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The Five Rules of Writing
All writers have rules they swear by – or love to break. In this series of podcasts, writers discuss the “always”, “nevers” and “only in emergencies” of producing the work in which they are expert.
Episode 20 – Novelist Jan Carson on how to write about Northern Ireland
Jan Carson, whose most recent novel The Raptures concerns a spate of deaths at a rural Protestant Northern Ireland primary school, on her five rules for writing about the province.
@JanCarson7280
The Raptures: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1115884/the-raptures/9780857525758.html
Episode 19 – Music biographer Richard Balls on how to interview difficult people
Richard Balls, author of the superb Shane MacGowan biography, A Furious Devotion, on his five rules for interviewing someone who has little desire to cooperate.
@RichardBalls
A Furious Devotion: The Life Of Shane MacGowan: https://omnibuspress.com/products/a-furious-devotion-the-life-of-shane-macgowan-published-on-7th-october-2021
Episode 18 – Idler magazine editor Tom Hodgkinson on how to write idly
Tom Hodgkinson, whose magazine is devoted to the quest for maximum satisfaction from minimum effort, on where writing fits with this equation.
@idler
The Idler: https://www.idler.co.uk/
An Idler’s Manual: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/IDLERS-MANUAL-by-TOM-HODKINSON/9781901170344
Episode 17 – Debut novelist Virginia Feito on how to write an unlikeable character
First-time author of the sublime Mrs March, Virginia Feito shares her five rules on writing “a gloriously grotesque antiheroine.”
Buy Mrs March here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/mrs-march-virginia-feito
Episode 16 – Journalist and author Lesley-Ann Jones on how to write a rock biography
Lesley-Ann Jones, Fleet Street survivor and writer of the recent Love of my Life about the relationships of Freddie Mercury, on how to write a rock biography.
Buy Love Of My Life here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lesley-ann-jones/love-of-my-life/9781529362343/
@LAJWriter
Episode 15 – Songwriter and lyricist Rob Davis on how to write a hit song
Rob Davis, guitarist with glam nobility Mud and co-composer of Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head, on how to write hit records.
@RobDavisSongs
Episode 14 – Nina-Sophia Miralles on how to write about Vogue
Author and editor of the Londnr culture website Nina-Sophia Miralles, on her five rules of writing about the ultra-haughty fashion bible, Vogue magazine.
@Londnr
Episode 13 – Jay Glennie on how to write about the making of Hollywood movies
Author and publisher Jay Glennie, who specialises in deeply researched records of the making of classic films, on the five rules of getting A-list movie folk to share their stories.
Buy the sumptuous limited edition Raging Bull – The Making Of: https://www.coattail-publications.com/
@JayAGlennie
Episode 12 – French novelist Jean-Baptiste Andrea on how to write that difficult second novel
Film director, screenwriter and bestselling French author Jean-Baptiste Andrea, on writing his second novel One Hundred Million Years and a Day, one of Strong Words’ 20 best books of 2020.
Episode 11 – Author and journalist Pete Paphides on how to write about childhood
Music writer and author Pete Paphides, whose autobiography Broken Greek describes the vital role played by the Top 40 in his formative years, discusses his seven (!) rules of writing about one’s own infancy.
@petepaphides
Episode 10 – Tom Holland on how to write riveting ancient history
Ancient historian Tom Holland, author of bestselling works on Julius Caesar, the first Roman emperors, Persia in its imperial pomp and a history of Christianity, on turning the remote past into a gripping read.
@holland_tom
Episode 9 – Dr Gillian O’Brien on studying Ireland’s history via its sites of “dark tourism.”
Dr Gillian O’Brien, historian and author of the superb “The Darkness Echoing,” on her “dark tourism” itinerary of Ireland’s “places of famine, death and rebellion.”
Episode 8 – Words and picture sisters Scarlett and Sophie Rickard on making stunning graphic novels
In episode 8 of The Five Rules of Writing, Scarlett and Sophie Rickard describe how they turned Robert Tressell’s “intimidating” Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists into a dazzling page-turner of a graphic novel.
Episode 7 – Journalist and author Dylan Jones on the art of interviewing for an oral biography
In episode 7 of The Five Rules of Writing, Dylan Jones, the GQ editor and author of entire libraries on music, politics and culture, provides instruction for those wondering how to write an oral biography.
Episode 6 – Horror king Matt Wesolowski on how to write supernaturally-tinged crime
In episode 6 of the Five Rules of Writing, Matt Wesolowski, creator of the “Six Stories” brand of podcast-as-novel ultra-creepiness, on how to scare your readers witless.
Episode 5 – Cultural inspector David Hepworth on how to write rock history
In episode 5 of the Five Rules of Writing, David Hepworth, the journalist, broadcaster and writer of several bestselling volumes on how rock music changed the world, shares his views on how it’s done. You won’t be needing a chair.
Episode 4 – Thriller novelist Sabine Durrant on generating exquisite tension
In episode 4 of The Five Rules of Writing, Sabine Durrant, a masterful creator of unnerving domestic tension, sheds a little light on her techniques, including a superb method for surprising yourself.
Episode 3 – Crime writer Mark Billingham on writing at the darker end of the spectrum
In episode 3 of The Five Rules of Writing, novelist Mark Billingham shares some of the keys to writing bestselling crime stories around calculating psychopaths, including the need to keep your killer in plain sight, and the correct number of twists permitted per plot.
Episode 2 – Novelist Anthony Quinn on writing a love letter to Jürgen Klopp
In episode 2 of The Five Rules of Writing, novelist and Liverpool FC obsessive Anthony Quinn talks about how he set aside his fiction writing toolkit to compose an appreciation of Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, even going as far as to sit through press conferences in German, a language which he doesn’t speak.
Episode 1 – Tammy Cohen on writing novels as two people