Writer's Routine

146

How do the best writers get to work?


In every episode, we'll chat to an author about what they do through a day. Where do they work? What time do they start? How do they plan their time and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller?


Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it.



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Recent Reviews
  • rhinocwriter
    One of the very best podcasts!
    I love this podcast & the way Dan conducts the interviews. Always look forward to Fridays and a new episode. Keep up the great work Dan.
  • ba3424
    5 Stars
    Dan is a fabulous and entertaining interviewer. He always asks the follow-up questions I’m wondering and allows his guests to shine. I’ve learned some very valuable tips along the way.
  • MiepMary
    Interesting and helpful
    It’s always interesting and enjoyable to take a peek into other writers’ lives. I often get some usable tips or inspiration or at least validation of my own writing process. The interviewer is good at asking the questions and then allowing the authors to really open up. Glad I found this podcast.
  • gwa126
    Engaging interviews!
    Dan Simpson’s a great interviewer and I’m really enjoying learning how all these different writers handle their writing routine. Definitely a fun podcast!
  • BRreazy
    Love this podcast
    A necessity for writers of all stripes. So much insight.
  • Nikki McMillan
    Love all episodes & congrats on getting married!
    Long time fan of your show. Love listening to your interviews during my walks and long drives. Very inspiring and interesting to listen to as an aspiring writer. Enjoy your honeymoon in Hawaii! I’m sure your audience will survive while you take a very well deserved break for a month or so for your wedding and honeymoon. Congrats!🏝️🌺
  • Finn'sDad
    Great insight for authors of all genres
    Dan does a terrific job demystifying the work of being an author though insightful and fun interviews that explore practical author routines and journeys. Well done!
  • Belle&kitty
    Such an Amazing Podcast
    I started this podcast from the beginning about a month ago. I am 15 episodes in and I love it! It’s amazing to see how successful this podcast has become. In the first episodes, you can tell Dan is unsure if his podcast will take off, and it makes me laugh that one of his episodes is recorded in his car (quality is still amazing). Well, he did it and I’m loving it! I hope you love it too!
  • andcon85
    Best
    Dan is a top man.
  • isabellex3
    Such a great podcast
    Wonderful host, wonderful content
  • Storytellerclaire
    Great stuff!
    I love this podcast. Great tips and insights from varying writers that really help inspire and empower. It’s always wonderful to hear a successful author describe doing something you’ve been telling yourself is the ‘wrong’ way. I love it and often recommend it to others.
  • EdwardJRoberts
    Great fun and lots of help!
    The best part of this show is hearing that there is no ONE way that works. Whenever I am doubting myself, this show keeps me moving forward. It has also created an interest in other genres for me. Check it out!
  • Richard SoCal
    Great guests, the questions I need addressed
    Working on my first novel, I plow through craft books and with this show Dan offers super helpful guests and the best craft questions! As I listen, it feels like I told Dan in advance what I would ask the guest.
  • gkMoberg
    Writers Routine - a winner
    Charming and always revealing, this show is tops on my list
  • An American named Kay
    Writer’s routine is part of my routine
    I love listening to Writer’s Routine. The podcast is entertaining, as well as informative. In every episode, I learn some thing that gives me insight into my own writing process and comfort to know I am not alone. It’s wonderful to know that some of the most successful writers have experienced the same fears, insecurities and struggles as the unpublished among us. Writer’s Routine has become part of my routine. I listen on the drive to and from my daily yoga class and by the time I get home, I’m full of ideas and inspiration and can’t wait to get back to work on my current project.
  • Runner bda
    Great pacing; invaluable information.
    Started from the beginning and every episode provides a new insight.
  • KelsListens
    Listen!
    Listen and notice your writerly engines move in the best way.
  • T-Mo1
    Great writing motivation!
    Perfect listening for getting you in the mood for working on your own manuscript. This is my very favorite writing podcast of the plethora out there.
  • stevesteve1414
    So great
    I love his accent and the way he gets to the bottom of his questions is just amazing I will definitely be watching the next one
  • TDawgyDogg
    A One of a Kind Show!
    Being a writer, I constantly find myself sifting through podcast after podcast trying to find the diamond in the rough. The first ever writing podcast truly enjoyed (to the point of binging) was Writer’s Routine. The interviewees are always interesting, and always have different, quirky routine. The host, Dan Simpson, is always polite (never interrupting his guests), maintains a humorous and sunny attitude, and is super attentive to his excellent production work. A definite and strong recommend, for authors and non-writers alike!
  • aeis17
    Sexist questions toward female authors
    The authors are wonderful, but it’s hard to listen to episodes when the host asks sexist questions about how female authors can write while raising children, while the male authors are not asked about such things. There’s also a tone in his voice of incredulity when interviewing women that’s not there when he does the same for men.
  • Defends
    Excellent
    Precisely what I was looking for. Methods and environments of successful writers. Excellent.
  • Jesus is fun
    Author Margie McCormick
    Love this podcast!
  • BYoak
    Dr
    Redr RS try f RT u t u Fr t de Red X us there yuetdd frets rader ft try red fry yf but fry fry try rz
  • ILoveTwinPeaks
    My favorite podcast!
    Love the host and all the fun and interesting interviews!!!
  • Con FB
    I’m inspired
    I look forward to every episode to hear how authors of every background approach their work and stay engaged in their stories. From the first tickle of an idea to research to keeping at it — I was looking for how all this works, and I’ve found here. Fresh each week and as entertaining as informative, Writer’s Routine is exactly what I needed!
  • ARu_1010
    Helpful
    Great practical advice and interesting conversations. Well done.
  • MarsBarsPlanet
    Not enough diversity in success
    I really loved this until it was the same thing over and over again. Solution over and over again for writing success was to marry well or have inheritance and definitely be white. the one time he had a person of color it was such a hard scrabble story of a lawyer who had tons of kids and multiple jobs that it was just depresssing. Love you Dan but please find diverse successful authors.
  • Keeganhughes
    Love Writer’s Routine and Dan Simpson!
    Great inspiration and tips for writers - always fun, uplifting and encouraging! Plus I find new books to enjoy!!Thank you Dan!!
  • Grierhax
    The very best podcast for writers !
    Thank you Dan for your latest episode with Joanna Cannon. I have listened to all of your programs, but this particular one I replayed and listened to back to back. I feel this was your best. I can’t wait to get hold of her books and start to follow her work. This interview for some reason spoke volumes to me. I loved her thinking on procrastination saying, “it’s amazing how your mind will unwind if you just give it time.”I anxiously await each new program at the end of each week. Information gleaned here is well worth anyones time who struggle with a story and will only find relief by writing it out. Thank you Dan for your good work.
  • cynlinh
    5 Stars
    I am a routine/process junkie because I am a wannabe writer. Best podcast!
  • estherru
    Makes solitary work feel so communal
    I cannot count the amount of times I’ve burst into happy tears realizing there are others who care about the nuances of font choices and have figured out their own unique creative flow. Thank you, Dan Simpson, for your genuine enthusiasm for your guests and their craft. I feel so seen and encouraged in mine. (And extra motivated for publication because I wanna get niche on the pod with you!)
  • gabriellabriana
    My trick to writers block
    Love listening to published writers talk about their routines and the difficulty of writing. Great way to combat writers block for me.
  • gabjbr
    An important archive
    Dan Simpson is building such an important archive of writing processes and workflows. An invaluable resource for anyone who writes! Discovering your process is such an important part of the writing life and this podcast is endlessly inspiring in this regard. Thanks Dan!!
  • The maxx12
    Not run of the mill
    I stopped listening to podcasts because they were all the same. Stumbled across this looking for David Baldacci interviews. Subscribed. The host is great. However, some of the writers do not interview well. You know, like when Trump's niece was interviewed about her book? But for the most part the podcast is very informative. Hearing how each has their own way of doing things puts less pressure on me. Some people believe everything is textbook. I had one "writer" in LA argue that my final draft was my first draft. After I sent her links to S. King and J. Patterson talking about how many drafts they write before complete, she shut the F up.
  • hair62
    thank you
    i just found this podcast! i have written 2 books, one was published and one was self published. now i’m learning so much that’s helping me direct my writing better. thank you!
  • Elizabeth, OR
    Favorite Writing Podcast
    I absolutely adore this podcast. I listen to it when I go walking or when I’m stuck on a writing project. Each time I listen I am reminded that I am connected a familial network of writers. We’re all in this together!
  • Podcast2020Listener
    Very enjoyable!
    Lovely podcast that gives interesting insight and keeps the listener wanting more.
  • Mark Oppenheimer
    This published author loves this show!!
    So let me say this as a professional author, currently on book tour, driving down the California coast, keeping company with episodes of this podcast: even as someone 20 years into my career, I’ve seldom been asked questions as savvy and smart as the host asks here. His guests are lucky, and we the listeners are even luckier. For aspiring writers … and those who have made it but are still working on our craft, every day.
  • Texaspatriot
    My new favorite podcast!
    I just found this podcast this week and have already listened to several episodes. It’s my new favorite podcast. Please keep the episodes coming!
  • Mott E.
    Quality
    I find too many people think they can write well, and don’t. So too, too many podcasters think they can talk about writing well, and can’t. This was an excellent interview, asking the right questions of an excellent author. I bought his book.
  • Richard in California
    Devoted listener!
    After publishing two successful books on technology, I decided to take some time to learn the art of writing fiction, and began to consult many sources on writing, books, online interviews, websites, to generally educate myself about this challenging and wonderful art form. There are many excellent books to consult, from Edith Wharton’s “The Art of Fiction,” Steven King’s “On Writing,” etc., and endless online interviews, and websites that are rich with information. One source that I have been consulting on an almost daily basis, however, is this excellent podcast. When I am relaxing, or taking a walk, I go back to these interviews again and again, because they contain so many interesting ideas, and because this constant exposure to the honest thoughts and strategies of these successful writers is so helpful for practical ideas, and for inspiration. Over time, you feel that you have joined the world’s greatest support group, because all of these writers are speaking so pragmatically about dealing with the challenge of conjuring a good story, and getting it down on the page. By focusing on the practical strategies, Dan Simpson’s interviews focus useful strategies for the listener’s own work— you’ve got the best group of mentors and consultants available. “Writers” no longer belong to some other world, with their mysterious powers, and unknown pathways to success: They are now your friends, sharing their hard won wisdom for how to do it all. They are inviting you to join the club. In short: Highly recommended. This is an essential resource for exploring the craft of writing.
  • royalty28
    Amazing!
    I truly love this podcast. On days when I’m not in the mood for writing I always find inspiration when I have a listen. Keep up the great work.
  • camokam
    Inspiring!
    I’ve listened to dozens of episodes and get something from each one of them. I think my writing has benefited but, more, my work habits have benefited. I’ve been so inspired to think about HOW I write. Thanks!
  • ElizabethB-B
    A True Writer’s Community
    I absolutely love this podcast & im sad that I’m so late in the game! Just hearing other writers routines helps me feel that I’m not alone & that my quirks aren’t all that odd. It’s “just” a writer-thing. Great questions, great guests... I love everything about it!
  • RKRK7312
    Such an efficient and endearing interviewer
    I'm very pleased that I stumbled upon this podcast. I will recommend often. Regards, Rock
  • Gui Roc
    Love it
    I LOVE Writer’s Routine 💯 The Best inspiring Podcast for writers
  • sergviveros2
    Very informative
    By far one of the best podcasts I have ever listen to.
  • Writer in Michigan
    Thank You!
    Dan thank you so much for making this happen. I have binge listened from the beginning!!!Such a great idea brilliantly executed!!!!! Thank you for these phenomenal chats!!!!
  • JjackalMadrid
    Hola from Madrid
    Always an auto listen for me as soon as it drops! Keep up the amazing work :)
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