The Writers’ Gym Podcast

Green Ink Sponsored Write brings together published authors and developing writers to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. 
Each year's theme reflects Macmillan's mission of quality of life for everyone affected by cancer (with writers are sponsored for their time, not their word-count). This year, our theme is chosen by Rhianna Pratchett:
SOMEWHERE THAT'S GREEN: STORIES ABOUT PARADISES, UTOPIAS AND HAPPY PLACES.
Rachel Knightley talks to Macmillan’s Andy Gould about this year’s event.
 
Sponsor the Writers at  
https://www.justgiving.com/page/somewhere-thats-green
 
Dr Rachel Knightley 
www.RachelKnightley.com

Showing up authentically on the page — and off the page — can feel like a big ask at first. But all it takes is a few simple truths to make the process of connecting with others, in writing and in speaking, come naturally. Dr Rachel Knightley shares this year’s Writers’ Gym bookmark, and how it’s a reminder of everything you need for an authentic, enjoyable audience relationship.

Procrastination gets — entirely rightly — a pretty bad press. So how do we differentiate it from warming up and getting into the zone? In this episode, Dr Rachel Knightley celebrates landing patterns and how they can add to our enjoyment of the journey.

Anxiety is not a documentary. It’s creative writing at its most natural and automatic. Yet we so often hear our own projected worst case scenarios more loudly than our own interest in our writing. In this episode, Dr Rachel Knightley invites you to grab a water-pistol and give the ‘should fairies’ the response they deserve. Step beyond your ‘shoulds’ into curiosity, confidence and creativity at the Writers’ Gym.

Being in your character’s body as well as their mind isn’t always first-draft territory. For many writers, it’s easier to begin in an internal monologue, lost in thoughts and feelings which can then be frustrating to pin down to their causes: the triggers in the physical world for each thought, each feeling. The good news? It looks scary from the outside but, inside, that’s where the greatest fun is. Dr Rachel Knightley celebrates natural time and taking space in our own narratives.

Trusting your reader is one of the most famous phrases in creative writing teaching. But how do we do that? And what might be stopping us? Dr Rachel Knightley explores the temptations of ‘telling’ versus the greater rewards of showing (not explaining) the reactions, feelings and thoughts that illustrate who a character is and why they show up in their world the way they do.
 

Trusting your reader is one of the most famous phrases in creative writing teaching. But how do we do that? And what might be stopping us? Dr Rachel Knightley explores the temptations of ‘telling’ versus the greater rewards of showing (not explaining) the reactions, feelings and thoughts that illustrate who a character is and why they show up in their world the way they do.
 

Dr Rachel Knightley’s Sherlock Holmes Snoopy lamp is something of a co-presenter this week. What object do you love, that connects you with your past or passions, that someone else might not see the magic in? Through showing the specifics of what characters love, we get so much more: a sense of their values and personality. When they talk to different people, we get different angles on that same essential truth. So jump in and start fictionalising the people and things that make your heart sing — or scream!

‘Say the Thing’ is one of our most transformational pieces of writing advice Dr Rachel Knightley ever had. That editor wasn’t just showing her a masterkey to clarity and confidence on the page, but off it too. This episode of the podcasts explores how communicating what we love and what we fear deepens our characterisation, links character and plot, and our connection with the reader through the specificity of detail that gives writing its magic; that only comes when you’re truly exploring yourself and your world.