Ep. 60 - Chris Barkley - Why You Should Read Fiction & How To Write It

Chris Barkley is a writer, novelist, and educator. In this episode, we discuss the purpose and power of fiction, how the lessons gleaned from novels—like a Shakespeare play—aren’t instantaneous but require time and space to sink in, minimalist vs. maximalist styles, and how to write your first novel. We also discuss and debate if John Ruskin had a pretentious worldview, whether George Orwell’s writing advice was wrong, why Brazilian jus-jitsu is more similar to writing than you think, and what is the superior art form: writing, painting, and photography. All that and so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and give the show a five-star rating. This will allow me to bring you more episodes like this.  The Man on the Endless Stair by Chris Barkley, coming in June 2025. PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-man-on-the-endless-stair/chris-barkley//9781846976896  https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-man-on-the-endless-stair/  Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tufferbarkley/profilecard/?igsh=YTFqODQ1NzdjdXNl Find me on Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/joe.reilly/?hl=en⁠  Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠www.youtube.com/@JoeReillyPodcast⁠  0:00 - Why Bother Reading Fiction? 3:00 - Does a book’s length indicate value? 6:10 - Lessons from Fiction 14:00 - How To Become a Writer  16:30 - Brizillian jus-jitsu Is Like Writing 21:10 - The Role Of Editing  23:20 - Importance of Silence & Solitude  28:30 - The Need To Create    29:20 - Extinct vs. Intrinsic  31:09 - Tolkien & CS. Lewis  38:00 - Writers Block Is A Myth  39:40 - Writing vs. Painting?  46:50 - John Ruskin vs. George Orwell 49:25 - Importance of  Writing Set Up 51:40 - You Need An Online Following 55:30 - The Man on the Endless Stair