S5E12 The Marriage Pact: Emily Houghton on an idyllic past and catastrophic present

“There’s a huge feeling that a relationship will fix you…and it doesn’t always matter if it’s the right relationship, as long as you’re kinda in one.”

Being single, especially old and single, is not looked upon favourably in society. It’s no wonder then that people rush to make marriage pacts with their childhood best friends - a bizarre yet completely understandable byproduct of societal standards. But do those pacts ever work out?

In her latest book ‘Last Time We Met’, Emily Houghton brings us the story of Eleanor and Fin, who promise themselves to each other during their younger years, before they inevitably drift apart. But when fate brings them back together, everything has changed.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How to write characters who exist in multiple timelines.
2. Why you should know your characters outside the confines of the narrative you lay out for your readers.
3. The importance of practising restraint in your writing.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

A Toxic Family: Rebecca Wait 

Life in Berlin: Bea Setton

Lessons In Chemistry: Bonnie Garmus

Find out more about Emily here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can view the full transcript here.

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