Some books feel like a rom com written in a minor key.

This week, I’m talking with Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and her latest, Future Saints. We chat about the idea that first drafts are just secret monsters, something you have to let out just to learn their shape. Ashley tells me about the sticky note she kept on her laptop that read, “no one will ever see this,” a small, stubborn permission that made it possible for her to keep going.

She walks me through her rigorous and deeply self-aware writing process, including how she lets her brain decide what it can realistically handle each day instead of having word count goals or a time frame. And somewhere along the way, I realize I’ve found a kindred spirit, especially when it comes to our shared tendency toward slightly psychotic outlining. What a joy.

Check out the playlist for Ashley’s book Future Saints (mentioned in this podcast) in the links below.

Links:

Follow No Write Way on Instagram

V.E. Schwab’s Website

Ashley Winstead’s Website Official Future Saints Playlist

Credits:

Host: V.E. Schwab

Producer/Editor/Mixer: Jenna Maurice

S4 E5 Trapping Ashley Winstead: A bottle of grand cru wine, a baby animal, and the key to a secret door