74: Living on Less, Writing from Life: A Conversation with Author Mike Leaver

Episode 74: Living on Less, Writing from Life: A Conversationwith Author Mike LeaverWhat if stripping your life back to almost nothing was the thing that finally gave you the space to write?In this episode of the Writing with Purpose podcast, I’m joined by Mike Leaver, author of five books, who has spent 30 years living off-grid in a static lorry in Porthmadog, North Wales. With no electricity, no mains water, and no internet, Mike writes by candlelight, spends around £15 a week on groceries, and has attracted over a million views on YouTube for simply living the way he does.Mike writes from lived experience, thinking through narrative at night and committing it to the page each morning. His autobiographies draw on contemporaneous notes made across four decades. His novels use fictional characters to explore emotions he finds difficult to own directly. This conversation explores what it means to write honestly from a life that refuses any conventional script.“Where other people are involved who I can’t actually tell their bit of the story, then sometimes I will put them situations into a fictional situation because then I’m free to go with thoughts that they might be having.”In This EpisodeHow Mike uses fictional characters to explore emotions he cannot express in his own voiceWriting from contemporaneous notes kept across four decadesWhat Mike learned about writing female characters from being the only boy in a class of fifteen girlsHow homelessness, job loss, and a sunken boat became raw material for two autobiographiesThe off-grid life as a writing environment: candlelight, no distractions, a routine built around creativityLiving the adventures first, then finding the story in themPractical WisdomThink through your narrative before you write. Mike develops plot and memory at night before committing it to the page the following morning.Use fictional characters to explore what you cannot say directly. Fiction gives you the freedom to go there honestly.Write from observation. Read widely outside your own experience to understand perspectives you would not otherwise access.Record life as it happens. Both autobiographies were written from contemporaneous notes, not reconstructed from memory.Connect With MikeWebsiteFacebookBooksWrite to Mike: Mike Leaver, Lorry Called Yr Wyddfa, Porthmadog, LL49 9GBAlso MentionedElizabeth Gill, ‘A Sister’s Dream’Enid Blyton, Famous Five seriesYouTube: Mike’s off-grid life, over 1 million viewsPodcast Chapters00:00 Introduction03:40 Literary Influences and Writing Style06:30 Themes in Mike’s Novels09:21 From Life Experience to Fiction12:09 The Gritty Realities of Mike’s Writing14:58 Living Off-Grid17:21 Fame, Writing, and Daily Life20:06 Life, Happiness, and Simplicity33:45 Creating Atmosphere for Writing35:39 Off-Grid Living: The Details42:17 Finding Inspiration in Adventure46:38 Balancing Fact and Fiction51:09 Practical Tips for Simple Living52:55 Future Plans and Community57:15 Outro_ _ _A new episode is released every other Saturday at 8 am.If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe to the Writing with Purpose podcast and leave a review. It makes a real difference in helping more people find the show.Download your  PDF and entrance meditation to kickstart your journalling journey.Connect with me on your preferred platform by ⁠Join my bi-weekly newsletter