Emma Newman – author of “20 Years Later” and “From Dark Places” and the soon-to-be-released “Between Two Thorns“, crafter of marvelous tales short and long, and record holder for the longest bout of Writers Block ever – has been bringing the delights (and dark things) of her imagination to the page for most of her life. Her fiction transforms the mundane into the marvelous… and she performs the same magic with this 20(ish) minutes of conversation. Emma generously shares her insights into the nature of writing advice, the distinction between long and short fiction, her unique process, the cyclical nature of post-apocalyptic fiction, and more! (and warm up your tea, because there’s more writerly goodness to be had in Emma’s Workshop Episode!)
PROMO:The Flashpulp Podcast
Showcase Episode: 20 Minutes with Emma Newman
[caution: mature language – listener discretion is advised]
Podcast: Download (Duration: 38:42 — 26.6MB)
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Check out this and all our episodes on iTunes and on Stitcher Radio!
Wonders from Lady Em…
- Check out Emma’s Webite/Blog at http://www.enewman.co.uk/
- Become rapt in the wonder of her “Split Worlds” series
- Definitely make the time to explore “From Dark Places” and the post-apocalyptic “20 Years Later“
[Editor’s Note: Time, friends, has become a very precious commodity around the Roundtable. In an effort to free up some of it, we’re trying out a change of post format, replacing the “conversation timeline” we usually post here with a summary of the Guest Host’s resources on the web. But please… we want to make sure the value of the RTP stays high, so let us know if those timelines were useful to you. We’ll find a way to make it work. Thanks!]
I mean no disrespect to anybody when I put this down, but the piece of advice I think I needed most from this interview as the first one.
“Don’t listen to advice”
But I think for me the advice I shouldn’t listen to is the general stuff, not the specific or informed or targeted advice.
I’m a real writing advice junkie, but its important for me to make my own way as a writer too.
Great interview! Sounds like you guys had a real good time. And the result is fun as well as informative. Hurrah!
I know, right? I’m glad Emma was willing to expound on that. I think we ALL start out wanting guidance and we devour all the processes and guidelines, and suggestions that inundate “teh interwebs”, but until you understand YOUR way of approaching the craft, you have no context to which you can apply all that sage wisdom. (Although I’m TOTALLY going to try wearing tweed and feeding swans… I think that will really take my writing to the next level).
Glad you found some gold in there, Tim! 🙂
Your show always brings me something I need to hear. Really appreciated the exhortation to pursue my other passions and how that will help my writing. I also liked the encouragement to putting in the effort to understand my way of approaching my writing. Looking forward to the workshop episode.
Charming interview. Luv that British dialect. Ha, also awesome how she built her career.
Also luv the comment on not listening to advice.
People seem to look for the magic bullet, that one secret that will help you to write like a wizard.
It’s nonsense of course, and the best thing is always to apply-butt-to-chair and keeping grinding out words.
Now you sound like Nathan Lowell, Mars. We’ve had him on the show a couple times and he’s all about the tried-and-true Butts-in-Seats method of becoming a good writer. (Interesting side note, Master Lowell manages such prodigious word counts that his name is synonymous with “Holy crap, you wrote HOW MUCH?”. When you do so, you have achieved a Lowellian word count) 😉