So You Want To Be A Writer With Valerie Khoo And Allison Tait: Australian Writers' Centre Podcast

What if you could be locked away simply for having disturbing dreams? That’s part of the premise in internationally acclaimed author Laila Lalami’s latest novel, The Dream Hotel. In this episode, Laila discusses the themes that inspired and eventually mirrored her book, along with her background in writing, her daily routine, writing tips and more. 00:00 Welcome04:50 Writing tip: Avoid clichés!07:58 WIN!: A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan09:35 Word of the week: ‘Apophenia’10:03 Writer in residence: Laila Lalami11:02 Laila outlines The Dream Hotel12:17 Speculative Fiction and real-world parallels14:20 The language of this near future world19:40 Dreams and their cultural significance21:58 Speculative Fiction and dreams as data22:50 Researching the novel27:17 The role of algorithms in society30:11 Laila’s journey to becoming a writer34:33 Balancing teaching and writing37:27 The challenges of book promotion39:20 Future writing projects40:59 Laila’s writing tips42