Welcome to the Creative Pen podcast. I'm Joanna Penn, thriller author and creative entrepreneur,

bringing you interviews, inspiration and information on writing, publishing options and marketing ideas for your book.

You can find the episode show notes, your free author blueprint and lots more information at

TheCreativepen.com, and that's Pen with a double N. And here's the show.

Hello, creatives. I'm Joanna Penn, and this is episode number 494 of the podcast, and it is Friday the 19th of June 2020 as I record this.

So today I'm talking to J.D. Barker about writing cross genre, how he came to write with James Patterson,

and tips for strengthening story ideas before you even start writing, plus downsizing to become a full-time writer, which I also did back in the day.

And also how Jay is a discovery writer, sorry, J.D. So many of us with initials these days.

He's a discovery writer for the detail, but he always does the blurb first to make sure it's a strong story,

which I have actually done for the first time, which I'll come back to later. Plus ambition,

I love JD's ambition and why indie authors can sometimes let themselves down. So it is a challenging

interview. I found it challenging in terms of challenging my own way of doing things and

will have you thinking about what you want your writing and publishing future to look like.

So whatever genre you write, I think you will find this interesting.

Since the interview, I have also read Jady's book.

She has a broken thing where her heart should be, which is fantastic.

And if you remember the

discussion on character flaws with Will Store, which many of you loved, and how they drive

plot, Jady's book is a perfect example, the fatal flaw of the characters make the ending

completely perfect. And no spoilers spoilers but I definitely recommend it.

So that is coming up in the interview section.

In publishing news, a lot going on this week, so much I had to cull it down quite a bit.

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