Writing Podcast Episode 726: Michelle Wright shares her new book, ‘Good Boy’

Do you believe in second chances? In this episode, author Michelle Wright discusses her new novel Good Boy – about a long-term prisoner who joins a dog rehabilitation program and is assigned a troubled pooch he renames ‘Good Boy’. Michelle talks about the story’s inspiration, reasons for setting it in its particular time period, the double meaning behind the title and more.

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00:00 Welcome
07:55 Writing tip: Call yourself a writer!
11:15 Writers in the wild
13:59 WIN: Whistler by Ann Patchett
15:19 Word of the week: ‘Glabrous’
16:16 Interview with: Michelle Wright
16:59 Overview of new book, Good Boy
18:08 Origins and prison research
21:10 Planning process
23:52 ‘Beat sheet’ method
25:27 Why set it in 1997?
27:56 Naming Good Boy’
30:36 Why short stories matter
33:33 Short vs. novel ideas
36:24 Michelle’s publishing breakthrough
38:09 Redefining writer success
39:44 Next novel plans
41:10 Tip: Find your own process
43:05 Final thoughts

Links mentioned in this episode

Writer in residence: Michelle Wright

Michelle Wright's short stories and flash fiction have won and been shortlisted in numerous awards, including The Age Short Story Award, V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize and Bridport Prize. Her short story collection, Fine, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript and published in 2016. Her first novel, Small Acts of Defiance, was published in Australia in 2021 and in the US in 2022. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Creative Writing Stage 1.

 

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

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