London Writers' Salon

Debut novelist Rebecca Fallon on ambition, motherhood, crafting dual timelines, and writing a novel built around the person who isn't there. We discuss Why quitting a stable job to write a novel can be framed as a calculated bet rather than a leap of faith. How to prototype the writer's life before fully committing to it. What genre fiction can teach a literary novelist about plotting and structure. How a single late-stage scene revealed who the actual protagonist of the book had been all along. The unsexy spreadsheet work behind a novel that moves between timelines. A method for getting inside a child's consciousness on the page. Why each character has to serve a distinct function—and what happens to the ones that don't. How music, photographs, and even PowerPoint can become tools for holding a character's voice. The difference between flow-state writing and the surgical work that comes after. What changes when you stop drafting airy scenes and start asking what each scene needs to earn its place. About Rebecca Fallon Rebecca Fallon is a New England-born Londoner and a graduate of Williams College and the University of Oxford. Family Drama is her debut novel. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Steven Pressfield, bestselling novelist known for The War of Art and Gates of Fire, reflects on a long road to publication and the creative calling. He talks about battling Resistance, recognizing the muse’s signals, one-page outlining with the Foolscap Method, and why some stories need distance before you can write them.

Debra Curtis, a retired cultural anthropology professor turned debut novelist, published her first book in her 60s after years of rejections. She describes teaching herself to write as a dyslexic child, a marina vision that birthed her protagonist, using contemporary novels as craft guides, rituals for getting into writing flow, and how themes of suffering and radical forgiveness shape her work.

Hannah Bos, actor-writer and co-creator of Somebody Somewhere, on how experimental theatre shaped her TV voice. Kim Krizan, screenwriter of Before Sunrise, on building conversation-led stories from index cards. Selina Lim, BAFTA- and BIFA-nominated writer (Sex Education), on writers’ rooms, character exercises, and crafting natural dialogue. They discuss writing partnerships, character-first approaches, and life in writers’ rooms.

Juliet Mushens, literary agent and founder of Mushens Entertainment who represents multiple bestselling authors. She talks about why tension is the single must-have in fiction. Hear how personalised editorial feedback signals progress. Learn what to weigh when choosing representation and why writing strictly for the market rarely leads to great books.

Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter, artist and novelist, discusses working across music, painting and fiction. He talks about inviting the muse in rather than waiting, how ideas choose their form, the craft behind a single narrative song, balancing family life with creative compulsion, and the value of sharing work publicly to learn and grow.

Lidia Yuknavitch, novelist and founder of Corporeal Writing, explores writing from the body and the natural world. She discusses finding your elemental access path like water or forest. Short, practical rituals such as body-based meditations and a three-ages memory revisit become portals for shaping form. She also talks about nonlinearity, sensory-rich story shapes, and building generative writing communities.

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace on mattering, resilience through relationships, and the writing practices behind two New York Times bestselling nonfiction books. You’ll learn Why resilience as a writer has far less to do with self-care routines and far more to do with the people you surround yourself with. How to tell whether your idea is a series of articles or a book, and what structural test separates one from the other. A practical way to ask for feedback on your writing that actually leads to useful criticism instead of vague encouragement. Why putting yourself in a nonfiction book can transform it, even if every journalistic instinct tells you not to. The writing schedule that let a journalist with three kids produce two bestselling books, and why it starts at 4AM. Why your inner critic tends to sleep in, and how to take advantage of the hours before it wakes up. A visual trick involving artist sketches that can help you push through the frustration of early drafts. What a lesson from Morley Safer at 60 Minutes reveals about the tension between accuracy and storytelling in nonfiction. The surprising research behind mattering and why it goes deeper than self-esteem, belonging, or purpose on their own. A 30-second daily practice that can help you reconnect to your sense of purpose when long-term projects leave you feeling stuck. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript The Mattering Movement Mattering by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Lives Well Lived Podcast Episode w/ Jennifer Breheny Wallace Julia Cameron on LWS Podcast The Oprah Podcast w/Jennifer Breheny Wallace Subscribe to Jennifer’s Newsletter Jennifer’s IG About Jennifer Breheny Wallace Jennifer Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic — And What We Can Do About It, which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace has contributed to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Jennifer began her journalism career in television at “60 Minutes”. She lives in New York City. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

David Eagleman, neuroscientist and bestselling author known for work on brain plasticity and time perception. He explains creativity as a default brain remixing process and outlines three core creative algorithms. He unpacks causes of writer's block and practical fixes like Ulysses contracts. He shares his IHOP writing habit, the Lazy Susan method for juggling projects, and why genre-hopping preserves creative flexibility.

Sarah Hall, award-winning British fiction writer known for prize‑winning short stories; Niamh Mulvey, Irish short fiction writer probing contemporary relationships. They explore building whole worlds in small scenes. They discuss beginnings that don’t show off, planting a “third element” to unlock endings, telescoping drafts into past and future, and grounding stories in real human stakes.