BBC Radio Podcasts from The Invisible College

Lesson Eighteen: Writer’s Block

Discover Ray Bradbury’s simple trick for overcoming writer’s block.

Novelist Caryl Phillips considers what we can learn from the great American writer.

If you’re going to put your work out in the world, someone’s going to take a pop at it.

“Easy reading is damned hard writing,” says Maya Angelou.

Hear how Graham Greene gradually evolves a character.

On capturing the soul of a place in words.

How often do you get the chance to attend a lecture by one of the Beats?

If you want to write good dialogue, you need good ears.

Waiting for the muse to strike? Give it up and get writing.

This lesson exalts the importance of time off.

The subconscious mind can be the writer’s greatest helper – or nastiest foe.

Yes, we need talent – but we also need discipline.

Show don’t tell. Well, no, actually – show AND tell.

To plot or not to plot – that’s the question.

How nosy are you about your protagonist? Do you know what she eats for breakfast?

How do we recognise a hell-raising word from one that just wants a quiet life?

How do we find a voice? Figure out what’s ours – and only ours – to say?

If you want to write – read. Marinate your mind in the sentence and the word.