The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience Podglomerate

Bestselling author, podcaster, blogger, speaker, and my friend Jeff Goins, recently brought me along on a creative journey called Hey, Creator! and it was some of the most fun I’ve had as a podcast producer. I also learned a lot from Jeff.
We’re back with another episode from the first season we did together titled “On Mixtapes, or Curation vs. Creation.”
Jeff Goins helps creative people succeed. Through his bestselling books, courses, coaching, and speeches, he shares his ongoing transformation journey, inspiring creators to discover their voice and share it with the world.
He is also the founder of Fresh Complaint, a bespoke creative agency that helps authors, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs turn their stories and ideas into books that change the way people think.
AND DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH US ON THE WRITER FILES COMMUNITY AT PATREON.COM/THEWRITERFILES
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In this file Jeff Goins and I discussed:
How to make a perfect playlist
Why taste is integral to all creation
What it takes to turn a piece of creative curation into an actual work of art
Why what you leave out is more important than what remains
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
goinswriter.com
freshcomplaint.com
Hey, Creator! Podcast
Jeff Goins Amazon Author Page
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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Writers, publishing experts, and hosts of the Hungry Authors podcast, Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry, spoke with me about the biggest mistake you can make as a writer, the mindset needed to persevere, and their much-anticipated publishing guide.
Ariel Curry is a writer and editor at Ariel Curry Editorial with over 10 years of experience in traditional publishing. Her partner in crime at hungryauthors.com is Liz Morrow, a traditionally published ghostwriter for entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and business experts who specializes in personal and professional development and memoir.`
Their forthcoming debut as co-authors is Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book (August 6, 2024), available for preorder now.
AND DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH US ON THE WRITER FILES COMMUNITY AT PATREON.COM/THEWRITERFILES
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Ariel, Liz and I discussed:
The definition of “book mapping”
Seeing the underlying code of The Matrix
How to publish kick-ass nonfiction
Some big names whose books flopped
Why publishing a book is within every writer’s reach
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
hungryauthors.com
Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry (Amazon)
Hungry Authors - Podcast w/ Ariel Curry & Liz Morrow
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author April Henry, spoke with me about winning the Edgar Award, killing people on paper, and researching her latest cat-and-mouse survival story, STAY DEAD.
April Henry is the acclaimed bestseller of mysteries for adults and over 15 novels for teens, including the bestselling Girl, Stolen; Girl Forgotten; The Girl I Used to Be (Edgar nominated and winner of the Anthony Award for Best YA Mystery), and most recently winner of the 2024 Edgar Award in the Best Young Adult category for her novel, GIRL FORGOTTEN (2023).
Her latest novel, Stay Dead (May 28, 2024), is described as “... a thrilling murder mystery featuring a teen with an assassin on her trail fighting to uncover the truth behind a government cover-up.”
New York Times bestselling author Ellie Marney called it a “Pacy survival tale, eco-thriller, and murder mystery all rolled into one."
AND DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH US ON THE WRITER FILES COMMUNITY AT PATREON.COM/THEWRITERFILES
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file April Henry and I discussed:
A crazy thing that happened to her after she won the Edgar
The postcard she got from Roald Dahl that started it all
How she made the transition to full-time writer
Why she trained with real FBI agents
Her love of the treadmill desk
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
aprilhenry.com
Stay Dead by April Henry (Amazon)
April Henry Amazon Author Page
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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Bestselling author, podcaster, blogger, speaker, and my friend Jeff Goins, brought me along on a creative journey not too long ago called Hey, Creator! and it was some of the most fun I’ve had as a podcast producer.
Here’s an episode from the last season we did together titled “How to Finish the First Draft of Anything.”
Jeff Goins helps creative people succeed. Through his bestselling books, courses, coaching, and speeches, he shares his ongoing journey of transformation, inspiring creators to discover their voice and share it with the world.
He is also the founder of Fresh Complaint, a bespoke creative agency that helps authors, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs turn their stories and ideas into books that change the way people think.
AND DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH US ON THE WRITER FILES COMMUNITY AT PATREON.COM/THEWRITERFILES
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Jeff Goins and I discussed:
Why the first step to finishing is to begin
The secret to getting unstuck
Why nothing is ever really finished
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
goinswriter.com
freshcomplaint.com
Hey, Creator! Podcast
Jeff Goins Amazon Author Page
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Mark Sullivan, spoke to me about the story that saved his life, how to write history’s darkest chapters, and his latest novel based on a true story, All the Glimmering Stars.
Mark Sullivan is a journalist and award-winning, bestselling author of 20 novels including Beneath a Scarlet Sky, The Last Green Valley, and the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson.
His latest historical novel, All the Glimmering Stars (May 7, 2024), is “Inspired by a true story [of] two teens kidnapped by an African warlord [that] find salvation through love in a powerful [story] … set in 1990s Uganda.”
New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz, said of the book, “Mark Sullivan’s All the Glimmering Stars is the pinnacle of an already distinguished career. A searing piece of historical fiction steeped in a yearslong deep dive into the horrors of child soldiering, it is at its core something tender and rare: a love story between two profoundly good people striving for light in unimaginable darkness.”
Mark Sullivan graduated with a BA in English before working as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in West Africa. Upon his return to the US, he earned a graduate degree in Journalism at Northwestern University.
AND DON’T FORGET YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH US ON THE WRITER FILES COMMUNITY AT PATREON.COM/THEWRITERFILES
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Mark Sullivan and I discussed:
His former life as an award-winning investigative journalist
How his cross-cultural skills inform his work today
Why he decided to make the transition from suspense to historical fiction
Searching for the deeper meaning behind his storytelling
The four things he has to have before he can write a story
His intensive research process
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
marksullivanbooks.com
All the Glimmering Stars: A Novel by Mark Sullivan (Amazon)
Mark Sullivan Amazon Author Page
Mark Sullivan on Facebook
Mark Sullivan on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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#1 New York Times bestselling author and TV producer, Tom Straw, spoke to me about breaking into television, the Gordian knot of ghostwriting, and his new “culinary, espionage, travel thriller” THE ACCIDENTAL JOE.
Tom Straw is an Emmy and Writers Guild of America–nominated writer-producer, New York Times bestselling author, and former Mystery Writers of America board member.
Writing as Richard Castle, Tom originated the hit Nikki Heat series, writing its first seven novels, all New York Times bestsellers, including Heat Rises, which reached number one.
The first book in his latest series is The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef (Regalo Press/May 14, 2024), described as the story of “...a maverick celebrity chef [who] reluctantly agrees to let the CIA use his hugely popular international food, culture, and travel TV series as cover for a dangerous espionage mission.”
Bestselling author Walter Mosley said of the book, “Tom Straw's Sebastian Pike is a wonderful addition to the annals of amateur sleuths of the crime/spy genre.” Culinary personality Alton Brown said of the author, “Tom Straw has set the bar for culinary, espionage, travel thrillers. Actually, I think he invented the bar. And it’s a bar I’d meet him at any time.”
Tom  Straw’s television career has included WGA and Emmy nominations for writing and executive producer stints for shows including Night Court, CBS’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Nurse Jackie with Edie Falco.
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Tom Straw and I discussed:
His early life as an AM radio personality and professional weatherman
How he got a shot to write on his first TV show
Working with Craig Ferguson and his robot skeleton sidekick 
The short version of hitting #1 as a ghostwriter for a fictitious mystery author 
How he invented the snarky, bad-boy, maverick chef for his latest novel
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
tomstraw.com
Tom Straw on IMDb
The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef By Tom Straw (Amazon)
Tom Straw on Facebook
Tom Straw on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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