Hi and welcome to this brief message about the Creative Writer’s Toolbelt podcast. I have news! The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt is relaunching on Friday 3rd September. To catch all the new episodes you can subscribe to the podcast here:https://the-creative-writers-toolbelt.castos.com/After a hiatus of about 18 months I am restarting the podcast. The core mission of the podcast wont be changing. Like you, I love writing and The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt will continue in its purpose of helping...

Has the Covid19 virus forced you into being at home with time on your hands? Could now be the time to start that memoir project you've been meaning to get around to for so long? If so, this is the episode for you. My guest for this episode is the journalist, editor, commissioning editor and speaker Ali Hull. Ali has worked with over 100 authors on their book projects, many of which have been memoirs and together we chart a path through the job and pain that is writing your memoir.

Yes I'm back! I want to do two or three more episodes before I finish, to address the extraordinary times we are living in, and in this episode I am talking to two writer / entrepreneurs, Wendy H Jones and Abidemi Sanusi about how writers can survive and thrive in Lockdown. We discuss motivation, routine, self-care for writers, and just getting started.

Sadly, this is the last episode of the podcast, at least for now. From the end of March I am putting The Creative Writer's Toolbelt on hiatus. Listen to this episode for my explanation of why I am finishing (nothing sinister!) and news about a possible writer's event that I'd like to host at some point in the future somewhere in the UK.

This episode features one of my favourite guests, an editor who manages to combine a formidable expertise with a friendly and accessible manner, you’ll most likely know her from her YouTube channel, but she also featured in a two part episode on the podcast in 2018, it’s the wonderful Ellen Brock. In this conversation Ellen gives us some recommended reading for mastering the structure of story, provides some insights on how to manage point of view in close third person, and also gives us some...

This episode is a conversation with Barbara Poelle, agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. We talk about the importance of having good critique partners, how to approach an agent at a conference, and that old favourite – showing not telling. Enjoy!

This episode is a conversation with the Vietnamese born writer, Abbigail N. Rosewood, about her first novel 'If I had two lives'. In this conversation we talk about withholding judgement to maintain the story, how to use sensory information to introduce a character, how honesty can lead to empathy, and what it means to be understood as a writer.

Writing is hard, branding and marketing can be even harder! So I was delighted to have the chance to talk to branding and marketing expert Dana Kaye. Dana works with authors to develop a coherent authentic brand, and effective and innovating marketing initiatives.

This episode features a friend of mine who has worked hard to overcome the issues so many of us writers face. Joan Histon is a writer, a speaker, and a spiritual director. She has faced the kinds of challenges and obstacles that you and I have faced with our writing, and yet she overcome these, and has now published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and she has a three-book publishing deal. How did she get there? How did she power through to the success she has now had? I...

This episode is a conversation with Hollywood script writer, ad exec, and YA author Gregg Millman. Gregg has been on the writing teams for documentaries, films and TV series, and more recently has worked with a number of global brands across a range of media and platforms.In this episode we talk about the process by which TV drama’s get written, how advertising works, and the power of editing. We also talk about the changing nature of YA writing, the importance of the book cover, and how...

Have you ever wanted to write for the theatre but haven’t had the incentive or help to get do it? Have you ever wondered what makes a Broadway producer decide to bring a show to the bright lights and the big stage? Well you are about to find out because this episode is a conversation with Tony award winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport. Ken shares his insights for writing and launching your work.

This episode can be summed up with a single, wonderful word: encouragement! My guest is the author, artist, and coach Cynthia Morris, and in this episode we discuss the fears writer's feel, the need to be kind to ourselves, and how we should sneak up on ourselves to write something great.

Do you trust your work? Do you trust yourself enough to let your work go wherever it wants to go, to be authentic? That’s one of the questions, and challenges I explore with my guest in this episode of the podcast. His name is Brother Guy Consolmagno, and he is a Jesuit Brother and also an MIT trained research astronomer and he is currently the Director of the Vatican Observatory, making him in colloquial terms, the Pope’s Astronomer.

One of the most popular genres for fiction writers is the murder mystery or police procedural. But this is also a genre where writers can easily get things wrong. In this episode I'm joined by crime writer Wendy H Jones and we speak to Patrick O’Donnell, a serving officer with 25 years of experience in a large city police department in the US. In this conversation we cover: responding to a homicide, the arrest and court process, hostage situations, and what writers usually get wrong with...

This is a special episode examining the rise in the popularity and influence of Chinese Science Fiction. In the last twenty years, Chinese Sci Fi has flourished across a range of media, spurred by successes like Liu Cixin's Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem, and this year's Chinese funded and created movie The Wandering Earth. In this episode I talk to two writers: Chen Qiufan and Peng Simeng, and an editor, Gabrielle Wei of Science Fiction World, all based in China, to discuss...

My guest for this episode is my friend Sarah Werner. Sarah is a creator, producer, and encourager of fellow creatives. She is also the host of the 'Write Now' and 'Girl In Space' podcasts. Sarah always manages to combine warmth and wisdom in what she says, and in this conversation she shares insights and practical tips for developing perseverance and resilience as a creative, developing a brand for ourselves and our work, and the why and how of creating your own podcast as a writer.

This episode starts with a request. Tell me your writing challenges! What are the technical craft problems you're facing? Give me the challenge of research and presenting a solution for you and all of us here on the podcast. Also, it's story time. Sit back and listen to the original, unpublished opening chapter to 'The Centauri Survivors' my recently published novel.

My guest for this episode is Abidemi Sanusi. Abidemi is a Nigerian born former human rights worker turned author, and has been writing and publishing books across multiple genres for fifteen years. Her novel, Eyo, about a 10 year old girl trafficked to the UK with promises of a better life, was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. She's also the founder of abidemi.tv, the website for ambitious writers', and she provides business success templates for freelance writers. A...

My guest for this episode has spent over 40 years in the publishing business, editing everyone from Professor Stephen Hawking to Douglas Adams. And now it's his turn to write a book rather than edit one, and so Peter has written "Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons from Over the Rainbow" a look at the wisdom we can glean from one of the greatest films ever made, which went out on general release on this date 25th August, exactly 80 years ago.

This episode is the second part of my conversation with Orna Ross: poet, author and founder and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Here Orna and I discuss the amazing impact of self-publishing, the rise of the indie author, the priorities for indie authors, the challenges that they face, and how they can benefit from being part of ALLi, the largest global non-profit organisation for independent authors.

The combination of new social media platforms and the rise of opportunities for self publishing has led to an amazing renaissance in poetry and poetic expression, both digitally and on the page. This is truly an exciting time for poets, and there are lots of new opportunities for poetic expression opening up. In this episode I talk to award winning author and poet Orna Ross about her work and the ways in which new and established poets can take advantage of the resources that are available.

This episode features a conversation with me about my book "The Centauri Survivors" which is published today, and explores some of the lessons any author can learn as publication day approaches. I'm the guest for this one and the questions are being asked by my friend Wendy H. Jones. In this episode we explore issues like: the biggest mistakes I made along the way, the difficult decisions I had to make in editing, and why every author, however experienced they are, gets nervous just before...

Writers are becoming more convinced of the need to use professionals to help them with their work, and one of the essential members of the team is the Development Editor. But what do Development Editors do and how can they add value? In this episode I talk to my development editor Amanda Rutter who worked with me on my book The Centauri Survivors. We explore how writers should approach this stage of the edit, and how to get the best out of the relationship with your Development Editor.

This episode is a response to an issue I’ve been discussing with a listener. We talked about characters who seem to take over the story, who depart from the script and, as the title of this podcast suggests, go rogue. In this episode we look at what a rogue character is, why characters go rogue and what you can do about it.