Crime writing 101 with Dave Warner (the writer and musician, not the cricketer)
Spoiler alert! Listening to this podcast will endow you with the ‘very mild superpower’* of being able to pick who the murderer is in on-screen crime dramas. In this episode, Holden Sheppard speaks to crime writer Dave Warner about his new book River of Salt and Dave spills the beans on his fool-proof method of how to know ‘whodunnit’.
Dave’s not so very mild superpower is his ability to juggle many projects at once. Dave first came to prominence with his band Dave Warner’s from the Suburbs and his songwriting is just one part of his creative practice. He is an award-winning, multi-skilled writer who writes for television, cinema and stage, as well as crafting works of poetry, crime fiction, kids fiction and non-fiction. This podcast delves into what Dave sees as the differences and similarities between each format and how to balance them all.
What’s Dave’s advice to aspiring writers? Don’t lose the plot. If you haven’t already listened to Holden’s podcast with Marcella Polain, this might make a good companion-cast. Though Marcella and Dave have similarities in the advice they give to new writers, their own methods of writing appear diametrically opposed – or are they?
River of Salt is available now from all good bookstores and online. Holden Sheppard is the winner of the City of Fremantle T.A.G. Hungerford Award for 2018. His novel Invisible Boys will be available in October.
Music: ‘Letter to a Daughter of St George’, from the Meat Lunch EP: Songs from Floaters. Written by Alan Fyfe. Performed by Trevor Bentley (guitar and vocals – @trevormb) and Chris Parkinson (harmonica). Produced by Blake Carnaby of Nuglife studios with impresario work by Benjamin P. Newton.
Podcast editor: Claire Miller
Mastered by: Aidan d’Adhemar
*Thanks to comedian David O’Doherty for this phrase and for all the laughs it’s given us.