Daisy Goodwin, author of 'Diva' - TV producer and screenwriter discusses thorough research, historical fiction, and creating legendary TV shows
Writer's Routine
Dan Simpson
4.9 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 4 April 2024
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Daisy Goodwin has created some legendary television shows. She's the brains behind 'Grand Designs', 'Escape to the Country', and the historical drama, 'Victoria', based on Queen Victoria, which was sold in 146 countries.
She's published poetry, had 3 bestselling novels, 'My Last Duchess', 'The Fortune Hunter', and 'Victoria, which together have been translated into 17 countries.
Her newest novel is 'Diva'. It tells the story of Maria Callas, one of the world's greatest opera singers, who falls in love with rich magnate Aristotle Onassis, right before he marries First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. We discuss the thorough research, which included having singing lessons. Also you can hear about the balance of fact and fiction in historical novels, how she has adjusted to having ideas for novels rather than TV, and why she took 5 years away from novel-writing.
You can hear about the differences between international editors, why she's careful about what she reads when writing, and we ask whether you're an architect or a gardener.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, welcome to a brand new episode of writers' routine where we're chatting to |
| 0:12.8 | Daisy Goodwin this week. |
| 0:14.6 | Daisy has created some of the biggest TV shows around and is back with a brand new novel. |
| 0:19.9 | It's called Diva. |
| 0:22.3 | We talk through thorough research, which included singing lessons. Also, whether you're an architect or a gardener, |
| 0:30.5 | and you can hear how novel writing is different from creating TV drama. The thing about |
| 0:35.5 | making TV shows is they're unbelievably collaborative. I mean, |
| 0:39.5 | you're working with lots of people and, you know, you're running a team or you're looking at stuff. |
| 0:44.7 | And it's not, if you're making nonfiction, then you're looking at stuff and you have to kind of |
| 0:49.6 | edit it into a shape. If you're making drama, you've still got to... |
| 0:55.5 | Your original script can be taken in very many different ways |
| 0:58.7 | by the actors and by the director. |
| 1:00.8 | But when you're writing a novel, it's just you. |
| 1:03.1 | And that can be very lonely, |
| 1:05.7 | but it can also be incredible freedom. |
| 1:08.6 | So I think I started writing novels as a way of escaping from the world of tele. |
| 1:13.7 | There is more with Daisy Goodwin on this week's writers' routine. |
| 1:24.6 | Yes, welcome along to the show. |
| 1:26.3 | My name is Dan Simpson. |
| 1:29.9 | This is writers' routine where we take a look through an author's working day. Over 300 episodes of in-depth chats with some of the best authors |
| 1:35.8 | around. We see how, when and where they get to work. What do they do? How do they plan their life and their |
| 1:42.6 | space to give them the best chance of getting words down on the page? |
... |
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