As students we’re all too aware of the fractious relationship that can develop with writing when doing a PhD. How difficult it can be to just ‘get writing’ and the fear of the blank page is something we have spoken about with PhD friends near and far. Something which may have become much more difficult in the past year.

So, inspired by Ronnie’s recent Methods North West workshop ‘Writing methods beyond the academy’, this episode is Abi talking to Ronnie about all things related to writing, what he’s learnt in his career as a writer – and how this helps him with his PhD. We talk through trying to make sense of academic writing, walking to get you writing, writing with friends and much more, in the hope that Ronnie’s expertise can help move even more of us move away from the blank page!

We refer to Ronnie’s paper throughout the episode, a version of which can be found here on his blog. And Ronnie’s highly recommended book if you want to read more about writing for pleasure is "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg.