The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

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Happy Holidays! Coming Attractions 2019 Dec 22, 2018

Show notes

Happy holidays from the Writer Files, this is just a quick update that we are on hiatus until 2019. Thank you so much for listening and helping us find our audience! I hope 2018 has been a creative, productive, and successful year for your writing life and career, and that you’re setting some ambitious goals for 2019.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews, and leave us a rating or a review on APPLE PODCASTS to help your fellow scribes find us.

I am very looking forward to wiping the slate clean myself and we have some great episodes to look forward to to kick off the podcast when we return in January.

We'll start the next year with a Writer's Brain episode, featuring my esteemed serial co-host and friend, neuroscientist Michael Grybko. He and I got a chance to sit down over coffee in the studio to talk about the fascinating, inextricable link between productivity and creativity on a double-wide special edition of the podcast.

Of course we have more bestselling authors and journalists in the queue where we ll continue our study of their habits, habitats, and brains to learn their secrets.

We'll have more self-publishing superstars in the mix for 2019 and of course more writer porn, so stay tuned for episodes with the illustrious Adam Skolnick and the reclusive Robert Bruce.

I hope you learned as much as I did about how successful writers keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving and avoid writer s block, and I also hope you had a chance to reflect on all you’ve accomplished or hope to accomplish in the coming year.

A big shout out to my two associate producers this year, long time collaborator Clare Garrett, and more recently, the talented Claire Emerson. This show couldn't happen without your help.

You can also explore our archives to find interviews with notable guests that include bestselling authors John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Greg Iles (Natchez Burning), Jay McInerney (Bright Lights, Big City), Kevin Kelly (founder of WIRED magazine), Emma Donoghue (Oscar Nominee for Room), Maria Konnikova (The Confidence Game), Andy Weir (The Martian), Dan Buettner (The Blue Zones), Austin Kleon (Steal Like an Artist), Daniel Pink (When), and many others.

Thank you for tuning in, catch you next year!

Show Notes:

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The Bright Future of Audiobooks with Tina Dietz: Part Two Dec 11, 2018

Show notes

In Part Two of this file the audiobook publisher, award-winning podcast producer, and internationally acclaimed speaker, Tina Dietz, returned to wrap up our chat about her passion for helping authors grow their audiences, why you should produce an audiobook, and the bright future of audio content.

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Tina is an entrepreneur and content marketing expert who has been featured on ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes (to name a few), and her company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, helps authors and entrepreneurs expand their audiences with audio content.

She is an award-winning podcaster and an expert in leveraging and repurposing content, and her company specializes deeply in audiobook production and publishing for one simple reason …

It’s “… the fastest growing, in-demand segment of the book publishing industry,” and the barrier to entry is dropping rapidly.

Tina and her cohorts love to help authors expand their audiences, income, influence, and opportunities.

If you missed the first half you can find it here.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of this file Tina Dietz and I talk about:

The surprising truth about who should, and who should not, narrate their own audiobook
How to decide whether to invest the time and money in professional voice narration or go DIY
The art and science that goes into a bestselling audiobook
Why you can’t rush professionally produced audio
Where to send your audiobook once it s finished
The future of audio content and smart coffee makers
And why you need to fall in love with your own voice and message

The Show Notes:

The Bright Future of Audiobooks with Tina Dietz: Part One
StartSomething Creative Business Solutions – StartSomethingPositive.com
StartSomething Creative Business Solutions on Facebook
ACX
Findaway
Tina’s Blog & Free Resources (incl. Secrets of the 3 Billion Dollar Audiobook World)
Tina Dietz on LinkedIn
Tina Dietz on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Please click the donate button to support the podcast with a secure PayPal donation

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The Bright Future of Audiobooks with Tina Dietz: Part One Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

This week audiobook publisher, award-winning podcast producer, and internationally acclaimed speaker, Tina Dietz, took a timeout to chat with me about her passion for helping authors grow their audiences, why you should produce an audiobook, and the bright future of audio content.

She is an award-winning podcaster and an expert in leveraging and repurposing content, and her company specializes deeply in audiobook production and publishing for one simple reason …

It’s “… the fastest growing, in-demand segment of the book publishing industry,” and the barrier to entry is dropping rapidly.

Tina and her cohorts love to help authors expand their audiences, income, influence, and opportunities.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part One of this file Tina Dietz and I talk about:

The Renaissance of audiobooks, the fastest growing format in publishing
When authors should start thinking about audiobook production
The importance of reading your book out loud for editing
Tina’s twisty journey from voice acting to helping authors’ tell their own stories with audio
Why audiobooks are more popular than ever
And who can benefit the most from publishing an audiobook today

The Show Notes:

The Bright Future of Audiobooks with Tina Dietz: Part Two
StartSomething Creative Business Solutions – StartSomethingPositive.com
StartSomething Creative Business Solutions on Facebook
The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary
Tina’s Blog & Free Resources (incl. Secrets of the
3 Billion Dollar Audiobook World)
Tina Dietz on LinkedIn
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Please click the donate button to support the podcast with a secure PayPal donation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part Two Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

In Part Two of this file the acclaimed New York Times bestselling sci-fi author, Richard K. Morgan, spoke with me from overseas about his winding journey from English tutor to bestseller, having his novel adapted for the small screen, what it’s like to write for Marvel comics, and his unique take on creativity and the writing life.

Richard is best known as the award-winning author of the noir sci-fi novel Altered Carbon (Amazon), a New York Times Notable and Philip K. Dick Award winner, that was recently turned into a hit Netflix series.

[Beware: Some ‘explicit’ language.]

The author of the hard-boiled, “carbon-black,” futuristic thriller series, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (including Altered Carbon), also writes the dark fantasy series A Land Fit for Heroes (The Steel Remains, The Cold Commands, and The Dark Defiles).

His award-winning novels also include stand-alones Market Forces (also optioned for film) and Thirteen, and he’s the author of two volumes of Black Widow comics for Marvel, as well as the Crysis 2 and Syndicate computer games.

His latest novel, Thin Air, is described as “an atmospheric tale of corruption and abduction set on Mars” and it’s a return to his signature hardboiled sci-fi that The New York Times Book Review called, “Ferociously readable.”

Join us for this two-part interview. If you missed the first half you can find it here.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of the file Richard K. Morgan and I discussed:

The writing life and the fallacy of “a hard day’s writing”
How exercise, unplugging, and reading a lot jumpstart creativity
Why good writers live inside of their work
Richard’s candid takes on the incredible influence of Bladerunner and the critics reviews of the Altered Carbon Netflix series
Why serious writers need grit, stamina, and self-confidence
And his entreaty to all aspiring novelists

The Show Notes:

How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part One
Thin Air: A Novel – Richard K. Morgan (Amazon)
RichardKMorgan.com
Fragments of a Jet-lagged Dream – Richard K. Morgan
Richard K. Morgan on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Please click the donate button to support the podcast with a secure PayPal donation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part One Nov 13, 2018

Show notes

Acclaimed New York Times bestselling sci-fi author, Richard K. Morgan, spoke with me from overseas about his winding journey from English tutor to bestseller, having his novel adapted for the small screen, what it’s like to write for Marvel comics, and his unique take on creativity and the writing life.

[Beware: Some ‘explicit’ language.]

Join us for this two-part interview.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part One of the file Richard K. Morgan and I discussed:

His American literary doppelganger
The door that finally opened and dumped him onto the red carpet
How The Sopranos helped change the zeitgeist toward darker fiction
Why luck plays such a big part in success for writers
The author’s hallucinatory visit to the set of the Altered Carbon Netflix series
The two distinct DNA types of writers and the fallacy of block

The Show Notes:

How Bestselling Sci-Fi Author Richard K. Morgan Writes: Part Two
Thin Air: A Novel – Richard K. Morgan (Amazon)
RichardKMorgan.com
Fragments of a Jet-lagged Dream – Richard K. Morgan
Richard K. Morgan on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Please click the donate button to support the podcast with a secure PayPal donation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Professional Comedy Writer & Author James Breakwell Writes: Part Two Nov 06, 2018

Show notes

In Part Two of this file the prolific pro comedy writer, author, and amateur parenting expert, James Breakwell, took a timeout to rap with me about @XplodingUnicorn and his rise to viral Twitter fame, how he juggles multiple writing projects, his family and his sanity, and the writer as entrepreneur.

In the early days of his writing career James told me that he knew he wouldn’t score a book deal sending out query letters or tossing his ideas over the transom, so he decided to build an online following for his unique, self-effacing comedy.

Finding inspiration in his family of four girls all under the age of eight, he turned his attentions to blogging, web comics, podcasting, and family humor on Twitter where he eventually found viral fame.

In 2016 Buzzfeed dubbed him “The Funniest Dad On Twitter” and shortly thereafter his audience grew … in a big way.

He has been featured on media outlets around the world, has attracted over a million followers on social media, has signed multiple book deals, and even writes a column for a newspaper.

His second book, Bare Minimum Parenting: The Ultimate Guide to Not Quite Ruining Your Child, comes out November 6th, 2018, and is “… a book about doing as little as possible without quite ruining your child.”

New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins said, “… Parents! Read this book and free yourself from the blood sport that parenting has become!” And bestselling author Liliana Hart wrote, “Breakwell has a hit … uproariously funny, and at times, unexpectedly poignant.”

Join us for this two-part interview. If you missed the first half you can find it here.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of the file James Breakwell and I discuss:

How he balances his work and family life
The author’s unique workflow and process
How his humor builds on real-life experiences
The difference between comedy and non-fiction
The conundrum of internet fame
And why writers have to like what they’re writing to succeed over the long haul

The Show Notes:

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How Professional Comedy Writer & Author James Breakwell Writes: Part One Oct 30, 2018

Show notes

Prolific pro comedy writer, author, and amateur parenting expert, James Breakwell, took a timeout to rap with me about @XplodingUnicorn and his rise to viral Twitter fame, how he juggles multiple writing projects, his family and his sanity, and the writer as entrepreneur.

In 2016 Buzzfeed dubbed him “The Funniest Dad On Twitter” and shortly thereafter his audience grew … in a big way.

He has been featured on media outlets around the world, has attracted over a million followers on social media, has signed multiple book deals, and even writes a column for a newspaper.

Join us for this two-part interview.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part One of the file James Breakwell and I discussed:

The irony of the 10-year overnight success
Why James hated journalism right out of college
Why it’s better to practice your art in public
How to be so good they can’t ignore you
Why comedy writers need an audience to improve
And the author’s unique process for writing 10,000 words in a day

The Show Notes:

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How Bestselling Self-Published Author Steff Green Writes: Part Two Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

In Part Two of this file the prolific, bestselling author of the paranormal and dark fantasy, Steff Green, returned to talk with me about overcoming rejection, perseverance, her inspiring journey from copywriter to bestseller, and her advice to fellow scribes who may be facing adversity.

Steff Green is a New Zealander who is a fervent self-publishing advocate, public speaker, and a legally blind writer who has turned her disability into a superpower to self-publish 24 books and counting.

She has topped the USA Today bestsellers list writing paranormal romance under the pen name, Steffanie Holmes, and is also the author of six dark fantasy books under the name S C Green.

Steff received both the 2017 Attitude Award for Artistic Achievement, and was a finalist for the 2018 Women of Influence award.

She recently launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise interest and awareness for an anti-bullying storybook for kids that caught the eye of traditional publishing.

That book, Written and illustrated by two artists who were victims of bullying themselves, Only Freaks Turn Things Into Bones uses darkly gothic humour to address the very real issue of being different.”

Join us for this two-part interview. If you missed the first half you can find it here.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of the file Steff Green and I discuss:

Her simple yet effective workflow and organizational hacks
Why curiosity is a synonym for creativity
What motivates the author to write 20,000 words in just a few days
Jack London’s timeless and moving credo
How to read an ebook … with your nose
And why we need to remember why we’re doing this crazy thing called writing

The Show Notes:

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How Bestselling Self-Published Author Steff Green Writes: Part One Oct 16, 2018

Show notes

Prolific, bestselling author of the paranormal and dark fantasy, Steff Green, dropped by the show to talk with me about overcoming rejection, perseverance, her inspiring journey from copywriter to bestseller, and her advice to fellow scribes who may be facing adversity.

She has topped the USA Today bestsellers list writing paranormal romance under the pen name, Steffanie Holmes, and is also the author of six dark fantasy books under the name S C Green.

Steff received both the 2017 Attitude Award for Artistic Achievement, and was a finalist for the 2018 Women of Influence award.

She recently launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise interest and awareness for an anti-bullying storybook for kids that caught the eye of traditional publishing.

Join us for this two-part interview.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part One of the file Steff Green and I discussed:

Why you should never give up on your dreams, no matter the obstacles
How a dare from a friend led to a big breakthrough
Her “rocking” life as a full-time writer
How to juggle multiple pen names and genres
Her obsessions with heavy metal, ancient languages, and checklists
And how to write yourself out of a corner

The Show Notes:

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How Literary Journalist and Novelist Michael Scott Moore Writes Oct 09, 2018

Show notes

The author of the captivity memoir, The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast, Michael Scott Moore joined me this week to talk about his fascinating journey as a writer, how he wrote his harrowing and detailed memoir (much of it without notes), and why it’s changed him as a writer and a person.

Michael is an investigative journalist, novelist, and author of a critically acclaimed folk history of surfing, Sweetness and Blood, named a book of the year by The Economist in 2010.

The author travelled to the Horn of Africa, while researching piracy along the coast of Somalia in 2012, where he was abducted and held captive for over two and half years, for a ransom of $20 million.

In his riveting personal account of the experience, chronicled in The Desert and the Sea, Mike deftly examines the history of piracy, religious extremism, geopolitical factors, and his own dark humor and humanity to capture what reviewers have called, “A harrowing and affecting account of … captivity at the hands of Somali pirates.” (Kirkus)

His story, described as a “Catch-22 meets Black Hawk Down,” has been featured on NPR s All Things Considered, Fresh Air, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, CBS This Morning, The Joe Rogan Experience, and many others.

The author has covered the European migration crisis for Businessweek, and politics, travel, and literature for The Atlantic, Der Spiegel, The New Republic, The New York Times, and The L.A. Review of Books.

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In this file Michael Scott Moore and I discuss:

How the author was able to write about his lengthy and traumatic time as a hostage
Why the discipline of taking handwritten notes is so important for retention
How memory shapes stories so deeply
Why Mike recorded everything he could remember as quickly as he could once he was freed
How the author found an existential detachment in order to stay sane
Why revision is the scaffolding that allows inspiration

The Show Notes:

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