Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and podcaster of dark fiction. He is one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, co-producer of iTunes-busting ‘The Other Stories’ podcast, as well as the host of the ‘Great Writers Share’ podcast.
Residing in the UK, Dan’s work explores the catastrophic and the strange. His stories span the genres of horror, post-apocalyptia, and sci-fi, and his work has seen him collaborating with some of the biggest names in the independent publishing community.
How Do You Write Podcast: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. Want tips on how to write the book you long to finish? Here you’ll gain insight from other writers on how to get in the chair, tricks to stay in it, and inspiration to get your own words flowing.
Transcript
Rachael Herron: [00:00:00] Welcome to “How do you, Write?” I’m your host, Rachael Herron. On this podcast, I talk to authors about how they write, what their process is and how their lives fit together. I’ll keep each episode short so you can get back to writing.
Well, hello writers! Welcome to episode number 157 of “How do you, Write?” I’m Rachael Herron. So pleased that you’re here with me today as I talk to Daniel Willcocks, who is a part of Hawk & Cleaver. He runs the ‘Great Writers Share’ podcast, which I was on, and he’s just one of those people that I fell into delight over when we first met online. So I am so pleased to have him talk here at you will find that he is just a charmer and he knows what he’s doing and he’s going to talk about writing fast, which all of us want to do.
I tell you what, little bit of update around here. I have been hitting my word count every day except for today. Honestly, I ran out of battery power when I was over at the uh, the college where I write, and I didn’t have my charger with me for reasons and I came home and wouldn’t you know, as soon as I came home, there have been 1 million things for me to do. If I’d had my charger, I would have stayed there and gotten my last thousand words, but it’s okay. I, hmm, might give myself today, I’ll make myself a little gimme, uh, get back into it tomorrow or I might catch those words in the afternoon, which I hate to do, but I have been really proud of myself for keeping up with my goals because I can be a slacker, not a big slacker, but a slacker enough that it makes me feel bad. And, uh, I’ve been having so much fun with this book, although I was lamenting to a friend that I believe I’m a third of the way through it now, and the inciting incident just happened. So I’ve got some timing issues, some things, some major things that are going to need to happen in the revision when I get there, but I just write myself a little posted about what I think is going to have to happen later and I go on, as if it’s always happened. I needed to get them out of the house, uh, this morning. So, I gave her a cat that slips out and she asked to go get it ‘cause she has to go find something outside and I write, she has a cat named Freddy. He’s big and orange. This sounds so familiar to me, I may have had a big orange Freddy cat in a book before. Maybe I need a big orange cat named Freddy, I don’t know. Um, but that’s my post it. And then when I go back and revisions, that’s a one of my many revisions post-its and Freddy, I will weave him in from the beginning. See, um, that’s how I kind of do it and I kind of don’t worry about it.
And I’ve just been having a very nice time letting it all fall on the page sloppily. Badly. I know that I’m writing a terrible first draft, and that makes me feel so much better to know that what else has been going on? Oh, classes wrapped up. Um, my memoir class finished and uh, that was really nice, it was an in person class at Stanford, and I have to say, might’ve been my best class ever, in terms of the most delightful people, usually, to be honest, I get the most delightful people plus one challenge, and even my challenges are pretty darn small and I had no challenges in this class. They were just a lovely and good writers and compassionate and supportive and eager and no one dropped out. That’s one of the things I love about this memoir costs. A one person had to stop coming because she was moving, but everybody else just kept coming. And also my 90 days to done wrapped up, so today is Thursday, December 12th that was the first day, and nine, nine months that I haven’t met with a group of people at noon. I did 90 days to done, followed quickly by 90 days to revision and then followed by another 90 days down and I’m taking a few weeks off as I try to recalibrate and see where it’s going to fit into my life in the beginning of the year, because January is very, very busy. I am going to be in Pittsburgh for a, um, teaching at Seton Hill in their MFA program. Which I’m really looking forward to and there is going to be a live in person thing with me and Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell. So if you’re interested in that, hit me up. If you’re in that area and want to come say hello. Also, I’m going to, that’s the first week of January and the first week of February, February 1 through 3, I’m going to be at a story shop summit in Austin. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Austin. It is a city that Lala and I have been thinking about. Maybe it’s a good place to live. Who knows? I, um, am looking forward to looking around while I’m there. So if you have any Austin recommendations, let me know. And yeah, almost is going well.
Let’s jump into the interview now or after I thank new patreon, Anita Ramirez, thank you very much, Anita. You should have gotten your personalized little video thank you in your email. I like to do that when I can, but also a big thank you to you and to everyone who supports on the show. You can always check that out at www.patreon.com/rachael and I hope that where you are, you are getting some happy writing done and if you let yourself slack off a day or a few days that you don’t beat yourself up as I am often want to do that you just let that go and start again tomorrow. Remembering that tomorrow morning, you might not feel like writing either, but do it anyway. I’ll be doing it. I’ll be writing with you even though I don’t want to.
Yesterday was a really rough day for me to get to the page and I made myself drive out to the coast and write before I got to eat this crab sandwich, it’s crab melt that I love to get outdoors in Pescadero. Uh, so that was my reward. Maybe you should be thinking a lot about rewards for you. It’s harder this time of year. It’s hard mentally at this time of year, I have a lot of family and friends who are struggling with some mental health stuff right now. So if that is you, please be gentle with yourself. You are doing writing work right now and you listen to other writers, that counts as part of your job as does reading. Nothing counts more than writing, of course, but reading and listening and learning, that all counts toward your writing goals, and your writing dreams. So, um, I hope you enjoyed this interview and I wish you happy writing and we’ll talk soon.
Do you wonder why you’re not getting your creative work done? Do you make a plan to write and then fail to follow through? Again? Well, nice sweet friend, maybe you’d get a lot out of my Patreon. Each month I write an essay on living your creative life as a creative person, which is way different than living as a person who’d been just Netflix 20 hours a week, and I have lived both of those ways. So I know you can get each essay and access to the whole back catalog of them for just a dollar a month. Which is an amount that really, truly helps support me at this here writing desk. If you pledge it, the $3 level, you’ll get motivating texts from me that you can respond to, and if you pledge at the $5 a month level, you get to ask me questions about your creative life that I’ll answer in the mini episodes. So basically, I’m your mini coach. Go to www.patreon.com/rachael R, a, c, h, a, e, l to get these perks and more. And thank you so much.
Rachael Herron: [00:07:40] Well, I could not be more pleased today to welcome to the show, Daniel Willcocks. Hello Daniel!
Daniel Willcocks: [00:07:45] Hello Rachel, how are you?
Rachael Herron: [00:07:46] I’m so glad to see you again.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:07:48] I know; it’s been a whole like two or three weeks.
Rachael Herron: [00:07:51] Terrible. It’s so long. I was on your wonderful, Great Writers Share podcast, which was so fun. Thank you again for having me, and it was one of those reciprocal things as soon as we hung up, I said, you have to be on my show. So now you’re here. Let me give you a bit of a bio before we start.
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and podcaster of dark fiction. He is one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, which is a name I always admire, co-producer of iTunes-busting ‘The Other Stories’ podcast, as well as the host of the ‘Great Writers Share’ podcast. Residing in the UK, Dan’s work explores the catastrophic and the strange. His stories span the genres of horror, post-apocalyptica, post-apocalyptia? Is that what you say?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:08:36] Post-apocalyptia
Rachael Herron: [00:08:38] Oh, thank you. And sci-fi, and his work has seen him collaborating with some of the biggest names in the independent publishing community. And you and I met through J thorn, who is,
Daniel Willcocks: [00:08:48] we did
Rachael Herron: [00:08:48] one of those biggest names in the independent publishing community. Jay really gets
Daniel Willcocks: [00:08:52] Jay is a goddess of his own source. The best part is, he doesn’t even realize it.
Rachael Herron: [00:08:57] He does – he doesn’t, but he
Daniel Willcocks: [00:08:58] So humble
Rachael Herron: [00:08:59] When you do tell him that he just rolls his eyes and yeah, it’s great. But I also, um, so it was, I was saying on your show how I connected with him immediately, and I connected with you immediately and I really want to hear about your process and how you, because you do all of this stuff and you’re writing the most important part. Um, and you’ve got a kid or two, right?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:09:26] Yeah, I’ve got a, a four soon to be five-year-old as well.
Rachael Herron: [00:09:29] Oh my goodness. So tell us about that. You, this is your full time gig now, right?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:09:33] Yeah. So I went full time in April this year, so just over the 6-month mark. But um,
Rachael Herron: [00:09:39] Yeah, that’s right. And you’re right in the terror point, right?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:09:43] Yeah. Yeah. I’m kind of in that middle of, you know, enjoying what I’m doing. It’s, it’s, it’s getting me by. It’s, it’s everything that I kind of want it to be. Um, and as you always wants to do when you’re taking your career sort of solo is I want to start looking at hitting that next level. So it’s now taking those steps and trying to try to make that happen, I think I’m sitting in that part of learning what my process is, learning what my day looks like, learning how to say, capable the ins and outs of what it means to be freelance, and, to do this all the time. But yeah, I’m slowly getting there. Six, six months is a good milestone marker. So I’m just gonna keep pushing.
Rachael Herron: [00:10:17] I am at four years and I still am trying to figure those things out. So,
Daniel Willcocks: [00:10:20] Yeah, that seems to be the common consensus. It never seems to get any, any easier, really,
Rachael Herron: [00:10:25] Which is kind of what I love and why I do this show, because our processes are always, always changing and adapting and there is no one right way, although we all should think that our way is the right way, the one right way. And I want to hear about your one right way. So tell us about your writing process, when and where and how much and how often.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:10:43] Um, so my day tends to be built up that I will typically on a good day. Okay, I’ll put sort of half five and my first thing I’ll do is I’ll go out and have sort of a 10-15 minute run just to get my body going and get outside, get a bit of fresh air, wake up the body. Um, I’ll come home, I’ll sort of make myself a coffee while the kettle’s boiling. I’ll have a 5-10-minute meditation just to try and get my mind into the right state of calm, knowing what it is I’m going to do. Um, one thing that I haven’t done for the last few months, which I’m bringing back in, uh, over the next few weeks because it works very well at the time, is, um, I’m not a journaler as such, but I did buy a sort of note pads that I started writing on my to do list in the morning. Comparing it to what I wanted to do the previous day and sort of transferring over a bit, It’s very bullet, journal and style. Um, and I think five minutes of sitting down and what I do is I’ll write three things I’m thankful for and then write my sort of to do list of things that I just want to get done that day. And then out of that list of everything, ‘cause I will, I’ll, I’ll literally put everything on there that I can think of, but then I’ll sort of pick three things where I’m like, all right, this is your priority, anything else is just notice. Um. And then I’ll, from about six just gone six, I’ll write until 7 o’clock when my son gets up, I’ll sort him out, take him to school, do all that kind of dad stuff, and then I’ll generally get writing again about half 9, 10 o’clock and aim to finish at about midday one o’clock depending on how much I’m trying to get done that day and, and what I’m doing. Um, but I mean, like I said, that’s kind of a typical day that I try and aim for. But then the afternoons on me filled with being on my laptop, doing podcast stuff, uh, doing the marketing, the evenings usually spent with that, some sort of super big stuff I’m trying to plan for next year. Um, and I think I’m absolutely obsessed at the minute with the work I’m doing and I’m loving all the stuff I’m doing and I’m finding I’ll try and find that balance between home life and work. Um. But at the same time, I know that I will need to start taking a bit more of a break soon, and I do tend to hit it quite heavy when it comes into the stuff that I am doing. Um, so yeah, it’s finding that balance, but typically, yeah, that’ll be my sort of, when I’ll get my writing done, will be those, those hours in the day.
Rachael Herron: [00:12:44] Your schedule is; I think maybe the first time I’ve ever heard. Basically, my exact schedule, exactly down to, and including the bullet journal and the grand
Daniel Willcocks: [00:12:56] We have the right ones
Rachael Herron: [00:12:57] Exactly. We are the right ones, exactly! Um, and the gratitude, I think is something that nobody else has ever brought up, but, but, in our brains cognitively, doing these gratitude lists actually helps us be happier. Literally, it raises the happiness level. They prove it. Yes, so,
Daniel Willcocks: [00:13:14] I am – I put a diary in, I wanna say March. It was called the 6-minute journal, which you could buy on Amazon for about 20 pounds. Yeah. That was the, the principles of that is three minutes in the morning, three minutes in the, in the evening. And a big part of that was the gratitude and I, you can look back and scan ‘cause it makes you basically score different parts of your, your mental wellbeing against like family, finance, um, health, friendship, all that kind of stuff.
Rachael Herron: [00:13:37] Oh, that’s great
Daniel Willcocks: [00:13:38] Yeah. On a scale of 1 to 10, and so look at like the first few pages then sort of about four or five months after and see those numbers go up.
Rachael Herron: [00:13:46] Because it is, yeah. It’s so hard to do that. Um, just in our brains, there’s also another one called the productivity planner, uh, which, which you may have seen and what I took from that one is exactly what you do, where you list everything out, but then you pick the top. You know, one, two or three things that if you did them, your day will be complete, that you can, and then everything else is bonus. And it sounds like you’re doing that too. Yeah. Yeah, that’s, I heartily approve!
Daniel Willcocks: [00:14:11] Yeah. I’ve been high school studying this stuff for probably about, you know, I’d say about two, two and a half years or so, particularly. Um, going back to my old job before I got into the writing was I took a big step very quickly from sort of assistant to coordinator to a manager role. And in trying to handle that, I spent a lot of time trying to refine this process and find the things that would help me get through that. And I’ve kind of carried a lot of that into my writing, so,
Rachael Herron: [00:14:34] Well then if finding the exact perfect one. So they will say that everyone gotta get up at five. Uh, but that’s just nuts. That’s just, that’s terrible. All right. What is your biggest challenge when it comes to writing?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:14:44] Oh, myself
Rachael Herron: [00:14:48] Quite simpe,
Daniel Willcocks: [00:14:49] So, yeah. My, I guess my biggest challenge is the expectations of what I think I can get done in a day versus physically what I can get done in a day. And I’m someone that I, I pride myself on quality of work, but at the same time, um, the, the way I’m working in the projects I’m working on at the minute are quite fast moving projects. So there’s a certain level of, okay, this is good enough to be shipped and, and go out, and it’s a lot about getting out of my own way and try not to get bogged down because. I’m trying to understand which part of my author journey I’m on. I’m trying to look at what my end goal is and where I want to get to. Um, and I just know that some of the stuff I’m doing at the minute, it’s just the work that needs to be done to get to where I am. And, you know, things like this, they don’t just happen overnight. Even, even in becoming full time. I had a month period where in, I think it was probably about month four. So, um, my head started going, okay, you’ve made it. Which meant that then I slowed down and everything and then things started to catch up and I was like, no, no. You’ve only just started this journey. Really. You’ve only just gone full time, because that was the hard thing was to go from, I really want to be a full time author to I’m now a full time author that feels like you’ve hit the big time and you’ve made the jackpot. Obviously it’s a, it’s a monumental, um thing, in his own right. But then you suddenly realize, okay, you now, have to find a way to keep this and make it sustainable, and then that’s the next part of the journey. So, um, yeah, I think the biggest challenge really is one, overcoming those obstacles and getting your head into a way in which you’re looking at what your end goal is and trying to find the right steps to reach there, that are going to work for you. Yeah, it’s normally getting out of my own way and try not to destroy myself or get this hard because I’ll have days where I do, I did do quite bit of word counts. I like days when I rise with 5,000, 6,000 words, and it won’t be the amount of words that I want to get.
Rachael Herron: [00:16:36] That’s not – do you want more?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:16:38] Yes. Yes, I do. Yeah. I’ll take them.
Rachael Herron: [00:16:43] What’s an ideal day a word count for you on a day?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:16:46] I think I want to; I want to average about 7 or 8.
Rachael Herron: [00:16:50] Holy cow. I am not that smart. Like once I hit about 3000 words, I’m out of ideas. I could keep going, but I don’t have any more for the rest of the day and my brain refuse it. It just shuts the gate. No more ideas for you today. You must rest.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:02] Yeah, I know, um
Rachael Herron: [00:17:04] Are you on dictation or is this all typing?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:07] This all typing.
Rachael Herron: [00:17:08] Jay told me yesterday that he hits 1700 words in 22 minutes and I wanted to punch him in the face. That’s so fast.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:17] Yeah. I, uh, I think the best that I’ve done, particularly last six months or so was, and I still don’t know how I did it, but I was in a Starbucks, Um, it was the first time I used an accountability partner. I think I was tired. I tend to write well when I’m tired.
Rachael Herron: [00:17:28] I do too.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:29] Yeah. Because he’s just not thinking. And within the hour I looked up and I’d written 3000 words somehow, and I was like,
Rachael Herron: [00:17:35] Wow, that’s my goal. That’s my dream.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:37] Imagine if you could do that regularly, you could do that one hour, boom checkout.
Rachael Herron: [00:17:41] You have now proven like breaking the 4-minute mile, you’ve now proven it can be done. So, you can work towards that, exactly.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:50] Yes
Rachael Herron: [00:17:51] Keep me posted on that. What is your biggest joy when it comes to writing?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:17:55] Um, I think, I think it’s two things. I think, uh, number one is I love the, the flow state of writing and just being in the story and just, I mean your name, because obviously you, you, you want to fit this as well. There’s no real, real way to explain it. It’s just that that blesses just writing and just knowing that the words are pouring out and feeling like it’s good, even though it might not necessarily be even an insight. But that moment where you just sort of spend 20 minutes, half hour away ever is, it’s all gone, right? You feel fantastic. You can just, you know, hit whatever close your laptop and just, and just call it a day.
Rachael Herron: [00:18:28] Oh, it’s so good
Daniel Willcocks: [00:18:35] And it’s so rare that it makes you, seek even more because I love it, but I’m trying to remember the last time I actually had it and I think it was probably a few weeks ago. Um, but then the other thing is actually hearing from, from the readers and sort of real people reaching out to you and, um, I mean, we’ve got one person, I won’t name her, but she’s an avid fan of everything Hawk & Cleaver does. And, uh, the minute you bring something out, she’s, she’s shouting about it. She’s messaging.
Rachael Herron: [00:19:57] I love those people
Daniel Willcocks: [00:18:58] Yeah. And she, she’s a person that’s sort of gone through a lot of, um, uh, health issues over the past however many years. She’s really, really struggling and she’s one of these people that just, the, the stuff that we do is bring in her relief. And I think there’s something just so rewarding about that. Yeah.
Rachael Herron: [00:19:13] That’s amazing
Daniel Willcocks: [00:19:14] And to find those people as well because not everyone wants to reach out
Rachael Herron: [00:19:17] and to find those people, to, to have those people find you and for you to appreciate them, I think is really, really special and important. And, um, to make those people be heard and feel heard is also a gift that you’re giving. So that’s beautiful. Yeah. I love that. Can you share a craft tip of any sort with us?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:19:37] Uh. I kind of already have, so write fast. It’s my craft. It, yeah. and I’m sure, um, I know Jay speaks about this sometimes, and I’m sure you’ve had it before, but my, my whole system at the minute is particularly with first drafting just right there. Can I swear on here?
Rachael Herron: [00:19:57] Oh yes. Go right ahead.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:19:58] Yes, write the fucker as fast as you can, because there’s, there’s so much that you can do when you have that first draft done and you know what your story is, and you know the parts you need to fix, you know what, you need to add everything else. And I think it’s very easy to get bogged down in a, I’ve forgotten what this name is, so I’m going to Google it. Oh, that’s Google. Okay. That’s 20 minutes distracted looking at other things. Okay. Back. Okay. So that, um, and there’s nothing really more valuable, um, in my opinion and actually getting that first draft done and then knowing what the story is because it’s really difficult to know what your story is until you finish it.
Rachael Herron: [00:20:32] Absolutely.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:20:33] It will change from the start to the end. So that’s probably my biggest one is just write fast and move out of your own way. Just get it done.
Rachael Herron: [00:20:39] What are your specific tips as to writing fast from me? Um, my biggest one is to cut off the distractions and uh, do sprints of any length cause, and I really like what you said about doing a sprint with an accountability partner opposite you at the table, because I am supremely competitive mostly against myself, but if somebody else is there, I want to, this is terrible to admit, but I want them to overhear the typing of my fingers and wonder if I’m faking, you know, doing fake typing. I want them so fast. I’m so busy. Um so, do you have any other tips like that, that you use to get the words out quickly?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:21:17] Yeah, so I mean, um, I’ve jumped through those different methods. Most of what has worked well for me has been time sessions. I did go through a period for a good few months actually, where I just, as long as I picked the same days, the same times every day, my body would start to get into that. But I think that’s because I built that habit. Um, my, my biggest ones that I found keeping productive in the morning, um, when I’m first on my computer, what I would do is open up my calendar app and actually blocking the times that I’ll be writing and how many words I’m going to get done. And I don’t say how much I want to,
Rachael Herron: [00:21:49] I love that
Daniel Willcocks: [00:21:50], I will say I’m going to. Um, so I mean, I’ve got like pages and pages on my calendar where it was sort of there’ll be a block though. Say 2000 words, 1/2 thousand words, 800 words, whatever time period, period. I’m trying to fill in, and
Rachael Herron: [00:22:02] That’s so simple, and, and it seems like it would work really well.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:22:06] Yeah, because I don’t look at the calendar and I’ll be like, okay, I’ll know if I hit one thousand five hundred two thousand before that time is up, I reward myself with a little break until the next block happens, or I can try and push a bit further and then build that tally up at the end. Um, but also means that I’ve got a visual of how long it will take me to write 1000, 2000, 3000 words in, in those colors. So that’s one of the big ones. And then, yeah, I’ve jumped back now into 15 minute timers and I’ve just bought a new Fitbit watch, which I can set a timer on so every while do is I’ll set 15 minutes and then just hammer out words, try not to think about ’em too much, and then just get them done until it buzzes.
Rachael Herron: [00:22:44] I love that. I’m so glad that I asked you to expand on that. I’m immediately stealing the Google calendar thing, that is brilliant.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:22:51] I don’t know how I came up with that but yeah,
Rachael Herron: [00:22:54] I, I don’t know why I’ve never heard it. You’re the first to bring this to me and I, and I adore it, so thank you very much. This is why I do this show. Copyright.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:23:00] Copyright. Dibs.
Rachael Herron: [00:23:04] Write a book on that, no one’s written that book yet. Um, what is the thing in your life that affects your writing in a surprising way?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:23:12] I tend to fit surprising so much, but reading in that, so I tend to read quite widely. Um, I like, I like my horror a lot, but depending on the types of book I’m writing, I’ll try to find books similar to what I’m trying to achieve because I tend to be very, I found, um, from a very early age that I’m very good at mimicking, um. Which sounds awful. I’m not seeing people’s content, but like
Rachael Herron: [00:23:40] That’s how we do it. That’s how we learn.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:23:41] Yeah. Yeah. And if it came to drawing, I was always really good at sort of copying while he was on the creating my stuff. But with writing, I find that whatever book I’m reading that will just influence 100% while I’m writing that day. So I have to be careful about what I’m reading that leaks into it because I mean, I’m going to struggle to give examples now, but the last thing I want is for a book to not sound like it’s all come from one unified voice and say I’m writing something in the post-apocalyptic zone, and then I’m reading something really, really horror, a lace. Then it’s a case of, I don’t want too much horror to go into post-apocalyptic. So I then have to specifically find a post-apocalyptic book to bring out, to read, to, to do that. And when I started writing, um, back in 2015, I would deliberately sit and read for five minutes before every writing session, like book next to me. Read it. Okay. Just to get my head into this or paragraph structures, the sentence structures, how will the tone of voices just to get me started? And that was kind of how I built up craft and started looking at voice as well. So reading, um, which seems like the most obvious thing when you’re a writer anyway. But yeah, massive, massive impact depending on what I’m reading to what I’m writing.
Rachael Herron: [00:24:48] That is also a bonus craft tip people. So that’s awesome. Um, speaking of reading, what is the best book you’ve read recently and why did you love it?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:24:57] Wolf Land by Jonathan Jan’s.
Rachael Herron: [00:25:00] What genre is it? It sounds like horror.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:25:02] Yeah. All right. Yes. Um, I mean, number one, it was a beautiful hardback, which I wasn’t expecting it was a present with my brother. Um, but I asked for a paper – well, I thought I’d ask for paperback, but it came as a hardback, but it was beautiful and it had this sort of red and black color out the Wolf on it. And, um, I think the thing about the books that I love the most was just how, and this is, this can make the horror side of me. Cause I know that I sound really sweet and soft and everything.
Rachael Herron: [00:25:28] All these, all these sweet people, the sweetest people have the darkest writing. Yeah.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:25:32] Yes. Um, and there were just, ah, the story itself was centered around a group of, um adults who had come back and they were basically doing a school reunion and a couple of days before the actual school year reunion, they’re out in the woods and they get attacked by the zombie or this werewolf something that’s somebody where we’ll figure who comes in attacks a few of them. I mean, it’s their story of how they deal with becoming werewolves while hiding it linked with everything else, but just the, the descriptions and the way that it was very poetical and how it actually described a lot of the actual horror stuff. I love it when, I love it when people stray away from cliche, you can come up with really original source. Um, sense inducing ways to, to make you feel the horror and that’s, that’s one of the things I do, but from horror is that people who can attack the fire centers really get me. And that’s what I love it’s that communication of words into feelings?
Rachael Herron: [00:26:19] Yes.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:26:48] So I just sit there and she feels physically scared to actually like taste, smell certain things and this guy just captured that in some really, really beautiful sequences which I put marks and now I get back to, and just have a little look and like yeah, this is what I want to have on my own so it was that kind of stuff. I think it was just a fantastic story as well, I say.
Rachael Herron: [00:26:39] And so I love what a deliberate reader you are too, as well as getting lost in the story, but you’re very deliberate about the use, which you can take out of the enjoyment of your reading. So
Daniel Willcocks: [00:26:48] Which takes out the enjoyment of reading
Rachael Herron: [00:26:49] It absolutely does. It ruined you as a writer forever and ever. And as a, as a, not as a writer, as a reader, and as a watcher of TV and as a watcher of television shows and movies and yell all of that, it’s really annoying. Yeah. But we are running out of time. What would you like to tell us about right now? Tell us about your last book and where we can find you perhaps.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:27:10] So, yes. My, uh, my latest book is the Mark of the Damned and it came out on the 25th of October, and it is an occult horror about a guy who essentially just gets a tattoo appear on his arm a month after his father’s died. And they may or may not be a connection between the two. And it kind of goes a lot into the depths of the occult, which is, um I, it was a book that I absolutely love writing and, uh, it seems to be doing pretty well. So if you want it out, then do. Um, and yeah, I’ve also run The Great Writers Share podcast, which obviously yourself has featured on, um, in which I go into the, the tips of strategies and mindsets of some of the writers around today from all different walks of life. And, uh, the other stories podcast is the podcast idea of Hawk and Cleaver, which is a 20-minute horror sci-fi thriller fiction. Which comes out every Monday, absolutely free. And we’re approaching four years on that podcast now.
Rachael Herron: [00:28:02] Wow
Daniel Willcocks: [00:28:03] We got lots of content there for people to eat.
Rachael Herron: [00:28:15] And where can we find you yourself on online?
Daniel Willcocks: [00:28:17] Uh, find me on my website, www.danielwillcocks.com and that’s W, I, L, L, C, O, C, K, S, contrary to every certificate, a piece of paper, anyone signs with my name on in my life. Um, and you can find me on social @willcocksauthor.
Rachael Herron: [00:28:32] I actually got my social security card, um, twice mailed to me from the federal government, R A, C, H, E L and I have that extra AEL in mind and I just couldn’t get it right. And yeah, so I, I definitely feel you on that. Thank you so much for being on the show and it’s so lovely to know you. And let’s keep in touch. I want to keep watching you progress and talk to you in a few years when you’re like, I’ve been doing this for years and I, I still don’t know what I’m doing and it still feels good.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:29:01] So that seems to be the trajectory, so I’m looking forward to that. Yeah, absolutely. It’s a, it’s pretty good to know you as well.
Rachael Herron: [00:29:07] Thank you, Dan. All right. Have a wonderful day and happy writing.
Daniel Willcocks: [00:29:08] Happy writing. Bye.
Rachael Herron: [00:29:10] Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of “How do you Write?” You can reach me on Twitter, https://twitter.com/RachaelHerron or at my website, http://rachaelherron.com, you can also support me on Patreon and get essays on living your creative life for as little as a buck an essay at https://www.patreon.com/rachael spelled R, A, C, H, A, E, L and do sign up for my free weekly newsletter of encouragement to writers http://rachaelherron.com/write. Now, go to your desk and create your own process. Get to writing my friends.
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