Episode 261 Really #Funny, Real and Funny: Rom-Coms, plotting and finding characters with Mhairi McFarlane

Plotting and pantsing, loving your genre, voice, self-doubt&#8230; what didn&#8217;t we talk about with Mhairi McFarlane? And she has such a lovely Scottish accent to do it in, too. We know you&#8217;ll love this episode. <br/><br/>#AmReading<br/><br/>Mhairi: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781250295651">The Flatshare</a> by Beth O&#8217;Leary (aka <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9788491293064">El Piso Para Dos</a> in KJ&#8217;s Spanish version)<br/><br/><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9780358274278">Sweet Sorrow</a> by David Nicholls<br/><br/>Sarina: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9780062867308">The Price You Pay for College</a> by Ron Lieber (from episode <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-249-turning-data-into-narrative">Turning Data into #Narrative</a>) <br/><br/>Re-reading <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781986105804">Rock Chick</a> by Kristen Ashley<br/><br/>KJ: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781538715666">Life&#8217;s Too Short</a> by Abby Jimenez<br/><br/>Follow Mhairi on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/MhairiMcF">@mhairimcf</a><br/><br/>In this episode we talked a lot about finding ideas, chasing them around and pinning them down. Jennie Nash from our sponsor, Author Accelerator, has a list of the idea process, in this case for non-fiction books: <br/><br/>I had an idea, which came to me in the form of six words in a very specific order&#8230;<br/><br/>and which stuck in my mind long enough to ping against a memory&#8230;<br/><br/>which caused me to think about the connection between those two things (this new thought, this old memory)&#8230;<br/><br/>which prompted me to land on the idea of a&#160;process&#8230;<br/><br/>which suggests some sort of order or structure or shape&#8230;<br/><br/>which led me to believe I had something to say&#8230;<br/><br/>which prompted me to put a title on a blank page and start writing this blog post&#8230;<br/><br/>which I already have a strong feeling is going to become a book.<br/><br/>In fiction, it goes somewh