Welcome to episode 165 of the Creative Writer’s Toolbelt My guest for this episode is the author, James Blatch. Some of you will know James as one half of the team who present the hugely popular Self Publishing Show with Mark Dawson. James is a former radio and television journalist, he has worked for the BBFC, the British Board of Film Classification, so the organisation here in the UK the UK that decides what certificate a film gets. James’ family has a long relationship with the Royal Air Force, his father was a test pilot with the RAF and James has a passion for the planes, which he has carried over into the subject of his first novel, called The Final Flight, which is set on an RAF base in the 1960’s. In this episode we talk about respecting the material you are working with in your novel, the challenge of marketing your first book, and the importance of building an email list. I would also say, I am aware that not all of you listening to this want to self-publish your work, you want to get a traditional publishing contract and that’s a good aim to have, but I would suggest that all of the writing advice and a good part of the marketing advice you here in this episode and on the Creative Writer’s Toolbelt Podcast generally is useful and applicable to you. Even if you do get a traditional publishing contract, and congratulations if you do, you should still be thinking about how you can market your books and your brand, and in particular as it applies to this episode, how important it is for you to build your own ...
The scene is a key building block of a story, so how can we make sure that the scenes in our writing work? In this episode we explore the three key questions that every writer needs to ask about each scene they write:what is the objective of the scene? How does the scene begin and end? And what gives the scene energy and direction? ...
How should we present characters from a range of different backgrounds in our work? How can we portray these characters with integrity and respect, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and ability? And how can we navigate this issue with confidence, especially if we come from a group that is perceived to be privileged? Most us will need to present characters in our work who are not like us in some which is socially determined as important. So for example differences in race, and gender, and sexual orientation are currently determined by society as important. Dealing with these differences is the critical cultural issue for writers today, and to help us tackle it, I've invited the writer and journalist Nisi Shawl (www.nisishawl.com), and the writer, composer and musician Daniel José Older (www.danieljoseolder.net), to join me on the Creative Writer's Toolbelt. This conversation is essential listening for anyone who is serious about dealing successfully with the challenge of 'writing the other'. ...
