Welcome to The Basic 500
Writing, plotting, procrastination
Yeah, I know, another Substack. But if you’re a writer, you know that no two writers go about this job the same way. So if you’re interested in how I go about it, sign up now. 1
It’s called The Basic 500, a reference to my own breakthrough moment when I worked out I could fit writing around a busy life in daily five-hundred-word building blocks. More about that in the first regular missive.
Join me as I gear up for publication of my first novel in a while (the first ever carrying my real name) and as I write the next book.
Every couple of weeks I’ll be posting about a different aspect of my writing process, from plotting to building characters, from chairing events to ghost writing. I’ll update on how the new book is going, and share interesting things that I’m reading, watching or listening to.
I’ll send a new email every two weeks, and I like to keep things reasonably concise, so I hope I can be a worthwhile yet low-maintenance addition to your subscription list.
The first instalment proper goes out this evening. I’m starting out with: how to write a book when you don’t have time to write a book.
Disclaimer: how I go about writing a book changes from book to book. And indeed, from week to week.