Emma Darwin is the author of two historical novels and a guide to writing historical fiction. Her latest book, intriguingly, is the story of not being able to write a novel about her famous family. I got to know Emma through her blog, ‘This Itch of Writing’. She investigates the craft of writing in real depth, giving plentiful illustrations of what she means, and I usually end up pointing my students there at some point, so it was great to be able to talk to her in person for this episode.