Writing Talk: Interviews with Writers about the Creative Process

by Derek Neale (Editor)

Writing Talk includes interviews with nineteen well-known contemporary writers, exploring the ways in which they research and find their original ideas. Working across genres such as fiction, scriptwriting, radio, life writing, biography and more, the writers offer insight into how they interpret, hone and develop these ideas. The conversations examine the roles of technique, craft, language, reading, memory, serendipity, habit and persistence. They offer technical detail about the creative process and give unique insights into the borderlands between genres as well as offering rich, personal insights and universal resonances. A wide-ranging introduction surveys the reasons why we are intrigued by the mysteries of individual writing practice and how these illuminate critical attitudes to literature and performance. Offering a rare glimpse into the creative process of some of this generation's most eminent voices, Writing Talk is a must read for anyone interested in how stories are found and made.



Interviewees:

Alan Ayckbourn, Iain Banks, Helen Blakeman, Louis de Berni�res, Sarah Butler, Andrew Cowan, Jenny Diski, Patricia Duncker, David Edgar, Tanika Gupta, Richard Holmes, Hanif Kureishi, Bryony Lavery, Toby Litt, Kareem Mortimer, Mich�le Roberts, Jane Rogers, Willy Russell and Sally Wainwright.

232 pages, ebook

Published February 21, 2020

Reviews

[Liz Mistry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I was particularly interested in the writing process of novelists, I found snippets of invaluable hints and tips and intriguing insights into the creative process of poets, screenwriters and playwrights. It felt like I was sitting with them , sipping coffee and listening into their relaxed conversations about their creative process. From Andrew Cowan's thoughts on writing to discover and Iain Banks thoughts on how publishing has changed over the years and how his own writing process varies in response to the book he is writing.
A series of individual interviews, each offering some insightful thoughts on the writing process.