The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
Kelton Reid
“Learn how acclaimed writers keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving, and avoid writer’s block.”
Each week, host Kelton Reid chats with guests like Nobel Prize ...
How NY Times Bestselling Author Emma Knight Writes
New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and entrepreneur Emma Knight spoke to me about finding the courage to write fiction, the Loch Ness Monster of motherhood, and her breakout debut novel The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus.
Emma Knight is an author, journalist, Co-Founder and Head of Brand at Greenhouse, an award-winning organic beverage company, and co-author of The Greenhouse Cookbook (2017), a national bestseller.
Her debut novel and instant New York Times bestseller, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, is described as a “coming-of-age story, part family drama, and part campus novel.”
#1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune called the book “A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us . . . I couldn’t put it down.”
Emma Knight also has an MA in Journalism, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, Literary Hub, and more.
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In this file Emma Knight and I discussed:
The contrast of her whirlwind world tour after five years of writing
Why you can only write one sentence at a time
The process of removing your ego from the work
Taking the same advice she shared with her daughters
Why it's so much better to make things up for a living
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (Amazon)
Emma Knight talks how debut novel is a metaphor for motherhood - Today
Emma Knight on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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34:09
How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Carley Fortune Writes - Redux
#1 New York Times bestselling author, Carley Fortune, spoke to me about her storied career as a journalist, writing a breakout hit in just four months, and her latest novel, MEET ME AT THE LAKE.
Carley Fortune is an award-winning Canadian journalist and the #1 New York Times and #1 Globe and Mail bestselling author of Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After.
Her latest, Meet Me at the Lake, is described as a “...love story about two strangers who come together when they need each other most. Once, in their early twenties, and again a decade later.”
GMA said of the book, "Fortune explores the aftermath of losing a beloved parent and reclaiming a relationship in this unputdownable, witty, soulful and stirring novel." And New York Times bestselling author Jill Santopolo called Meet Me at The Lake “... a beautiful, heart-tugging, love story about secrets, lies, missed connections and second chances.”
Carley has worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and a now-defunct weekly paper, The Grid. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada.
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In this file, Carley Fortune and I discussed:
What prompted her to reclaim her creative energy
How to write 80 thousand words in just four months
Why writers need to keep their expectations realistic and protect their mental health
How she starts planning her novels
Why extroverted writers need to get into real clothes and out of the house
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
carleyfortune.com
Meet Me at the Lake By Carley Fortune (Amazon)
Carley Fortune Amazon Author Page
Carley Fortune on Instagram
Carley Fortune on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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35:42
How Acclaimed Debut Novelist Jeanette Horn Writes
Acclaimed debut novelist and award-winning poet Jeanette Horn spoke to me about writing experimental poetry, getting a fateful call from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and the magical realism in her debut novel PLAY, WITH KNIVES.
Jeanette Horn is an Iowa Writers' Workshop MFA program graduate and was a Maytag Fellow.
Her debut novel, Play, With Knives, is described as the story of “A struggling theater troupe [that] tours the Midwest by surreal train—where aspects of their plays come to life and wreak havoc—in this inventive literary novel.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, said of the book, "Play, With Knives is a work of wondrous imagination—a dream from which I did not want to awaken."
Jeanette also earned a BA in English from the University of Texas, where she won several Adele Steiner Burleson Awards for poetry and essay writing. Her work has appeared in MARGIE, Poetry International, Stand, Washington Square, and other journals.
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In this file Jeanette Horn and I discussed:
What it was like at Iowa's famed Writer's Workshop
Why her debut novel was a labor of love (10 years in the making)
The successful query letter that led to publishing the book
Her true feelings about the cover art
Why it’s ok to write in the margins
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
www.jeanettehorn.com
Play, With Knives by Jeanette Horn (Amazon)
Successful Queries: Jaynie Royal and “Play, With Knives,” by Jeanette Horn
By Any Other Name Paperback by Jodi Picoult (Amazon)
The Stab - jeanettehorn.substack.com
Jeanette Horn on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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34:46
How Award-Winning Journo & The Atlantic Writer Olga Khazan Writes
Award-winning journalist and The Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan spoke to me about the worst way to launch a book, writing long-form watchdog journalism, and her latest ME, BUT BETTER, The Science and Promise of Personality Change.
Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic – covering science, health, and psychology for more than a decade – and the author, previously, of Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World. She was also The Atlantic’s Global editor, and former host of The Atlantic’s podcast How To Start Over.
In her forthcoming book Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change (S&S/Simon Element), she reveals the science behind lasting personality change, and explains how anyone, at any age, can seize the reigns of their destiny.
New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin called the book, “Hilarious, honest, and packed with cutting-edge research…”, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant wrote, “This book shatters the myth that personality is set in stone. Drawing on state-of-the-art evidence and rich personal experience, Olga Khazan artfully reveals what our traits really are—and how we can adapt them to achieve our goals.”
Olga Khazan has also written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Vox, and other publications. She is a two-time recipient of the International Reporting Project’s Journalism Fellowship and winner of the 2017 National Headliner Award for Magazine Online Writing.
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In this file Olga Khazan and I discussed:
How she got her start at The Atlantic
Why she never got to see her first book in a bookstore
Turning a piece of long-form journalism into a book pitch
Why reducing your neuroticism by even a small amount can improve your life
On crappy first drafts
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
olgakhazan.com
Olga Khazan - The Atlantic
Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change by Olga Khazan (Amazon)
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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34:44
Bonus: Matt Haig Reads an Excerpt from 'The Midnight Library' on Storybound - Redux
Matt Haig reads an excerpt from The Midnight Library, backed by an original Storybound remix with Robert Wynia, and sound design and arrangement by Jude Brewer.
Robert Wynia is a founding member of the Portland band Floater. Known for their progressive concept albums, Floater is famous for incorporating stylized storytelling. Wynia also releases music under his own name and released his book Night Walks with its own accompanying soundtrack in 2020.
Storybound comes to you from The Podglomerate and Lit Hub Radio. Season 4 is some of their most inspired work yet, so be sure to subscribe today on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune in.
Matt Haig is the author of 20 books including the #1 bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, five novels – including How to Stop Time – and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into over 40 languages.
His latest novel is The Midnight Library, a runaway, #1 bestseller and reader favorite of 2020. It was a Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction Book of 2020, a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Amazon, the New York Public Library, among many others.
The New York Times said of the book, "An absorbing ... vision of limitless possibility, of new roads taken, of new lives lived, of a whole different world available to us somehow, somewhere, [perhaps] exactly what’s wanted in these troubled and troubling times.”
Stay calm and write on …
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Show Notes:
How NY Times Bestselling Author Matt Haig Writes
MattHaig.com
The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig (Amazon)
Matt Haig Amazon author page
Matt Haig on Instagram
Matt Haig on Facebook
Matt Haig on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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About The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
“Learn how acclaimed writers keep the ink flowing, the cursor moving, and avoid writer’s block.”
Each week, host Kelton Reid chats with guests like Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah, on life after becoming a laureate; #1 New York Times bestselling author, Emily Henry on her past life as a YA mid-lister; Celebrated author, Walter Mosley, on his conflicted feelings after winning a National Book Award; NY Times bestselling author, Lisa Scottoline, on what she learned from literary lion Philip Roth; #1 NY Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane on what he borrowed from Clint Eastwood; and bestselling author, Matt Haig, on the process behind his novel, The Midnight Library, and serial guest hosts: neuroscientist Michael Grybko, journalist Adam Skolnick, and short story writer Robert Bruce.
Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience, Things Bakers Know: The King Arthur Baking Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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