The writer Oliver Burkeman types out every draft from scratch - then deletes the original. In this first episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans puts Burkeman's 'starting afresh' technique to the test, following writer and literacy educator Elizabeth Morphis as she uses it to revise her book - across a transatlantic flight, a sleepless night in Athens and the journey home. Does the discomfort of retyping every word actually make the writing better? It might.

About the guests

Oliver Burkeman is the author of four books and writes The Imperfectionist, a newsletter on productivity, mortality, the power of limits and building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment He also wrote the foreword to the book that inspired this podcast Written: How To Keep Writing and Build A Habit That Lasts.

Elizabeth Morphis is an associate professor of childhood education and literacy, founder of The Literacy Teacher’s Life. She is currently writing a book for parents about how to make reading a central, joyful part of family life so children become confident and lifelong readers.

Credits

Presenter: Bec Evans

Featuring: Oliver Burkeman and Elizabeth Morphis

Extracts from Matt Bell, Refuse To Be Done and an Elizabeth Day interview with Jilly Cooper’s where she talks about Riders.

Producers: Bec Evans and Chris Smith of Breakthroughs & Blocks

Podcast production: Suzi Dale, Story Publishing

Pilot episode Starting afresh with Oliver Burkeman was released on Substack last November with a bonus episode and link to the full transcript. 

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.

This Might Work is the podcast that puts writing advice to the test. Each week, host Bec Evans takes a creativity tip from a writer, artist or thinker – and gets a real writer to try it out on a real project. Oliver Burkeman, Emma Gannon, Mason Currey and more have their methods road-tested to find out what actually works. Because writing advice is everywhere. The only question that matters is: will it work for you?

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.

When writing isn’t working, the instinct is usually to try harder and spend longer at your desk. But bestselling author Emma Gannon learned after burnout that creativity needs time away from work.

In this episode of This Might Work, Emma shares her solo creative boosts, inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Host Bec Evans puts the idea to the test with writer Aimz Rushton, who is struggling with creative burnout while working on a memoir about grief, fandom, and pop culture obsession.

Aimz feels pressure to turn the experiment into the perfect grand day out, but a trip closer to home leads to unexpected creative connections, family memories, and a reminder that inspiration is often nearer than we think. It might work for you too.

About the guests

Emma Gannon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of eight books, including A Year of Nothing and Table for One. Her new book, A Creative Compass, publishes in June 2026. She writes the bestselling Substack newsletter The Hyphen, hosts creativity retreats around the world, and served as a judge for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.

Aimz Rushton is a recovering academic and pop culture obsessive. After publishing scholarship on contemporary African fiction, music, and mental illness, Aimz is now writing a memoir about grief, trauma, and obsessive fandom. They also write the Disco & Dissociation newsletter on Substack.

Credits

Presenter: Bec Evans

Featuring: Emma Gannon and Aimz Rushton

With quotations from Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way

Producers: Bec Evans and Chris Smith

Podcast production: Suzi Dale, Story Publishing

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.

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 if the answer to a stuck writing project wasn't more time, more planning, or more thinking - but six minutes and a scrappy piece of paper? In this episode of This Might Work, host Bec Evans explores 'exploratory writing', a daily practice developed by author and publisher Alison Jones that uses questions to discover what you don't yet know. Then she puts it to the test with Margaret O'Brien, a novelist and creative non-fiction writer whose project has been lingering in her files - almost finished, but not quite. Can six minutes of messy writing open it up?

About the guests

Alison Jones, MA, MBA, is director of Practical Inspiration Publishing and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club, a podcast and community for writers and readers of extraordinary business books. A veteran of the publishing industry, she regularly speaks and writes on the business of books. Former head judge of the Business Book Awards she’s written several books herself, including the bestselling This Book Means Business (2018) and Exploratory Writing: Everyday magic for life and work (2022). She is passionate about the value of both reading and writing for leaders, and particularly the extraordinary power of exploratory writing as a tool for thinking.  

Margaret O'Brien lives in south-east Ireland, within sight of the Mountain of the Women. Her book, Weather Report is a 90-day journal that grew out of a creative community project during Covid. She is currently writing a hybrid novel that features the challenges and changes wrought by two quite different viruses - rabies in late 1890s Ireland and the coronavirus in the 21st century. She is a former lecturer, an affiliate of Amherst Writers & Artists, and leads various writing related events under the umbrella of 'Writing Changes Lives'. She keeps a card on her desk that reads, 'Let That Sh*t Go', because she needs regular reminding. 

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.