD and SIN EATER, two Fantasy novels set in a world of danger, suffering and hope. We talk about how he built up the courage to attempt his own novel, his work with Paizo publishing writing adventures for roleplaying game Pathfinder,...

In this episode, I chat about confronting emotions, feeling the big feels, and how facing up to things in life can help inform and supercharge your writing. This is an unedited, unscripted episode, where I talk about what's on my mind. I talk about my work on a new non-fiction book, coming off my meds after over 2 years, death, psychiatry and the terror of feelings. I also talk about ways in which...

In this unscripted, unplanned episode I respond to a listener's email about 2nd drafts and talk about my process. If you'd like to support me, it'd be ace if you picked up a copy of my novels, THE HONOURS, & the new sequel THE ICE HOUSE. THE ICE HOUSE links: Wordery: https://wordery.com/the-ice-house-tim-clare-9781786894816#oid=1908_1 Mr B’s Emporium: https://mrbsemporium.com/shop/books/the-ice-ho...

This is an unscripted, unedited episode where I chat about where I am with my writing and give you some suggestions for dealing with setbacks, energy dips and wrong tracks. If you'd like to support me, it'd be ace if you picked up a copy of my novels, THE HONOURS, & the new sequel THE ICE HOUSE. THE ICE HOUSE links: Wordery: https://wordery.com/the-ice-house-tim-clare-9781786894816#oid=1908_1 Mr B...

On this episode I look at the first page of a listener's work and suggest ways to make it better. I chat about style, the order we reveal information, cutting unnecessary words and point of view. It'll be really useful if you want to get better at editing your own fiction. If you'd like to support me, it'd be ace if you picked up a copy of my novels, THE HONOURS, & the new sequel THE ICE HOUSE. TH...

**HEADS UP, DUE TO A TECH GLITCH THE AUDIO IS NOT SO HOT ON THIS ONE** This is a live episode from Latitude festival, Suffolk. I had a really fun time there chatting to a big old tent o' people about writing. I had a big projector screen and all! As I explain at the start of the episode, the sound technicians had a few problems hooking my recorder up, so the sound quality is pretty poo-poo. I thou...

This is a live episode from Latitude festival, with me chatting to author Kerry Hudson. I chat with Kerry Hudson about her memoir LOWBORN, about class and growing up in poverty, and her novels THIRST and TONY HOGAN BOUGHT ME AN ICE CREAM FLOAT BEFORE HE STOLE MY MA. She talks about how she came to writing - what seemed like - late in life, writing through trauma, and her experiences of feeling lik...

In this episode I chat with Science Fiction & Fantasy author Aliette de Bodard. Aliette de Bodard is an award-winning author who writes everything from big, epic Fantasy down to short stories and flash fiction, with some novellas in the middle. We talk about how she trained herself with flash fiction challenges, her early attempts at novels and what they taught her, and the art of writing characte...

In this episode I chat about the tension between what people want to read, and what we should write to grow and satisfy ourselves as writers. This is a writing ramble episode, which means it's unplanned, unscripted. Just me and a mic, chatting to you about what's on my mind. I hope you enjoy it, but bear in mind these ones are, by nature, a little more discursive than usual. If you'd like to suppo...

In this episode I chat with neuroscientist Adam Green about the science of creativity. Adam Green is a founder and current president of The Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity. We chat about his research into how exogenous neurostimulation (zapping targeted parts of people's brains with electricity) can improve their performance on creative tasks. We chat about the science of transcranial D...

In this episode I chat with Adam Christopher about fanfic, discipline and making a career out of writing both original fiction and stories in existing universes. Adam tells me how he got into writing partly through his love of Doctor Who, and a fandom full of novelisations. He shares his initial overconfidence and how he worked through setbacks to forge a career writing in various universes, such...