Notes in the Margin Podcast

Why are you doing what you do? Writing what you write? Creating what you create? Vicky asked herself this recently and realised she wasn’t enjoying herself. Tune in this week and listen to Vicky and Joe talk about creativity, different types of intelligence, the reasons we do the things we do, and why we should be feeding our souls as well as our bank accounts.

This week, Vicky interviews dentist extraordinaire, Dr. Karl Walker-Finch, about his new book In the Loupe. Dr. Karl and Vicky worked together in the early stages of writing his book — and he released it into the wild this month! Listen in and find out about Dr. Karl’s writing process, how he approached the structure, what he enjoyed and what he found challenging, and why music features so heavily in a book about the world of dentistry.

Join Vicky and Joe as they talk about — well, frankly, it’s a bit of a shambles this week. But they do talk about finding joy in writing, how we get distracted by stuff we think we should be doing, and how to spark a little joy and write something wonderful. This episode contains nuts and also a story in which Vicky asks, “But why are we going shopping? Why is this fun?”

Join Vicky as she chats to her very very old mentor Jon McCulloch, aka the Evil Bald Genius, about how he’s actually a very kind fluffy bunny and not at all evil, and also about his books. We dig into why he wrote his books and, crucially, how’s he’s using them to grow his business. So if you’re writing a book you hope is going to help you grow your business, this is a must-listen episode. You’ll get everything you need inside. Enjoy!

We’re back for part 2 of the MicroBook Magic Author Showcase! Hurrah! Party! This week, we’ll hear from Sarah Milne, Yinka Ewuola, and Sharon Blue as they read from their upcoming MicroBooks. If you’d like to join us for Season 3 of MicroBook Magic and write your own book by May Day, check the link in the show notes!

This week, join us for a MicroBook special! To celebrate the end of MicroBook Magic Season 2, Vicky hosted an Author Showcase for MicroBook authors to read a snippet from their upcoming books. Join us for part 1 this week, as we hear all about what a MicroBook actually is, then listen to Hillary Weiss, Clara Callís Lewis, Sara Walka, and Sophie Blackmore entertain and delight us. Enjoy!

This week, Vicky and Joe welcome our robot overlords with open arms! If you can sit through the first 10 minutes of extremely low-quality discussion about what AI is, from two people who don’t really understand it, you’ll be rewarded with a useful second half. Your hosts share several ways writers can use AI to make their lives easier — and talk about why we won’t ever replace human art with AI art.

This week, after waxing lyrical about septic tanks, and reading excerpts from a wonderful little MicroBook, Vicky and Joe dive into life and writing lessons learned over the past 11 years. Basically, some of the most important stuff Vicky could’ve done with knowing before she started. Here it is for you, so you don’t have to faff around before you write your book.

Come and get weird with Vicky and Joe! This week, your hosts investigate a few ways you can mix it up and get more creative. This episode contains: knitting, bad haikus, interpretative dance, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, magic magnets, cuttlefish, and cat sneezes. It’s better than it sounds, so listen up!

Around this time last year, Vicky and Joe talked about the power of What If? And also ludicrously expensive oak doors, poo disasters, and why shoes in the house are UNACCEPTABLE. This topic is just as relevant now, so we’ve put it out again. What if you tried this thing? What if... you wrote your book? Tune in and get the pep talk you’ve been waiting for.

This week, Vicky and Joe science the shit out of choosing your book topic! Vicky is doing a really cool programme called Ship 30 for 30, and realised it’s a fabulous way of deciding on your book topic.