Mark Stay's Creative Differences

Mark Stay
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A monthly podcast where I talk to writer friends about those little things that make a big difference to their craft and careers in the hope that we can give readers some insight to the creative process, and writers and creative folk practical advice that they can actually use!The podcast is a recording of a monthly livestream.

  1. Caimh McDonnell: Notice When You're Doing Your Best Writing | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Ep 18

    4D AGO

    Caimh McDonnell: Notice When You're Doing Your Best Writing | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Ep 18

    Caimh McDonnell is the author of the Bunny McGarry trilogy (not a trilogy) and the Stranger Times series (definitely a series) and his latest RING THE BELLS is one of my favourite books of the year. In this festive special, we discuss: How travel triggers story ideasThe value of short storiesWhy calling something a trilogy is a bad ideaAnd why it's crucial to take note of when you're writing good stuff, and much more! LINKS Caimh's website: https://whitehairedirishman.com Joe Abercrombie backlist: https://joeabercrombie.com Down Cemetery Road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Cemetery_Road Raye: Where is my husband? https://youtu.be/rK5TyISxZ_M?si=MrCHrv-qT5utGNGp Scriptnotes book: https://scriptnotesbook.com Death by Lightning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_Lightning Wish You Were Here 50th Anniversary: https://youtu.be/K6qj09OHvjw?si=yy0U7jHlvzIDqUgu A huge thanks to Emily Stay-Newton for production assistance, to Kai Stay-Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle. Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    42 min
  2. Gavin G Smith: Know Your Own Worth | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 17

    DEC 16

    Gavin G Smith: Know Your Own Worth | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 17

    Gavin G Smith writes gripping science fiction and his latest is ALIEN CULT, a terrific murder mystery noir set in the ALIENS universe. We Discuss: Writing for other people's IP, including games and film novelisations The crucial difference between a consistent universe and fan service Why he might enjoy research too much And why it's more important than ever for authors to value their work LINKS Gavin's website: https://www.gavingsmith.com/    Pre-Order The End of Gods paperback: https://witchesofwoodville.com/product/the-end-of-gods-paperback/ Mark's comic con playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo_4ntDELMUt20rTdaXBuENcRk5y4wtQX&si=--4DAUYlIHdEYzR1 WHAT'S GIVING US JOY Baldur’s Gate 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur%27s_Gate_3 Where Eagles Dare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Eagles_Dare Bond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Your_Eyes_Only_(film) Paddington: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington_(film) The Holiday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holiday Die Hard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard Young Sherlock Holmes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Sherlock_Holmes Roofworld: (I earn commission if you buy via this link) https://amzn.to/4aloBKv The Holly King by Kate Rusby: https://youtu.be/cGHkq2rE57M?si=9L2x-1S4FmVo0Rjb The Holdovers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holdovers The Beatles Anthology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_Anthology_(TV_series) A huge thanks to Emily Stay-Newton for production assistance, to Kai Stay-Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the va-jingle. Support the show: Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    52 min
  3. Jeevani Charika: Doing Funky Things | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 16

    DEC 5

    Jeevani Charika: Doing Funky Things | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 16

    Jeevani Charika writes award nominated romantic women’s fiction and romcoms. She’s written books on how to write romcoms, and sustaining a career as a writer and she also has an amazing YouTube channel teaching authors how to use Canva to make marketing graphics Her latest book How Can I Resist You is out now! We Discuss: What she's learned from her love of Korean dramasHow 'writing tighter' has been good for her prose styleHow oversleeping led to a breakthrough in her careerWhy she enjoys doing funky things with Canva and much more... LINKS Jeevani's website: www.rhodabaxter.com  Jeevani's Canva Tips Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@jeevanicharika Jeevani's Substack: https://substack.com/@canvatips4author What's Giving Us Joy... A Merry Little Ex-mas (Netflix): https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81735104 T Kingfisher's books with the Paladins  (I earn commission if you click on this link): https://amzn.to/49ZV358 A Mind of My Own, Kathy Burke (I earn commission if you click on this link): https://amzn.to/4ovrNGJ Cole Haddon’s 5am Storytalk: https://colehaddon.substack.com 50 Years of Shit Robots: https://shows.acast.com/fifty-years-of-shit-robots Film Stories: https://filmstories.co.uk/category/podcast/ Pluribus: https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/pluribus/umc.cmc.37axgovs2yozlyh3c2cmwzlza A huge thanks to Emily for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle. Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/ Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    31 min
  4. Pernille Hughes: Lock Yourself in a Room | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 15

    NOV 25

    Pernille Hughes: Lock Yourself in a Room | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 15

    Pernille Hughes is the author of TEN YEARS, PROBABLY THE BEST KISS IN THE WORLD and PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE; novels brimming with warmth, wit and unforgettable characters. And now she's back with her new novel A COPENHAGEN SNOWMANCE, which is here to herald in Christmas. Yes, I said the C-word! What of it?? WE DISCUSS: Discovering your voice Hygge Hero drafts Finding your tribe Writing on HRT and why you should lock yourself in a room with a glass of wine when writing... and much more! LINKS Pernille's website: www.pernillehughes.com  Writing Regency England by Jayne Davis: https://www.jaynedavisromance.co.uk/writing-regency-england/ What's Giving us Joy... Celebrity Traitors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrity_Traitors  Slow Horses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Horses The Great Pottery Throw Down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Pottery_Throw_Down Ludovico Einaudi: https://ludovicoeinaudi.com/  Vitamin String Quartet: https://www.vitaminstringquartet.com/ Mr MC Grammar: https://www.mrmcgrammar.com/  Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/4paxDP1 Christmas at the Scottish Lodge by Donna Ashcroft: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/48zsM3V Cressida McLaughlin, The Secret Mistletoe Promise: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/49Af4yT Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/4og65Gy Alan Partridge: How Are You?: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002hcb7/how-are-you-its-alan-partridge  Katherine Priddy: Matches: https://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk/home/  A huge thanks to Emily for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle.  Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    1h 8m
  5. Lucy Strange: How Scary is too Scary? | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 14

    OCT 22

    Lucy Strange: How Scary is too Scary? | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 14

    Lucy Strange is an award-winning children’s author whose books feel like classic children’s literature, but are written in a style that is engaging and accessible for today’s younger readers. Most recently she’s collaborated with artist Pam Smy on their spooky, funny new series Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries! Often inspired by folklore and fairy tales, Lucy combines historical settings with touches of magic and fantasy to create utterly convincing worlds in which anything might happen. And before becoming a professional writer, Lucy worked as an English teacher for fifteen years. Having also trained and worked as an actor, Lucy narrates her own audiobooks, winning the 2019 Audie Award for The Secret of Nightingale Wood. WE DISCUSS: Collaborating with illustrators What Lucy learned from abridging Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Writer's Block and how to deal with it And how scary is too scary when writing for children? And much more! LINKS Lucy's Website: https://www.lucystrange.org The Episode with GB Ralph: https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/2024/12/12/episode-5-with-gb-ralph-share-the-excitment/ What's Giving Us Joy... Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry: https://serpentstail.com/work/the-essex-serpent/ Instead of a Letter, Diana Athill: https://granta.com/products/instead-of-a-letter/ Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/437745/once-upon-a-river-by-diane-setterfield/9781784163631 Death at the Sign of the Rook, Kate Atkinson: https://www.kateatkinson.co.uk/books/death-at-the-sign-of-the-rook/ Buckingham Nicks: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/lindsey-buckingham-and-stevie-nicks/buckingham-nicks Superstore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstore_(TV_series) Robert Redford: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Redford A huge thanks to Emily for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle.  Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    54 min
  6. GD Wright: A Weird Way of Getting Published. | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 13

    SEP 19

    GD Wright: A Weird Way of Getting Published. | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 13

    GD Wright is the author of the bestselling AFTER THE STORM and INTO THE FIRE, and he’s genuinely one of the nicest guys in the business with an extraordinary tale to tell: he was a copper, then due to health issues had to retire aged 30, and if you know Gary at all you’ll know that he’s had a few challenges this year… but he’s come through and was an amazing guest on the livestream. He talks frankly his strange route to publication, creating a writing habit, how his work was optioned when he was self-published and much, much more... LINKS GD Wright's website: https://authorgdwright.com Love Never Dies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Never_Dies_(musical)  Alien: Earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien:_Earth Fisk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_(TV_series) Ring the Bells: https://thestrangertimes.co.uk/ring-the-bells/ Brett McKenzie: https://bretmckenzie.os.fan A huge thanks to Emily Stay for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle.  Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    52 min
  7. Rowan Coleman: WHAT WOULD CHARLOTTE BRONTË DO? | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 12

    AUG 13

    Rowan Coleman: WHAT WOULD CHARLOTTE BRONTË DO? | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 12

    Bestselling and award-winning author Rowan Coleman joined me to discuss her new book Never Tear Us Apart, revealing how a family photo inspired her to research in Malta, why she wrote her next book, The Good Boy, under a pen name, then there was something about quantum physics, and ultimately she asks the question we all want an answer to in any situation: What would Charlotte Brontë do? This was a really fun chat with tons of great advice for writers. LINKS ROWAN'S WEBSITE https://rowancoleman.co.uk ROWAN'S SUBSTACK ON QUANTUM PHYSICS: https://substack.com/home/post/p-168285742 ROWAN'S CURTIS BROWN COURSE: https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writing-romantic-and-commercial-fiction MURDERBOT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderbot_(TV_series) SINNERS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinners_(2025_film) INVINCIBLE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_(TV_series) HOW TO WRITE A FANTASY BATTLE BY SUZANNAH ROWNTREE: https://suzannahrowntree.weebly.com/nonfiction.html CMAT: https://cmatbaby.com  Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    53 min
  8. Nicola Whyte: THE PERCOLATION | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 11

    JUN 19

    Nicola Whyte: THE PERCOLATION | Mark Stay's Creative Differences Episode 11

    I had a wonderful time chatting to Nicola Whyte the debut writer of 10 Marchfield Square about how she was inspired by the nooks of London and Douglas Adams's whodunnits. We also discuss planning the middle of a novel, "soft boiled crime", designing author websites, and we get nostalgic about the Ottakars book chain and much, much more! LINKS NICOLA'S WEBSITE: http://nicolawhyte.com  PERSON OF INTEREST: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_Interest_(TV_series) ALL THE LOST SOULS BY AMIE JORDAN: https://amzn.to/4kY7nVZ MASSIVE ATTACK AND TONY COLLIER: LIVE WITH ME: https://youtu.be/o_mi7rD-_9c?si=XwCdYrJQ8T9we5Xv CULTURES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultures_(video_game) MOTHERING SUNDAY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday_(film) ROSALINE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaline_(film) WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS BY STUART MACONIE: https://amzn.to/4newlSE POKER FACE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_Face_(TV_series) THE BOOKS BESIDE MY BED BY PAUL ARMFIELD: https://paularmfield.com/shop/ Mark Stay's Comic Con dates... PORTSMOUTH – SUNDAY 22ND JUNE TENTERDEN STEAMPUNK FESTIVAL – SAT 28TH JUNE BASILDON – SUNDAY 29TH LFCC FRIDAY 4TH, SAT 5TH, SUN 6TH JULY MIDLANDS COMIC CON SAT 12TH, SUN 13TH JULY GUILDFORD SAT 19TH JULY For more dates in pop over to https://markstaywrites.com/diary-and-appearances/  Support the show Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/ Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop And there's more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

    51 min
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About

A monthly podcast where I talk to writer friends about those little things that make a big difference to their craft and careers in the hope that we can give readers some insight to the creative process, and writers and creative folk practical advice that they can actually use!The podcast is a recording of a monthly livestream.

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