Danielle Krage interviews novelist Ruth Leigh. They focus on her delightful Isabella M Smugge series, and what it takes to create a comic character that you can develop and sustain across multiple books. Ruth is also the author of the Jane Austen-inspired book A Great Deal of Ingenuity, and The Little Book of Unexpected Poetry.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:57 Origin Story of Isabella M. Smugge
06:48 Creating a Funny and Complex Character
09:45 Developing a Series and Balancing Character Arcs
11:34 Turning Up the Comedy in the Setting
14:06 Using Conflict to Drive the Story
17:30 The Importance of Setting in Comedy
20:23 Writing Process and Balancing Comedy and Heart
25:23 Favourite Comic Influences
29:43 Prompts and Exercises for Writing Comedy
32:19 Building a Writing Community and Getting Feedback
34:38 The Impact of Reader Feedback
35:27 Real People and Names in the Books
36:47 Overcoming Fear of Events
37:31 Starting Small and Building Confidence
38:58 Finding Comfortable Opportunities
39:06 Where to Find More about Ruth Leigh
Links
https://www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/ruthleighwrites
https://twitter.com/Ruthleighwrites
https://www.tiktok.com/@ruthleighwrites
You can find the transcript at:
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
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