EPISODE · May 27, 2026 · 15 MIN
The night writing experiment with Benjamin Myers
from This Might Work
The author and journalist Benjamin Myers ignored the writing advice he was given aged 22 - and went on to publish fourteen books. In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores what time of day we do our best creative work, talking to the award-winning writer about his late-night writing habit and how it shaped his early career. Then she puts the idea to the test with Louise Tondeur, a novelist and writing teacher who gets up to write in her garden shed at 6am. Can a committed morning writer produce anything useful after dark? It might work - if she can stay awake long enough to find out.About the guests Born in Durham Benjamin Myers now lives in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. His work spans fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism and has earned him some of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for The Gallows Pole - adapted for BBC by Shane Meadows - and the Goldsmiths Prize for Cuddy. The Offing was a UK and German bestseller, and his most recent novel, Jesus Christ Kinski, is a meditation on censorship, creativity and the question of whether great art can redeem a bad person. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, NME, Mojo and many others.Louise Tondeur is a writer and tutor living in East Sussex. She teaches part-time for the Open University and the Creative Writing Programme, works as a freelance editor and mentor, and runs her own writing courses. Lou has a PhD from Reading and an MA in Creative Writing plus a BA in Drama, both from the University of East Anglia. She has published essays and poetry, plus several books, including two novels and a series of short, friendly guides for writers. Her second short story collection, Invisible, is out soon, and she is currently writing a book on mindfulness for Bloomsbury Academic. Follow her on Substack here.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
The author and journalist Benjamin Myers ignored the writing advice he was given aged 22 - and went on to publish fourteen books. In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores what time of day we do our best creative work, talking to the award-winning writer about his late-night writing habit and how it shaped his early career. Then she puts the idea to the test with Louise Tondeur, a novelist and writing teacher who gets up to write in her garden shed at 6am. Can a committed morning writer produce anything useful after dark? It might work - if she can stay awake long enough to find out.About the guests Born in Durham Benjamin Myers now lives in the Upper Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. His work spans fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism and has earned him some of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for The Gallows Pole - adapted for BBC by Shane Meadows - and the Goldsmiths Prize for Cuddy. The Offing was a UK and German bestseller, and his most recent novel, Jesus Christ Kinski, is a meditation on censorship, creativity and the question of whether great art can redeem a bad person. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has written for the Guardian, New Statesman, NME, Mojo and many others.Louise Tondeur is a writer and tutor living in East Sussex. She teaches part-time for the Open University and the Creative Writing Programme, works as a freelance editor and mentor, and runs her own writing courses. Lou has a PhD from Reading and an MA in Creative Writing plus a BA in Drama, both from the University of East Anglia. She has published essays and poetry, plus several books, including two novels and a series of short, friendly guides for writers. Her second short story collection, Invisible, is out soon, and she is currently writing a book on mindfulness for Bloomsbury Academic. Follow her on Substack here.For bonus material and conversations about the experiments featured in the show, visit Breakthroughs & Blocks on Substack.If you enjoy the show, please leave a five-star review. It’s one of the biggest ways you can help new listeners discover the podcast.This Might Work is written and presented by Bec Evans and Chris Smith, authors of Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The night writing experiment with Benjamin Myers
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