Reading aloud with Susanna Schrobsdorff

Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande was published in 1934 and is still one of the most loved writing manuals. Hilary Mantel told writers it was the only book on writing you needed to read. In this episode, Bec tries one of Brande’s strangest tips: inducing an ‘artistic coma’. You lie down in a dim room, drift between sleep and waking, then go straight to your desk when you feel the urge to write.Playwright Claire Merrick has been stuck on a key scene for four days, and she tries the tip to see if it gets her moving. We also hear how Flaubert, Jung, Edison and Salvador Dalí each found their own way into the creative twilight zone, and what modern neuroscience says about why resting our brains helps us think.Continue the conversation on Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.Featuring Dorothea Brande (1893–1948) was an American writer and editor from Chicago. She worked on literary magazines including The Bookman and The American Review. Her 1934 book Becoming a Writer drew on her experience of teaching writing, and it has stayed in print for almost a century and is championed by many. Her next book on self-help,Wake Up and Live! was a bestseller and was made into a Hollywood film.Claire Merrick is an actor and playwright, born in Liverpool, raised in Wales and now based near London. She came to acting after a career in business, beginning with evening classes at RADA before spending a year training at Central School of Speech and Drama. Today she trains regularly at The New Actors Centre. She has written three plays – The Table, The Tower and Run, Little Blue Duck - and is developing a fourth script. Through her work she became an ambassador for NO MORE, which works to end domestic and sexual violence.This episode also mentions Hilary Mantel's rules for writers, Salvador Dali's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship, Carl Jung's The Red Book, and Dr Joseph Jebelli's The Brain at Rest. For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s easy to get stuck when we’re preoccupied with what the finished thing will be. Bestselling author Cathy Rentzenbrink shares her advice to 'write around' the writing: head out with a notebook, a five pound note and a simple prompt, and let go of whether the words will make the final draft. Willing guinea pig Helen Meller puts it to the test on a project about a lost silent film of Wuthering Heights, and we hear advice to keep writing from renowned radio producer Ira Glass (Current TV, 2006) on the gap between our taste and our work. Thank you to Cathy and Helen.About the guestsCathy Rentzenbrink is the Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of The Last Act of Love, Dear Reader, How to Feel Better, Everyone Is Still Alive and Ordinary Time. Her new book is The Agatha Christie Cure. She is a renowned book reviewer and literary festival panellist and host. Prior to writing her own books, Cathy was a passionate bookseller at Waterstones, working in seven different branches before becoming Publisher Relations Manager for the group. After that she became Project Director at literacy charity Quick Reads, then Books Editor at the Bookseller. She runs the Curtis Brown memoir-writing course and the highly popular online ‘Sunday Sessions’.Helen Meller is director of Arvon at Lumb Bank and vice chair of the Brontë Society. She has a background as a creative producer in festivals, TV, radio and publishing. She hosts The Brontë Lounge, a series of online interviews with Brontë-inspired creatives. For BBC Radio 4, she abridged The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum and script edited Picnic at Hanging Rock. She was also Mariella Frostrup’s producer for more than a decade, working on everything from talk shows to cult movie programmes. Helen has an MA in creative writing and is working on a Brontë-related non-fiction project.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Editing our own writing is hard when we're too close to the words. Journalist and editor Susanna Schrobsdorff shares a simple, free technique she learned at TIME magazine: read your work out loud, then find a 'willing victim' to read it to. Business writer Bruno Selun puts it to the test on a report he's finishing, and we hear how David Sedaris uses a live audience as his first editor.About the guestsSusanna Schrobsdorff writes the It's Not Just You newsletter on Substack where she has 17k subscribers. She is a contributor to The Washington Post, Monocle and TIME magazine, as well as co-founder of The Blue Hour Paris writing retreat. Previously, she was an executive editor at TIME magazine. She lives in Paris with a small, cosseted dog.Bruno Selun is a team coach and facilitator. He writes for clients and for his business, Kumquat. He is based in Brussels, Belgium. He specialises in helping international executive teams, boards, and organizations navigate complex dynamics to achieve measurable, transformative impact.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nominated for the Man Booker Prize, the novelist Wyl Menmuir credits the sea with transforming him from a distractible city-dweller into a working writer. Bec explores the 'blue mind theory' behind why water calms our minds and unlocks creativity - then sends retired teacher Nancy Harris McLelland on a 12-hour round trip across Nevada to test it for herself, with surprising results.Featuring Wyl Menmuir is a multi award-winning author of novels, non fiction and short stories. His 2016 debut novel, The Many, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Wyl's non-fiction books have been awarded the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors, the Award for Excellence from the OWPG, and a Holyer an Gof Award. In 2026, he received the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize, awarded for a body of work that demonstrates the beauty and fragility of the living world and promotes greater ecological awareness. A former journalist, Wyl has written for Radio 4, The Guardian and The Observer. He lectures in creative writing at Falmouth University and when he is not writing or teaching writing he enjoys messing around in boats. More about Wyl. Nancy Harris McLelland is an ex cow-girl and Elko County native who grew up on ranches along the Ruby Mountains, Nevada. Before retiring, Nancy taught creative writing for 20 years at Mendocino College in northern California. She has presented her work at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, and her writing appears in Cowboy Poetry Matters, Nevada Humanities' Heart-to-Heart, UNR Brushfire, New Mexico Magazine, Edge, Tahoe Writers Works, and the Writers of the Mendocino Coast anthologies. More about Nancy.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To close series one, we're revisiting six writers' advice and the experiments it inspired - from Oliver Burkeman's ‘massively eccentric' approach to editing (delete the document, retype from scratch) to Mason Currey's cut-up-your-draft-with-scissors method for finding new connections in your work. Along the way: Emma Gannon on artist dates and solo creative boosts, Benjamin Myers on the writing advice he ignored for years before it caught up with him, Alison Jones on what six minutes of exploratory writing can unlock, and a tribute to the late Peter Elbow – freewriting hero and the writer who convinced Bec that getting stuck might be the most creative thing that can happen to you.Six writers, six volunteers willing to put the advice to the test, and no guarantees any of it will work for you too. That's rather the point. All six episodes of This Might Work are available now wherever you get your podcasts. Rate, review, and join us on Substack at Breakthroughs & Blocks.FeaturingOliver Burkeman is the author of four books and writes The Imperfectionist, a newsletter on productivity, mortality, the power of limits and building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment. A former colunmist on the Guardian, his book Four Thousand Weeks was a Sunday Times instant best seller. He also wrote the foreword to the book that inspired this podcast Written: How To Keep Writing and Build A Habit That Lasts.Emma Gannon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of eight books, including A Year of Nothing and Table for One. Her new book, A Creative Compass, publishes in June 2026. She writes the bestselling Substack newsletter The Hyphen, hosts creativity retreats around the world, and served as a judge for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.Born in Durham Benjamin Myers now lives in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. His work spans fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism and has earned him some of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, NME, Mojo and many others.Alison Jones is director of Practical Inspiration Publishing and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club, a podcast and community for writers and readers of extraordinary business books. She regularly speaks and writes on the business of books. Former head judge of the Business Book Awards she’s written several books herself, including the bestselling This Book Means Business and Exploratory Writing: Everyday magic for life and work.Mason Currey is the author of the Daily Rituals books - Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2013) and Daily Rituals: Women at Work (2019) - featuring brief profiles of the day-to-day working lives of more than 300 great creative minds. His new book Making Art and Making a Living examines the collision of creative ambitions with real-world necessities and the compromises that gifted individuals have patched together when facing the eternal dilemma of funding an artistic life.Peter Elbow (1935–2025) was an American writing teacher and theorist, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in composition studies. He taught at MIT and later became Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Elbow wrote over 10 books, most notably Writing Without Teachers. He died in 2025 aged 89.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the way to finally finish a stalled piece of writing wasn't planning, but four hours of writing without stopping to think, edit or look back? In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores the developmental free-writing method created by Peter Elbow, the legendary writing teacher who died in 2025 and whose 1973 book Writing Without Teachers changed how we think about getting words on the page. Then she puts it to the test with Jenny Cooke, a railway engineer writing her first non-fiction book, who shuts herself in her writing shed and free writes her way through a stuck chapter, hour by hour. Can refusing to stop, edit, or think be the key to working out what you actually want to say?FeaturingPeter Elbow (1935–2025): Peter was an American writing teacher and theorist, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in composition studies. His own struggles with writing, including difficulties at Williams College, Oxford, and an unfinished PhD at Harvard, shaped his thinking. He taught at MIT and later became Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Elbow wrote over 10 books, most notably Writing Without Teachers (1973), which introduced free writing and the teacherless writing class that shaped how writing groups and workshops work today. He died in 2025 aged 89.Jenny Cooke: Jenny is a railway engineer who lives in the English Midlands and recently achieved Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She’s passionate about sustainability and training the next generation of engineers, and found there was a gap in the available literature - so since 2020 she’s been writing a textbook for railway professionals to help them deliver better projects that will help local communities and nature thrive. For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the answer to a stuck or stalling writing project wasn't to sit back down at your desk - but to pick up a pair of scissors? In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores the cut-and-reassemble method developed by Mason Currey, bestselling author of Daily Rituals, who turns redrafting into what he calls a funky art project. Then she puts it to the test with Harriet Mason, a professional copywriter tackling her first novel, who prints out her entire manuscript, clears the kitchen table, and starts cutting. Can getting physical with your words unlock what staring at a screen couldn't?About the guests Mason Currey: Mason Currey is the author of the Daily Rituals books - Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2013) and Daily Rituals: Women at Work (2019) - featuring brief profiles of the day-to-day working lives of more than 300 great creative minds. His brilliant new book Making Art and Making a Living examines the collision of creative ambitions with real-world necessities and the compromises that gifted individuals have patched together when facing the eternal dilemma of funding an artistic life. Currey lives in Los Angeles and writes Subtle Maneuvers, a twice-monthly newsletter on the creative process. Currey lives in Los Angeles and writes Subtle Maneuvers, a twice-monthly newsletter on the creative process.Harriet Mason: Harriet Mason is a professional writer, storyteller and communication specialist based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. She started writing her own stories in 2020 and was shortlisted for the Fish Short Memoir Prize in 2023, published in The London Writer’s Salon anthology 2024 and she is currently writing a novel set in the 1920s. You can find Harriet on Instagram: harriet_moorcommunication or Substack: In Other Words.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the answer to a stuck writing project wasn't more time, more planning, or more thinking - but six minutes and a scrappy piece of paper? In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores 'exploratory writing', a daily practice developed by author and publisher Alison Jones that uses questions to discover what you don't yet know. Then she puts it to the test with Margaret O'Brien, a novelist and creative non-fiction writer whose project has been lingering in her files - almost finished, but not quite. Can six minutes of messy writing open it up?About the guestsAlison Jones, MA, MBA, is director of Practical Inspiration Publishing and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club, a podcast and community for writers and readers of extraordinary business books. A veteran of the publishing industry, she regularly speaks and writes on the business of books. Former head judge of the Business Book Awards she’s written several books herself, including the bestselling This Book Means Business (2018) and Exploratory Writing: Everyday magic for life and work (2022). She is passionate about the value of both reading and writing for leaders, and particularly the extraordinary power of exploratory writing as a tool for thinking.  Margaret O'Brien lives in south-east Ireland, within sight of the Mountain of the Women. Her book, Weather Report is a 90-day journal that grew out of a creative community project during Covid. She is currently writing a hybrid novel that features the challenges and changes wrought by two quite different viruses - rabies in late 1890s Ireland and the coronavirus in the 21st century. She is a former lecturer, an affiliate of Amherst Writers & Artists, and leads various writing related events under the umbrella of 'Writing Changes Lives'. She keeps a card on her desk that reads, 'Let That Sh*t Go', because she needs regular reminding. For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The author and journalist Benjamin Myers ignored the writing advice he was given aged 22 - and went on to publish fourteen books. In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores what time of day we do our best creative work, talking to the award-winning writer about his late-night writing habit and how it shaped his early career. Then she puts the idea to the test with Louise Tondeur, a novelist and writing teacher who gets up to write in her garden shed at 6am. Can a committed morning writer produce anything useful after dark? It might work - if she can stay awake long enough to find out.About the guests Born in Durham Benjamin Myers now lives in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. His work spans fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism and has earned him some of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for The Gallows Pole - adapted for BBC by Shane Meadows - and the Goldsmiths Prize for Cuddy. The Offing was a UK and German bestseller, and his most recent novel, Jesus Christ Kinski, is a meditation on censorship, creativity and the question of whether great art can redeem a bad person. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, NME, Mojo and many others.Louise Tondeur is a writer and tutor living in East Sussex. She teaches part-time for the Open University and the Creative Writing Programme, works as a freelance editor and mentor, and runs her own writing courses. Lou has a PhD from Reading and an MA in Creative Writing plus a BA in Drama, both from the University of East Anglia. She has published essays and poetry, plus several books, including two novels and a series of short, friendly guides for writers. Her second short story collection, Invisible, is out soon, and she is currently writing a book on mindfulness for Bloomsbury Academic. Follow her on Substack here.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When writing isn’t working, the instinct is usually to try harder and spend longer at your desk. But bestselling author Emma Gannon learned after burnout that creativity needs time away from work.In this episode of This Might Work, Emma shares her solo creative boosts, inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Host Bec Evans puts the idea to the test with writer Aimz Rushton, who is struggling with creative burnout while working on a memoir about grief, fandom, and pop culture obsession.Aimz feels pressure to turn the experiment into the perfect grand day out, but a trip closer to home leads to unexpected creative connections, family memories, and a reminder that inspiration is often nearer than we think. It might work for you too.About the guestsEmma Gannon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of eight books, including A Year of Nothing and Table for One. Her new book, A Creative Compass, publishes in June 2026. She writes the bestselling Substack newsletter The Hyphen, hosts creativity retreats around the world, and served as a judge for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.Aimz Rushton is a recovering academic and pop culture obsessive. After publishing scholarship on contemporary African fiction, music, and mental illness, Aimz is now writing a memoir about grief, trauma, and obsessive fandom. They also write the Disco & Dissociation newsletter on Substack.CreditsPresenter: Bec EvansFeaturing: Emma Gannon and Aimz RushtonWith quotations from Julia Cameron and The Artist’s WayProducers: Bec Evans and Chris SmithPodcast production: Suzi Dale, Story PublishingFor bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.