Tag: writer podcast

Keeping Notes of Late Night Ideas… with Gareth L Powell

This month’s special guest Gareth L Powell reveals how he keeps track of story ideas when they come late at night… and then we’re interrupted by a digital overlord.

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TRANSCRIPT

MARK: How do you remember that idea that you have it, say three in the morning?

GARETH: I always have my phone next to the bed. And I can say, “Hey, Siri,” take a note, and just dictate it to the phone.

SIRI: (Interrupting) And then what do you want it to say?

(LAUGHTER)

MARK: I was waiting for that!

SIRI: I created you a note. It’s called BRA.

MARK: Oh. That’s priceless. Thanks for that, Gareth.

GARETH: I thought, my phone is off. I’ll be safe saying this, and I forgot it’s on the damn computer as well… I will go through that process — that I just demonstrated — and then in the morning, because it’s synched up with my desktop, the I just open my notes file and the notes are there waiting for me.

MARK: A comment from Usman here: “22:32. Siri gained sentence.” It’s the end times, people. Oh, fantastic.

Gareth L Powell “Like Easing into a Hot Bath”

This month’s special guest Gareth L Powell reveals how starting a novel is a bit like bath time (without the rubber ducks)…

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TRANSCRIPT

MARK: What’s the thing that makes you think you’re ready to start writing on a project?

GARETH: As I was saying earlier, it is… sort of things gradually accrete, and sort of clump together and, it’s kind of… there isn’t a single kind of, oh, let’s go! But I kind of write my way into it. So I’ll start, you know, I’ll write the first line, I’ll write a paragraph and think hmm, okay. And then I’ll go back and I’ll rewrite the outline. The outline is usually about a page, just a very brief kind of high level overview of the plot. And I’ll rewrite that about ten times to fix it. And then I’ll start writing a first chapter, maybe that won’t be going anywhere, so I’ll start again. Or realise I picked the wrong character, and I just kind of write my way into the book so that by the time I’m about 5000 words in, starting to pick up steam, and I think: right. I know where we’re going now. So I might chop out the all the original stuff, but yeah, it’s kind of like easing yourself into a hot bath.

MARK: (Noting a listener comment): Elinor says this is the most British conversation ever. Tea and a hot bath. Yes. Brilliant.