Arts

Writer's Routine

by Dan Simpson

BooksArtsLeisure

About the show

How do the best writers get to work? In every episode, we'll chat to an author about their writing day. Where do they work? What time do they start? How do they plan their time and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller? Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

Jenna Helwig, author of 'The Foreign Correspondent's Wife' - Cookbook writer discusses turning to mysteries, being focused with research, and the recipe for a perfect thriller

October 1, 2026 · 43 min

Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cookbookery Collective, a very successful Substack for cookbook lovers. Jenna has published 5 cookbooks…
Benjamin Abravenel, author of 'The Past, Again' - Debut author discusses learning from history, hybrid-publishing, and keeping busy in retirement

September 10, 2026 · 50 min

Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passionate to get heard in the world. When he retired with something like a first draft, he hired a…
Claire McGowan, author of 'The Other Couple' - Million-Copy Bestseller discusses what's changed in 5 years, spreading the net wide, and challening yourself to make things better

September 3, 2026 · 44 min

This week, we're chatting to the million-copy bestseller, Claire McGowan. She's an Amazon bestselling crime and thriller author, with almost 30 novels. Best known for the 'Paula Maguire series', she's also known for non-fiction true crime…
Scott Mariani, author of the 'Ben Hope series' - Bestselling thriller writer discusses keeping the discipline, finding new mysteries, and learning what readers want

August 27, 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

This week we're chatting to one of the UK's best-selling thriller writers. Scott Mariani has published 30 novels in the 'Ben Hope series', a few more in his 'Will Bowman historical thriller adventures', and some chilling books about…
Simon Wroe, author of 'Ghost Month' - BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick discusses listening to your instinct, getting into your characters' heads, and writing a novel for London

August 20, 2026 · 59 min

Simon Wroe started work as a chef and still works in a kitchen. Only this time, he writes novels in them. He's worked as a journalist for The Guardian, The Economist, The Times and more, and his debut, 'Chop Chop', was nominated for the…
Kevin Wade, author of 'One Good Eye' - 'Blue Bloods' showrunner talks learning the rules of crime shows, writing 20 individual mysteries, and switching to novels

August 13, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min

Kevin Wade is a screenwriter and show-runner, behind some of the biggest films and series of recent times. After acting for a bit, he started off penning Off-Broadway plays. Kevin moved on to write on 'Working Girl', 'Meet Joe Black'…
Matt Hill, author of 'Wrecks' - Speculative fiction author discusses a big editing change, feeling guilty about creating, and keeping the pace up

August 6, 2026 · 58 min

Matt Hill is a Philip K. Dick nominated author, having published 6 books over the last 13 years. 'Lamb', 'The Breach', 'Zero Bomb', 'Graft' and 'Folded Man', have all be acclaimed for their prose, innovation and invention... he descibes…
Vaseem Khan, author of 'Quantum of Menace' - CWA Award Winner discusses bringing to life a caricature, having the energy to keep going, and editing on the go

July 30, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

Vaseem Khan tried to be an author for a long time. He wrote widely, in all genres, even analytically studied the greats to learn from how they did it, but kept gettiing rejected. Finally, after many turned down pitches, he landed a deal…