{"podcast":{"title":"The Writing Life","slug":"the-writing-life-1076872","podcast_index_feed_id":1076872,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/writerscentre/feed.xml","website_url":"https://writerscentre.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/9244115/The_Writing_Life_icon_2023_yrya4h.png","author":"National Centre for Writing","episode_count":200,"summary":"We're a weekly podcast for anyone who writes. We talk to writers about their writing journeys and techniques, from early career debuts to self-publishers and narrative designers. We've featured Margaret Atwood, Jackie Kay, Sara Collins, Antti Tuomainen, Val McDermid, Sarah Perry, Elif Shafak and many more! The Writing Life is produced by the National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall in Norwich.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writing-life-1076872"},"episode":{"title":"Experimenting with narrative form: Ashley Hickson-Lovence on About to Fall Apart","slug":"experimenting-with-narrative-form-ashley-hickson-lovence-on-about-to-fall-apart","published_at":"2026-05-18T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writing-life-1076872/experimenting-with-narrative-form-ashley-hickson-lovence-on-about-to-fall-apart","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writing-life-1076872","url":"https://writerscentre.podbean.com/e/experimenting-with-narrative-form-ashley-hickson-lovence-on-about-to-fall-apart/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/a6tppxabqkemgfkd/Ashley_Hickson-Lovence_x_Sophie62jei.mp3","summary":"In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Norwich-based writer Ashley Hickson-Lovence discusses experimenting with narrative, form, and structure in his latest novel, About to Fall Apart – a thrilling kaleidoscope of thoughts, failures, disappointments and hope. Ashley Hickson-Lovence earned his PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia. He has lectured English and Creative Writing at Brunel University, Arts University Bournemouth, University of East Anglia and the University of Suffolk. He is the author of the poetry collection Why I Am Not a Bus Driver, the acclaimed novels The 392 and Your Show, and the 2024 prize-winning YA novel in verse Wild East. Set across one weekend, About to Fall Apart is the exhilarating story of a man of mixed heritage – living on the Irish border – as he tries to stay positive, reconnect with his children and maybe, even, find his own birth mother. He sat down with fellow writer Sophie Yan Yee Lau, who he mentors through the Escalator New Writing Fellowships, for a candid conversation about the freedoms and constraints of setting a novel within a tight timeline. They also explore writing from personal experience, using poetic techniques in prose writing, and creating characters inspired by real-life people.","meta_description":"In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Norwich-based writer Ashley Hickson-Lovence discusses experimenting with narrative, form, and structure in hi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3052,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-writing-life-1076872/episodes/experimenting-with-narrative-form-ashley-hickson-lovence-on-about-to-fall-apart/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-writing-life-1076872/experimenting-with-narrative-form-ashley-hickson-lovence-on-about-to-fall-apart.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}