BOW 59: Chris Flynn: Fusing Fact and Fiction

The Business of Writing Podcast

In This Episode:

Chris Flynn is the author of The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden, which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. His latest novel, Mammoth, was released in April of 2020, and both his fiction and non-fiction work have appeared in publications like The Guardian, The Age, The Paris Review, and many more.

He’s a regular presenter at literary festivals across Australia, and has led a fascinating life full of travel, adventure, and all the makings of a great story. Today we chat with Chris about his writing process, getting published, and how he filters through all his great ideas to pull out these captivating stories.

Episode Highlights

• How Chris first got on his publisher’s radar
• The surprise success of his first novel (which he never even knew was published)
• How Chris plots out his stories (even before putting pen to paper)
• Why you shouldn’t worry about being a writer early on in life
• Chris’ unique method for filtering through his many ideas to pull out the good ones
• How he knows if his ideas are good enough to publish
• Why limiting your time writing will help you produce your best work
• How to use distraction as a creativity tool
• His process for fusing fact and fiction (and why they’re really not that different from each other)
• The slightly scary method he uses to get paid in between book projects

And plenty more along the way. Get the resources mentioned in this episode below.