Write, Damn It! with Zoe Richards

Frances Quinn is the author of historical novels The Smallest Man, That Bonesetter Woman and The Lost Passenger (to be published Feb 2025). Previously a journalist, she’d dreamed of writing books since she was seven years old and finally saw the dream come true when her first novel was published at the age of 57. She lives in Hove with her husband and three Tonkinese cats. You ca

In the last of the mini series on Writing Neurodiverse Characters, I chat with Sarah Zeigel who has lived experience as a mother of 4 boys with autism and other ND traits. Sarah has written and self-published 2 books, her latest of which won her an award. This is a memoir called Marching to a Different Beat, and is an invaluable book for understanding one person's lived experi

Natali Simmonds is a multi-genre fiction author. Her thriller,Good Girls Die Last,is being adapted for TV, and the last book of her fantasy trilogy,Children of Shadows,was shortlisted for an RNA Fantasy Award. She also co-writes paranormal romance as Caedis Knight. Originally from London, she now divides her time between the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands.Natali can be found on soc

In the third in the series on Writing Neurodiverse Characters we dive into being authentic, bringing together what ND is, and what the most obvious traits are. This episode explores a series of questions that help to write an ND character with authenticity, and it ends with 3 short exercises that will help you write your ND characters.If you would like to show your love for the pod

Rebecca Thorne is the author of the Tomes & Tea cozy fantasy series, as well as several self-published novels. She loves fantasy, romance, and dragons. Rebecca's latest book is Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, which is cozy fantasy (and you can find out more about this on the podcast), and it is out on 7th May (US) & 9th May (UK). This book follows two women who leav

In the second of the mini series on writing neurodivergent characters we dive into a high level overview of ND traits - this is not a definitive list, but gives you a sense of how to go beyond the stereotypes of describing a neurodiverse character.Next week we delve into how to bring the ND context into character building and characterisation.If you would like to show your love for

Emma-Claire Wilson is an author of emotional commercial and book club fiction. She writes ‘to make sense of the world’, and loves nothing more than tackling tough subjects and issues that affect her readers on a daily basis.When she is not writing fiction, she enjoys exercising her brain muscles with freelance copywriting, coaching other writers or writing articles for The Glas

Neurodiversity is becoming more of a thing in character development since Eleanor Oliphant appeared in May 2017. Since then I've read a few books that have handled neurodivergent characters well - and many that have not. Even with my level of expertise I would still say that I don't fully know neurodiversity - because the reality is, there are many types of neurodiversity

Alexandra Potter is the bestselling author of numerous romantic comedy fiction novels in the UK, including One Good Thing and Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up, one of the bestselling books of 2022 and the basis of a major TV series. These titles have sold in twenty-five territories and achieved worldwide sales of more than one million copies, making the bestseller charts ac

What is an author's voice? And is it the same as a character's voice? In this episode I describe both types of voice, and I offer some tips on how to help develop your voice - one important thing to remember, though, our voice evolves over time. It can't be forced, and once we've found it, it's unlikely to be fixed.If you would like to show your love for th