Senta Rich, author of 'Hotel 21' - Screenwriter and author discusses creative collaboration, character arcs, and how to keep believing
Writer's Routine
Dan Simpson
4.9 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2023
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Senta Rich is busy. She has the energy to keep up with everything. She has worked in philosophy, psychology, written radio plays, has a film and TV series in the works, and her new novel, 'Hotel 21' is out now.
It tells the story of Noelle, a kleptomaniac hotel cleaner, and the stories she uncovers. We talk about why, when she had the idea on holiday, she had to drop everything and get it down immediately.
You can hear why she still writes in notebooks, how she spreads energy and time between paid and unpaid projects, and about creative atmosphere she's fostered at home.
We chat through how much her initial, strong character arc changed as she worked through the story, what questions she asks to unravel more of her tale, and there's a brilliant bonus Margaret Atwood tip in there too.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to writers' routine. This week we're chatting to Zenter Rich. She's |
| 0:13.7 | worked in advertising, written radio plays, script for scripts for film and TV2, and her new novel |
| 0:19.9 | is Hotel 21. It's all about Noel, a kleptomaniac |
| 0:23.5 | hotel cleaner and the stories she uncovers. We talk about why her home is a very collaborative, |
| 0:29.9 | creative one, how offering opinions on her husband's architecture or her son's music often helps |
| 0:37.1 | her grapple with their own ideas. |
| 0:39.3 | Also, you can hear how writing Fatelli has shaped the way that she works. |
| 0:43.3 | And we think about her having so many projects on the go. |
| 0:47.5 | It must be quite deflating sometimes. |
| 0:50.0 | Surely not all of them can be picked up. |
| 0:52.1 | So how does she carry on believing that things will work out? |
| 0:55.0 | And that's really important to have that hope. |
| 0:58.4 | Otherwise, if you knew in 20 years' time where you would be, you probably wouldn't do it. |
| 1:04.7 | But where I've got to now, with my experience, right, and it's really important, this is really |
| 1:10.6 | important for new writers. |
| 1:12.9 | Everything you write, everything, even if it never sees the light of day, |
| 1:18.0 | or you write it and you hate it at the end of it, |
| 1:21.0 | everything you do is making you a better writer without a doubt. |
| 1:26.9 | So, you know, you just have to think that every time you write, you're getting better. |
| 1:31.0 | There is more with Zenta Rich in this week's writer's routine. |
| 1:42.4 | Yes, welcome along to the show. It's writers routine. My name's Dan Simpson. Thank you for being there. |
| 1:48.7 | This is where we take a look through an author's working day to see how they get things done, to see how they take their idea, they plan their day, their life, their space, how they try and put ducks in a row and get everything in order to give them the best chance |
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