21st Mar
Creatives of Habit podcast is live
How do you start and finish a large creative project, like a book?
In September 2021, I started a part-time MA in Creative Writing at MMU's Manchester Writing School.
As well as writing a novel, the course has also given me the opportunity to develop another creative project – a podcast, Creatives of Habit.
In the podcast, I interview writers and other creatives about their routines, processes and rituals to find out how they approach their work, stay motivated and how living a creative life benefits them.
After carrying out several interviews and developing the idea for a module on the MA course, I’m now finally releasing the podcast into the world.
The first interview is with architect and designer Laura Jane Clark from BBC’s Your Home Made Perfect.
Laura’s book, The Handbook of Home Design: An Architect’s Blueprint for Shaping your Home, is out on Thursday 23 March.
In the episode, Laura talks about how moving her architecture business online during covid sparked the idea for the book and how having the right agent and publisher was essential for achieving her vision. We also talk about her writing practice, the importance of getting organised and the challenge of finding the perfect title.
In the second episode, I interview my friend Malcolm Mclean. Malcolm has written a brilliant memoir, which is called Freak Like Me: Confessions of a 90s Pop Groupie.
In his book, Malcolm reveals how growing up he would escape his small town in Surrey to follow his favourite pop stars around London, become a regular in the Top of the Pops audience, and also sneak into the Brit Awards, not just once, but three times.
He’s got loads of amazing anecdotes such as hanging out with Posh Spice’s Mum, getting compliments from Beyoncé and ditching Mel and Sue to go and schmooze with Cher.
In this episode, Malcolm talks about how valuable a writing course was to help him develop his craft, the process he went through to turn his idea into an actual book, what he learnt about himself along the way, and of course, some of his favourite memories from his days of being a 90s pop groupie.
If you love reading, want to write a book yourself, or are interested in hearing creative people talk about their craft then the Creatives of Habit podcast might be for you!
You can access it via the usual podcast platforms, including Spotify.
Thank you to Leyla Alexander Design for the podcast artwork!
Buy the books discussed and recommended here.
