Interview with Helen Callaghan - Sunday Times Best Seller and Stationery Freak
In this episode Helen and Rob interview Helen Callaghan - Sunday Times Best Selling Author and stationery freak!
How excited were we when, Sunday Times Best Selling psychological thriller author, Helen Callaghan agreed to be on the podcast?
Helen is a stationery freak, so we dug into her process of writing, typewriters, book soundtracks, choosing colours for books, Moleskines, writing retreats and more.
It was a real joy and we’re sure you’ll be inspired and motivated and learn a lot about the world of writing books.
Some quotes from the show:
Some quotes from the show:
- “Self-consciousness is the enemy of creativity”
- On Fountain Pens - “There’s something wonderfully technical about them”
- On writing retreats - “This is what I’m doing now and I’m concentrating on this”
- “You create a plan for the chapter, and then you don’t follow it.”
- “Work on it every day, be engaged in it and a synthesis happens between things in your head.”
- “Inspiration has to be summoned”
Here’s what we covered:
- NaNoWriMo - and Helen’s engagement in it
- How stationery still has an important role in Helen’s life and book writing process
- Why seeing what you crossed out on paper is important
- Why choosing a colour scheme for a book being written is important - and how Helen does this
- Mood boards and music playlists
- The importance, joy and process of writing retreats. Helen mentions Gladstones writing retreats.
- How Helen plans and plots out a book - and why sometimes she often doesn’t stick to the plan
- Why writing plots and twists in a book often surprises herself with where it goes!
You can find out more about Helen, including her social media and published books here on her website.
Thanks
Rob and Helen
