Rhik Samadder: 'Remember what fun means to you in writing, and remember to have it'
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
16th Nov 2023
Rhik Samadder is an actor, writer and broadcaster. As an actor he has appeared on the BBC, HBO and Channel 4, and on stage played a lead role at the RSC. As a journalist, he created the cult favourite Inspect A Gadget column for the Guardian, as well as several other long-running columns, and writes features for the Sunday Times, GQ and Observer. His memoir I Never Said I Loved You was a Sunday Times best seller. The book is being adapted for screen, with Rhik writing the screenplay.
We're thrilled that Rhik is the tutor of our upcoming course, Writing Your Memoir – Three Months.
Rhik shares his advice for aspiring memoirists, discusses the most challenging part of writing about real life and tells us about the screen adaptation of his bestselling memoir I Never Said I Loved You.
We’re thrilled to have you on board as the tutor of our upcoming Writing Your Memoir course. What’s your favourite part of teaching creative writing?
Those inspired moments when a student sees the wood, not the trees. And I see a fire in their eyes.
On an unlikely backpacking trip with your mother, you found yourself speaking openly about your depression for the first time in years. Your memoir I Never Said I Loved You is an honest and invigorating account of mental health, grief, and hope. What is the most challenging part of writing about your real life?
Facing your fear. Social media – like any family – is filled with platitudes, projected shame, and third-hand thinking, all of which are enemies of art.
Despite the heavy subject matter, I Never Said I Loved You, has many comedic moments. Do you have any advice for writers looking to bring humour to the page in an authentic way?
Humour is a vector, an unexpected movement from one state to another. The things you’re connecting can be absolutely anything. But they also can’t be anything. So it’s a paradox too. No, there isn’t a funnier way of saying that.
What are you currently reading?
I have a terrible habit of reading different books in every room of the house. (Luckily I don’t have many rooms.) I’ve just finished re-reading The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes and This Is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill. I’m a sucker for a short book. Nobody’s Perfect, a collection of Anthony Lane criticism, is ongoing- but he wouldn’t like to know in which room. I’ll probably do Emma Cline’s The Guest next, or The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.
As a journalist and broadcaster, you must be very used to writing to deadlines. Did you impose similar deadlines to keep yourself on track when writing your memoir?
The main deadline I imposed was missing my deadline by a year. That took a lot of discipline.
Could you share your top three tips for writers who want to write a memoir?
- Always tell the truth. But abandon any notion of objectivity.
- Give yourself permission.
- Remember what fun means to you in writing, and remember to have it.
Your bestselling memoir I Never Said I Loved You is currently being adapted for the screen, with you writing the screenplay. What can you say about the writing challenges of bringing true stories to the screen as opposed to the page?
Adapting is exactly that, and a new medium requires new ideas. When much of an original text is movable, mutable or disposable, you need to keep a strong, central sense of what you are making and why. Your vision is physical; hold onto it.
Do you want to learn more from Rhik Samadder? Applications are open for our upcoming Writing Your Memoir – Three Months course. Deadline 17 March 2024.