This month, we’re thrilled to shine the spotlight on author, teacher, and podcaster Bianca Marais. If you’ve been in the writing world for any amount of time, surely you’ve stumbled upon the “Shit No One Tells You About Writing” podcast. An action-packed hour every week where Bianca and her two literary agent co-hosts—Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra—discuss the art of querying agents and hold interviews with some of the top authors of our day. As a bestselling author and award-winning creative writing instructor, Bianca brings to the table a plethora of experience as well as a no-nonsense approach to what it takes to make it as a writer in today’s publishing world. We were fortunate enough to sit down with Bianca and chat about her novels, some of the best writing advice she’s received, and the way she keeps her creativity fueled. This is an interview, you won’t want to miss!

You’ve written across genres—from historical fiction to speculative. How do you decide what story you want to tell next, and how do you approach the shift in tone or structure when crossing genres?

I know a lot of writers who’ll brainstorm a few ideas to show their agent and editor, getting input regarding which one they should pursue. Although that feels like a smart way of approaching it, I can’t do it that way. I never feel like I have a say in what I’m going to write next. It’s like the story chooses me as its author and I just try to do it justice.

Every genre has its own conventions and tropes, and so every book I write teaches me how to write it. Forget what worked last time in terms of pacing, tension, story beats! I throw out the playbook each time and start all over again. Which is both thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Writing in a new genre is like being sent an invitation to a themed party. I view adapting the tone and structure like trying to figure out the dress code so I can rise to the occasion and dress my manuscript up accordingly. A Most Puzzling Murder, for example, was a lot frothier, and therefore a lot more fun, than anything I’ve written before, which allowed me to lean into writing purple prose. Building the structure of the novel was like playing Jenga on a rollercoaster!

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What does your typical writing day look like, and how has your routine evolved over time?

I unfortunately don’t have a typical writing day! And my routine has become a lot less structured over time. The podcast takes up a lot of my time and my writing has become secondary to that. I’ll go weeks without writing and then I’ll suddenly wake up in the middle of the night to sit down to work. It makes me cranky, and so I’m trying really hard to find a balance, especially since I’m constantly lecturing other writers to prioritize and protect their writing time. I don’t like being a hypocrite, so I’d like to practice what I preach.

What’s a writing tool or technique you swear by that you think more writers should try?

Every writer is so different and what works for one may not work for another. But a trick that works for me when I’m writing a scene that’s fast paced or emotionally charged is that I’ll write all the dialogue first. Forget the dialogue tags, action beats, quotation marks and interiority. I’ll jump from one line to the next, just capturing what the characters are saying so that the dialogue itself is doing the heavy lifting in terms of conveying the emotionality of the scene. And then I’ll come back to it and flesh it out by adding the gestures and everything else that makes the moment come alive in the reader’s imagination.

What has been the most surprising part of your publishing journey?

I hesitate to say this because it sounds cynical. But my podcast is called “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing” and so I think it’s really important to be honest and transparent about these things.

I spent more than ten years writing, querying, and being rejected which was incredibly tough and demoralizing. During that time, I began to view getting published as reaching this Utopian destination where I would finally pass through a golden gateway and hear angels singing. And that once I made it to the other side, everything would be amazing, and the struggle would be over.

But there is no other side. It’s all a giant circle.

And once you get published and pass through the gates, you have to loop back around again. And just because you got through once, doesn’t mean they’re going to let you through again.

But that’s what ladders and pole vaults are for. Sometimes you just need to stop waiting for people to open the gates for you. Go scale the damn things yourself!

What advice would you give to writers querying today, especially in a market that feels increasingly uncertain?

Jumping off my last answer, bring your own ladder and prepare to climb.

No, seriously.

Querying is so brutal. It can completely erode your sense of self because you’re constantly waiting for that external validation. But being rejected doesn’t mean you aren’t a good writer. Some of the best writers I know still haven’t been published.

So much of publishing is luck and almost everything is out of your control. The only thing you can control is writing the best possible book you can. So, focus on that and remind yourself every day why you came to writing in the first place. Cling to that spark and the joy – don’t let them ever take that away from you because that’s the only way they win.

Have your goals or definition of success as a writer changed since your first book came out? If so, how?

Absolutely. The goalposts keep shifting. I think it’s human nature to never be quite satisfied with what you have, to always be striving for the next big thing. There are days that I feel like I won’t be a truly successful writer until I get a big book club pick, or hit the NYT bestseller list, or get a book optioned for film.

But then I smack myself upside the head and remind myself that I get to do the thing I love most in the world. And that even if I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still keep writing because it’s my passion. And getting to do something that doesn’t feel like work is a privilege. And I’m so lucky to do it.

What are some of your favorite pieces of advice that have come out of “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing” podcast?

Oh, this is a tough one to answer because I hear such incredible nuggets of wisdom every single time I get to chat with an author. There isn’t an interview that doesn’t teach me something about craft. Plus, CeCe and Carly constantly blow me away with their amazing insight in the Books with Hooks segment.

But what I love the most is that for every so-called rule, there’s always someone who’s broken it spectacularly. It’s liberating to know you can do whatever the hell you like – just do it well!

What’s an episode (or two) you’d tell new writers to go back and listen to for the most information and/or motivation?

There are so many that it’s tough to just pick a few. But definitely go back and listen to Ann Napolitano, Ann Patchett, Coco Mellors and Charlotte Wood.

What’s the writing hurdle you deal with most? (writer’s block, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, etc.) And what tools have you developed to manage it?

Probably perfectionism. An idea is always perfect because it has so much potential while it’s still floating around in your mind. But then you have to transform it into words on a page and somehow the words never do it justice. And that can be really frustrating. I have to keep reminding myself that perfectionism is the enemy of creation. And nothing I write will ever be perfect and that’s okay because the flaws are what make it mine.

What are you currently listening to? (Audiobook/podcast/music)

I’m currently listening to, and loving, Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.

What are your go-to snacks/drinks of choice while writing?

I can’t snack while writing because it will get my keyboard all greasy, so I mostly sip a revolting kale and ginger smoothie that’s supposedly good for me. Let the record show that I drink it, but I don’t have to be happy about it.
Some evenings, when I’m getting in my own way, I like to sip a South African Chenin Blanc.

What’s your favorite environment to write in?

I think I was a vampire in a previous life because I like writing in the dark. Any sunlight at all and I struggle to concentrate. I have a writing den that’s dark and dingy, and filled to the brim with all my vision boards, which is absolutely perfect.

If you could choose anyone to co-author a book with, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

Oh no, I could never co-author a book with anyone! I’m way too much of a control freak. I argue with myself all the time so I can only imagine how badly a collaboration would go.

I guess I’d choose a dead author then. Less chance of us fighting 😉

What’s a book that transformed you as a writer?

Three Junes by Julia Glass stunned me. It was a sucker punch of a read which I’ve come back to many times.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

What are you working on next?

I’m back to book club fiction again after my detour into murder mystery. I can’t say too much about it yet because I’m still finding my way into it. But I always write from a place of rage, and I have a lot of rage right now. This poor book is going to be like a punching bag.