In this episode I give advice about changing your relationship with your writing, and the perils of seeing making art as a war, or viewing your novel as the enemy, or listening to your self-doubt as if it were your boss. I talk about Steven Pressfield’s non-fiction book The War of Art, and David Bayles’ & Ted Orland’s book Art & Fear, both of which tackle this subject in detail, while coming to different conclusions.

This is a good episode to listen to if you find yourself asking: how can make my novel better? Am I good enough to be a writer? How should I start my novel? How do I write a first-person narrator?

In a Death Of 1000 Cuts first I look at the first few sentences of my current work-in-progress, and explain why I think they’re bad. Then I talk about why that doesn’t worry me, and how you can negotiate a better relationship to your work so you’re not too hung up on the gap between what you meant to say, and what appeared on the page.

If you want to support the podcast you can click this link to drop a few bucks to my Ko-fi page.

Otherwise, buying one or more of the books I discuss via the links below will help out while getting you some reading material that will help you grow as an author. Please buy my novel, The Honours, and support my writing career:

THE HONOURS by Tim Clare.

ART & FEAR: OBSERVATIONS ON THE PERILS (AND REWARDS) OF ART MAKING by David Bayles & Ted Orland.

THE WAR OF ART: BREAK THROUGH THE BLOCKS AND WIN YOUR INNER CREATIVE BATTLES by Steven Pressfield.