A Writer's Diary Podcast

Today I share three exercises that might work if you don't have any idea what to write next.

The first is based on something I do in Creative Writing workshops, encouraging students to write the worst dialogue ever.

The second comes out of a trip I paid to Foyles Bookshop in London.

And the third is inspired by the very inspiring Wes Anderson, and his plain yellow notebooks.

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Duration: 00:06:22

What are my principles as a teacher of writing?

I tried to get them down on a single page, and succeeded.

There are five different principles, and here they are.

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Duration: 00:05:14

Here I'm sharing a draft opening to my writing manual. It talks about different writers different ways of drafting. Perhaps one of them is similar to yours - but I'd be surprised if you drafted like Proust, Flaubert or Kerouac.

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Duration: 00:05:23

Here's a bill of fare, a draft contents section, and a sneak preview of what's coming up in the next few weeks and months.

How does this compare to what you know about a book when you begin drafting it?

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Duration: 00:06:03

Today's podcast is about who you are on the page. Is it the writer described in your blurb, or is it a person you've decided to be, for the purposes of what you're writing?

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Duration: 00:05:18

What do we think about before we start writing? What context are we writing in? For me, Climate (to call it that) is front and centre. Here's what I've got to say about acknowledging that's the ground I'm on.

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Duration: 00:05:17

Hello, Happy New Year and welcome to Writer’s Diary 2026.

This is slightly different.

As you can tell, I’m going to be speaking, as well as writing, and the subject this year is going to be writing a book, which I’m going to be starting doing.

You can hear a train go by.

I’m going to be starting doing that, and I’m going to be asking for your help, and I’m going to be bouncing things off you, doing writing exercises, trying those out,

Because.

...

Duration: 00:05:36