This week, John Lanchester joins me from his writing shed at the bottom of the garden. John has just published a new collection of spooky short stories – Reality & Other Stories – and has also written five novels, including Capital (which became a BBC series) and The Wall. He's a winner of the Whitbread First Novel Prize and the E.M Forster Award, among others, and is also a journalist and writer of non-fiction. He talks about writing his first few books on index cards; why fact is allowed to be more outlandish than fiction; and how to cope when you're in the 'tunnel' of a manuscript and not entirely confident you can reach the other side. To buy John's books, or browse some of my recommended books on writing, visit https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing – your purchases support independent booksellers, and help me to keep making this podcast. This episode is sponsored by Papier. Listen out for a discount code for 15% off your first order. And to continue the conversation about writing, come and find me on Twitter (@hattiehattie) or Instagram (@hattiecrisell), or share your thoughts with the hashtag #InWriting.

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