The Writing Life

Neill Cameron on writing for young comics readers, representation, The Phoenix & MEGA ROBO BROS

Writer and illustrator Neill Cameron is on the pod to talk about his debut novel Freddy Vs School, the long-running comic series MEGA ROBO BROS and contributing to fab weekly children's comic The Phoenix. Neill discusses how he got into comics and writing for younger readers, how he works complex themes into accessible stories, making the comics form easy for new readers and why fart jokes and punchy robots are every bit as important as the serious stuff. Meanwhile, Simon pretends that he gets The Phoenix for his son to read.

ALSO on the pod today is Flo Reynolds, making a return to intro the latest Book Club book in the form of Abir Mukherjee's A Rising Man. Find out more here: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/the-ncw-book-club/ 

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones.

Join our Discord and say hello! https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Check out the amazing NNF City of Literature programme: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/cityoflit-21/ 

Find out more about what we do at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 

Listen to our earlier pod with Anni Domingo: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/anni-domingo-on-the-writing-of-breaking-the-maafa-chain/ 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Ambiguity & metaphor in The Last Good Man with Thomas McMullan

What is The Last Good Man about? When Duncan Peck arrives at a remote village in Dartmoor, he immediately notices the wall towering over it and displaying messages written by the inhabitants. Simon read it as a metaphor for social media and online discourse, Thomas references anonymous, public writing in China, and the book remains resolutely ambiguous. 

Thomas joins us on the pod to discuss the balance of information needed to keep a book ambiguous, with the discussion taking in everything from Gamergate, Twitter, the concept of 'lore', the differences between stage and page, the curious magic inherent to the act of reading and his use of third person present tense to create an unsettling atmosphere.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Find out more about what we do: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Photo by Jonathan Rin.

Writing HADES with Greg Kasavin of Supergiant Games

BAFTA Award-winning writer and games designer Greg Kasavin joins the pod to talk about his work at Supergiant Games, focusing on the critically acclaimed smash hit HADES. The game won five BAFTA awards last week and we spoke to Greg about how he got into writing for games, his background in journalism and how Supergiant strive to merge narrative and gameplay mechanics. Essential listening for anyone interested in interactive fiction, games and narrative design.

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones.

Find out more at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Crowdfunded publishing with Tom Cox

Tom Cox is on the pod talking about his TWO new books out this year, Notebook (out now!) and Villager (out later!). Tom talks to Steph about the inspiration behind his books, including having his backpack stolen and finding himself stranded in Bristol, the importance of place in his writing (and life) and why he turned to Unbound to publish his most recent work. It's a funny, informative and honest look back at an unusual career. As Tom says, "I'm a bit hard to sum up."

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones, who also introduce the judges for the 2021 UEA New Forms Award and Laura Kinsella Fellowship (you'll never guess), plus the brand new Writer's Toolkit Online courses for poets and fiction writers.

Here's some useful links:

• UEA New Forms Award: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/uea-award/ 
• Laura Kinsella Fellowship: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/laura-kinsella-fellowship/ 
• All of our Writer's Toolkit Online courses (including the free ones!): https://courses.nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 
• Some places are still available on our premium Creative Writing Online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/ 
• Tom's website: https://tom-cox.com/ 
• The Unbound crowdfunding page for Villager: https://unbound.com/books/villager/ 
• Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Writing about the slave who became Queen Victoria's goddaughter - with Anni Domingo

Writer and actor Anni Domingo is on the pod to talk about her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain, the remarkable true story of Sara Forbes Bonetta. Anni discusses adapting historical research into a fictionalised retelling, how Covid-19 has disrupted her acting work and how being on our Escalator talent development scheme in 2019 helped develop her writing.

Meanwhile, Simon and Steph talk about our exciting online writing courses and get distracted by the presence of a millionaire shortbread from nearby cafe Smokey Barn. If you're ever in the vicinity of Dragon Hall in Norwich, do pay them a visit!

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Useful links:

Creative Writing Online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/

Donate to Escalator: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/escalator-donations-2020/

Join our free Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Music by Bennet Maples.

Writing creative non-fiction with Sonia Faleiro

Author and journalist Sonia Faleiro joins us to discuss The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing, her new narrative non-fiction book which examines the killing of two teenage girls in India in 2014. Sonia talks to Steph about her route into journalism and how she researches complex topics and then translates them into engaging narratives. It's a conversation packed full of practical advice for non-fiction writers and is also a fascinating discussion of the core themes of The Good Girls.

Content warning: Please do note that this podcast includes discussion of sexual violence throughout which listeners may find distressing.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Some useful links

Join our free Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Dragon Hall Debates events: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/dragon-hall-debates/ 

Our mentoring programme: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/mentoring/ 

Podcast episode featuring mentor Katri Scala: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/how-mentoring-can-help-your-writing/ 

Browse the Creative Writing Online catalogue: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/ 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Photo by Jonathan Ring.

Horatio Clare's journey through madness, mania & healing

Writer and broadcaster Horatio Clare is on the pod this week to talk to Peggy about his latest book, Heavy Light: A Journey Through Madness, Mania and Healing. It is the story of Horatio's own breakdown: a journey through mania, psychosis and treatment in a psychiatric hospital, and onwards to release, recovery and healing. On the podcast he discusses the writing of the book and how he approached translating his real experiences into book form.

Content note: This podcast discusses mental health and attitudes towards treatments. If you are affected by anything discussed on the podcast or want to know more we recommend seeking professional advice. These websites include good resources:

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/

Rethink: https://www.rethink.org/

And for lots of international links: https://checkpointorg.com/global/ 

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Peggy Hughes asking the questions.

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Book for our Editor Insights event: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/editor-insights-with-ella-micheler/ 

Music by Bennet Maples

Photo (c) Caroline Flinders

Theatre in translation with William Gregory & Sue Healy

Translator William Gregory joins us on the pod to discuss translating for the stage, how he started his professional career and the challenges of working on translated material in the UK. William was a (virtual) translator in residence at BCLT from October 2020 to January 2021, and ran the theatre translation workshop during 2020’s BCLT Summer School. On the other side of the conversation is special guest interviewer Sue Healy, Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre in London. It's a wide-ranging conversation full of practical tips for early career translators and fascinating insights for anyone who enjoys a diverse mix of entertainment.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna, who tease upcoming episodes, talk about their current reads and reminisce about people bringing cakes into the office.

Find out more: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

BCLT: http://www.bclt.org.uk/ 

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Thumbnail photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

To Olivia - film adaptation with Stephen Michael Shearer & John Hay

We talk to author Stephen Michael Shearer and director John Hay about To Olivia, the film adaptation of Stephen's book An Unquiet Life. Focusing on the lives of Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl, the film stars Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes and is available on Sky Cinema and Now TV from 19 February 2021. Stephen and John talk about the process of adapting the book and how the collaborative nature of filmmaking influences and changes the source material. Peggy Hughes is asking the questions.

Meanwhile Steph and Simon take another look at the new Early Career Writer's Resource Pack, 'Dialogue' and, inevitably, complain about the weather.

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Find out more about what we do: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

Check out the free Dialogue pack: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/pack-6-dialogue/

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Produced and edited by Simon Jones.

Music by Bennet Maples.

To Olivia, a Sky Original film, available on Sky Cinema and Now TV from 19th February.

Styles of dialogue with Chris Beckett

Author Chris Beckett joins us this week to explore styles of dialogue in literature and how Chris uses it in his novel Two Tribes. Covering topics as wide-ranging as conversation-as-animal-grooming to Brexit, Chris shares his tips and insight into how humans interact and different ways of capturing that on the page. Asking the questions is Sam Ruddock of Gatehouse Press and Story Machines Productions.

This episode is part of our Early Career Writer's Resource Pack focusing on dialogue in prose fiction, scriptwriting and comics. Find more from Hannah Berry, Femi Kayode, Carys Davies and Taylor Beidler at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/pack-6-dialogue/ 

Made possible by support from Arts Council England.

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones.

Find out more about what we do: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

More on our Early Career Awards: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/early-career-awards/

Music by Bennet Maples.