Writing Podcast Episode 688: Ben Macintyre shares insights on his latest book, ‘The Siege’

The Iranian Embassy siege that unfolded in the UK in 1980 was a huge world event at the time, although perhaps lost in the fog of history today. Prolific British author Ben Macintyre brings it back into focus in his latest book, The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama and he joins us to discuss his writerly beginnings, turning real-world espionage into captivating reads and how he balances the personal and factual details in his stories.

You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app.  

00:00 Welcome
00:48 The power of constraints in writing
11:30 Writing tip: The iceberg theory
13:52 WIN!: Torn by Nicole Madigan
15:26 Word of the week: ‘Nonpareil’
16:11 Writer in residence: Ben Macintyre
17:05 Ben gives an overview of The Siege
21:00 His personal experience with the events
25:43 Ben’s background in writing
28:33 Exploring the SAS archive
32:05 The TV series Rogue Heroes
33:20 Character depth and authenticity
35:20 Challenges of taking an oral history
37:40 Pacing and structuring the book
40:15 Real life being stranger than fiction
42:18 Research and writing process
45:27 From book to screen
51:05 Advice for aspiring writers
54:22 Balancing sensory and factual details
57:12 Ben’s upcoming project
58:13 Final thoughts

Links mentioned in this episode

Writer in residence: Ben Macintyre

Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (UK) and the bestselling author of Agent Sonya, The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, Rogue Heroes, and Prisoners of the Castle, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.

Follow Ben on Twitter.

Follow Penguin Books Australia on Twitter and Instagram.

 

This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Historical Fiction.

 

Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).

 
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