Oh, you've listened to this episode already and you'd like to cross our palm with gold?

Well, you're in luck.... Simply click HERE to show your appreciation in a pecuniary fashion

And speaking of fashion - take a look at our merch HERE

and THANK YOU!

Now... onto the less grubby business of writing...

and this week we're lucky enough to be joined by the excellent Gareth Rubin, a writer whose career caught our eye recently from, of all things, an article about pensions!

What do writers do about pensions when your income is so unpredictable?

Well... that introduced us to Gareth... who it turns out isn't just interesting about pensions!

No, seriously. I know that seems crazy, but it's true.

He's written some books that are right up our street. Books within books within books within books, tête-bêches, an officially estate-sanctioned Sherlock Holmes book, a choose your own adventure-type murder mystery! OK... now you can see why we had to talk to him.

Check out Gareth's website:

https://www.garethrubin.com/

Buy Gareth's books here:

https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Gareth-Rubin/188678671

But that's not bloody all. Of course not!

Because our HYPEWRITER feature is BACK.

and this week we're celebrating the rather splendid Simon John Parkin.

Support a fellow writer by buying his excellent book of short stories (all 999 words!)

HERE’S Simon’s info - and he’s @sparkin.lit on instagram - That's a follow!

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You’re back.

Well, that’s bloody joyful isn’t it?

Nice of you to join us again.

Now, let me ask you an impertinent question.

How seriously are you taking your writing this year?

The reason I ask is we’re looking at writing goals.  Last year’s first of all… see how we got on… and then… we’re all making new ones.  Yeah. You too.

Come join us in stating your targets and let’s keep each other accountable.

Send your writing goals to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com and we’ll send you a little reminder of what they were at the end of the year, (plus an email of encouragement about halfway to keep you on track!)

Also don’t forget, if you’ve written something you’re proud of, share it with us!

Send roughly 1000 words to us, (either in a doc, or as a sound file) and we’ll celebrate your beautiful wordage on our regular feature HYPEWRITER.

Could be the start of your latest brilliant novel. Could be some flash you smashed. Could be a poem you wrote. Maybe some lyrics for the greatest song noone’s ever heard of, or could be a letter you wrote your ex-partner explaining why they need to stop calling you when they get drunk.

And a big shout out to www.paragraphplanet.com - you really should think about send them your finest 75 word flash fiction musings!!

Right. That’s the important stuff dealt with.  Now sit back and as Tom and Jon reveal how they got on with their targets last year!...

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Season 6 of the award-winning Failing Writers Podcast... coming sooooooon!!!!!

(Oh, and while you're here, check out our new merch store right here... https://the-failing-writers-podcast.teemill.com/)

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And your agent? You have to feed the beast don't you? (Is calling agents 'The Beast' too offensive?)

It's your job as a writer to offer up precisely what your readership is looking for. Anything else and you risk losing your commercial edge.

And we can't have that can we?

Oh we can?

Oh... OK.

We met up with the wonderful Doug Johnstone, to hear how he refuses to be pigeoned-holed, writes what he likes, and just so happens to say what he like too - and yes, by that, I mean he swears quite a lot.

Some great advice in this chat about the importance of loving what you write and worrying about it later. Plus lots of other entertaining advice too. Get it into your ear'oles now!

And a big THANKS to Scrivener for sponsoring this season of the podcast!

THANK YOU SCRIVENER!

If you haven't tried Scrivener, you can sample their lovely wares for free for 30 days.

OR you could just blummin well take our advice and buy a copy! and using our special code you can get 20% off!

I know. Mental.

You're welcome.

Just go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/ and use the code failing.

Right. That's the Christmas presents sorted. Have a great festive celebration, happy new year and see you on the other side for Season 6!

Buy Doug's books

https://orendabooks.co.uk/authors/doug-johnstone

More Doug:

https://dougjohnstone.com/

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Focussing on the three writers generally considered to be the great Titans of Scottish Literature: Robbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott & Robert Louis Stevenson.

We have a wander round, read some poetry and look into why these fellas are so revered.

We also go on a literary pub tour and have a chat with actor Mike Daviot, who just so happened to be an absolute font of knowledge about poetry and the Scots language.

Turns out literary pub tours are one of our favourite kinds of tour! Now who could have guessed that?!

So hop on board the Failing Writers Tour Bus and join us for a fascinating, if admittedly wholly inadequate look at three of the greatest writers, not just of Scotland, but the world.

The Writer's Museum:

https://cultureedinburgh.com/our-venues/writers-museum

The Literary Pub Tour we enjoyed:

https://www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk/

Tam o' Shanter:

http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/tamoshanter.htm

Hopefully that's inspired you to take a closer look at the poems and novels of these absolute titans. More than that, maybe it's encouraged you to have a go yourself.

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Welcome to the Failing Writers Podcast. Think of us as your writing harbour.

Your safe haven.

Your Lighthouse.

Come and moor here for a while and have your brain de-barnacled by the glorious mind of poet Michael Pederson.

Writer, linguaphile, Edinburgh Makar and all-round inspirational wordsmitherizer.

And once you’ve been inspired… time to get involved and write something wonderful yourself.

But hang on… before you do… you might want to consider the fantastic writing software Scrivener? An app that makes writing novels, plays, screenplays, poetry and all the other stuff soooo much easier.

Plus we’ve got a special code you can use at https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener to get yourself a majestic 20% off. Our little gift to you for being awesome.

FAILING

(That’s the code btw, I’m not just shouting FAILING! at you.  That would be mean)

And now you’ve listened to Michael, I’ll bet you want all his essential info?...

Yep. Thought so.

Insta:  @michaelpedersonoyster

Go see Michael live:

https://www.michaelpedersen.co.uk/events

Buy Muckle Flugga:

https://linktr.ee/muckleflugga

Buy Boy Friends:

https://linktr.ee/boyfriendsbook

Other stuff:

https://www.michaelpedersen.co.uk

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Yep, these are the brilliant writers who made the shortlist, but didn’t quite manage to snaffle a place on Sarah’s podium.

And here are those five wondrously wizard-like word weavers:

Kieran Ahern

Jonathon Davies

Steven Stilbech

Stuart James Taylor

Jasmine Sears

Well done to them all, and keep an eye out for them in future!

All we need do now I think, is thank our beaaauuutiful sponsor Scrivener, without whom there would be no competition frankly. Or there would, but the prize would be a bag of chips, a pack of Dairylea Triangles and some post-it notes.  So… you know…

Thank you very much Scrivener!

Who, aside from being a bunch of lovely people, also happens to be a really fantastic bit of writing software which you can secure for 20% less than the usual price, simply by using the code FAILING at checkout

Just go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com

Finally a massive well done to all of you who wrote one or more stories.

You’re all winners in our book.

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Think of all the ink you could buy.

So, come on in, and hear the traditional ‘YOU’RE ALL WINNERS SONG’, listen to Sarah Lewis from Writers HQ pick a winner, some runner-uppers and a couple of honourable mentions to boot and then follow that up by immersing yourself in the unbelievably high quality of 1st, 2nd & 3rd place.

But before you do all that…  just think.  One of them could be yours!

There’s only one way to find out though, and I’m not daft enough to give the game away and write them here in the show notes…  so you’d best get listening instead.

Big thanks again to Sarah and the excellent Writers HQ:

https://writershq.co.uk

Also a massive thanks to our amazing competition sponsor - the esteemed writing app, Scrivener!

Don't forget to pick up your copy NOW. Go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/ - use the code failing & you can get 20% off! Whoop. Get in! Early Christmas present to yourself.

And finally... huge congratulations to our winner.

Whoever that might be.

And don’t forget to join us next week, when we’ll be hearing more First Class, A-Grade, Top Shelf….  Flash Gorge-uns.

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You were perhaps hoping this was the competition reveal episode weren’t you?

Well, look, it’s not that one… not yet, however, we’ve got a little treat for you today. ’Specially for long time fans of the podcast.

Someone we’ve had on before and was a delight from start to finish.

Someone who's just self published a book, and has come to talk to us all about their experiences of putting a book out into the world, all on their own*

Anyway, I won’t say any more in case I ruin the surprise, but you should definitely have a listen.

What I will say though, is that our mystery guest is also a genuine fan of Scrivener.

And if you’d like to join the thousands of people who swear by the wonderful writing app Scrivener, why not go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener

and download it now!

It’s currently only £55 - which is already a bargain, BUT if you’d like 20% off on us - simply use the code failing at checkout and it will only cost you… wait… quick bit of arithmetic… erm… roughly… wait… is it £44?

I think so!

So that’s blummin great innit?

Anyway… if you like the sound of our guest’s book… you can purchase it right here: https://amzn.eu/d/eKujSNA

Please do support the indie book world! It makes a helluva difference to your fellow writers, as I’m sure you know.

*OK, maybe not entirely on their own.

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Men? How are they relevant in 2025? Oh no… wait … Er.

OK... let me explain what’s going on today... by introducing you

to (another) 2 handsome and charismatic young men.

Jay Foreman – comedian, singer songwriter (bloody great songs-look em up!) & Map-enthusiast.

And Mark Cooper-Jones – Ex-geography teacher, producer & comedian. Both… now… primarily You-Tubers.  (Ha! because that’s a real job.)

Together, they are… Map Men.  An absolutely genius bit of infotainment, which I’m willing to bet my last rolo, that you will love:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfxy4_sBQdxy3A2lvl-y3qWTeJEbC_QCp

Tell me I’m wrong! I dare you!

But, right… and here’s the important bit….  they’ve written a book! A brilliant book, which like their show is both brain-engorging and extremely funny.

Here’s a link to purchase several copies for yourself, your family & friends: 

https://lnk.to/mapmen

And while we’re on the subject of books. Have you ever tried writing one?

It’s bloody difficult isn’t it?

Yeah. Seriously.  Who knew?

So may I be so bold as to recommend that you try using Scrivener. It has more features than you’ll ever need! However that does mean that if you do need one, Scrivener has got it!

It just makes writing easier.  Not just for books either, but also for plays and screenplays and radio plays and non-fiction and stuff.

PLUS – if you go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener

You can make 20% of the price of Scrivener completely disappear by using the magic word “failing” at checkout. (You could even simultaneously imagine that you’re a flamboyant 80s stage magician with a white tiger and an open collared shirt while you do it, if that’s the kind of thing you enjoy doing.)

And then – our HYPEWRITER feature! Where you send us something you’ve written that you’re proud of and then we go and celebrate the living babaganoosh out of it.

(If you’d like to join in, just send a bit of writing - roughly 5 – 8 mins-worth - to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com – explain what it is, why you wrote it and a bit about yourself and you could feature on the pod!)

This week we introduce the extraordinarily talented Aaron J Courts, who sent us a lovely piece called Pass & Review.

You can find out more about Aaron here:

https://aaroncourts.substack.com

And behold. The shownotes are done for another episode.

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Well good for them!

No but seriously, wouldn’t it be fascinating to talk to someone who’s become an actual viral sensation themselves and find out what their strategy was?

(That’s your cue to stop reading and crack on with listening to this episode btw.)

BUT WAIT, THESE CAPITAL LETTERS STOPPED YOU IN YOUR TRACKS DIDN’T THEY?

Well that’s good, because now I can tell you all about our sponsor, the indispensable writing app: Scrivener!

The writing app that you can get 20% off! by going to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener and using the code: failing

(I promise you won’t regret it.)

So there you go. How to blow up on TikTok? A chat with a lovely writer? Some great advice about not reading reviews?  A discount of some amazing writing software? What more could you want?

Ah you want to know how to get your hands on a copy of Autumn’s excellent romance novel?

OK. Fair enough. Should have seen that coming.

Just click on this link…

https://www.authorautumnwoods.com

What? You still want more?  Wow… you’re in quite a demanding mood today aren’t you?

Well… you’re in luck, m’friend.  Cos this week in our regular Hype-Writer feature we’ve got a darkly disturbing but excellent little extract from last year’s flash fiction competition winner, Katie Holloway!

She’s promised to post more of Cups of Tea at the End of the World on her substack – so keep your eyes peeled here:

https://substack.com/@loseyourselfbooks

Right. Ya happy now?

Phew.

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I know, I know.

It's that time of year we all look forward to.

The leaves begin to loosen their grip. The sky is pregnant with it's autumnal offerings.

Jon gets poetic.

But aside from all that - it's the bloody Failing Writers Five Hundred Pound Flash Fiction Competition, in association with Scrivener!

That's the bit we're really all excited about.

That's when Tommy and I hunker down, curl up and bask in your beautiful little stories.

(I'm not even joking here, it genuinely is a joyful experience.)

So have a listen to the episode - find out everything you need to know in order to enter the competition, including the little phrase you have to include in your story... and be in with a chance of winning that 500 squids!

This years judge is the delightful Sarah Lewis from writers HQ.

Sign up now for a whole smorgasbord of helpful stuff. Workshops. Advice. Masterclasses. and of course the brilliant (and free!) Flash Face Off. Which we urge you to join in with - After all, it could be the thing that takes your flash piece from great to really blummin' marvellous!

https://writershq.co.uk/

Finally we wrap things up with an unusual but brilliant bit of poetry from the very talented free-styling-street-poet: Isaiah Frati.

check him out here:

Insta: @___reaver

And finally... A GIGANTIC THANK YOU to our wonderful sponsor Scrivener yet again, for sponsoring the podcast, and the competition.

If you'd like to get your hands on the writing software that really matters - get yourself to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

and get 20% off with the code: failing

Right.

Go on then... crack on! You've got until midday October 24th. We can't wait to read your submissions!

Good luck.

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This week we're looking at the extremes of the indie publishing industry.

From the fantastic BlueMoose Books...

https://bluemoosebooks.com

Where we speak to founder, Kevin Duffy about the highs and... well... mostly highs to be honest... of being a very successful indie publisher.

Right over to the very opposite end of the spectrum, where our second

guest, Janeen, tells us about the very ugly experience she had when approached

by a 'so called publisher'.

Followed by a discussion about the various publishing scams designed to part well intentioned writers from their cash - and how to avoid them.

And now's a good time as any to mention that this series of The Failing Writers Podcast is sponsored very kindly by Scrivener.

Fancy trying their world class writing software?

Then get yourself over to https://www.literatureandlatte.com for a month's free trial.

and if you use the code: failing … then hey presto, bish bash bosh, bob’s yer uncle...

you'll get 20% OFF!

Also, please consider supporting the writers and publishers

mentioned in these 2 episodes!

Here are Janeen’s links: Including a link to the book that nearly cost her a lot of money - the very same book featured on Hype-writer this week! Dot Exe.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dot-Exe-Janeen-Leese-Taylor-ebook/dp/B0DV7DZ9YL

https://x.com/InkAndSmudge?t=QRkcSP-WtYQy3ymoVfpfow&s=09

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0BLP33ZVY

And here’s a couple of brilliant online resources mentioned in the ep:

A list of known scammers:

https://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/

Including the company that tried to scam Janeen:

https://writerbeware.blog/2023/12/01/author-complaints-at-l-r-price-publications-ltd/

And Jill’s Book Café, with a list of indie publishers:

https://jillsbookcafe.blog/independent-publishers/

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It suddenly occurred to us that we didn’t know much about independent publishers. And that doesn’t sit well with us - Not knowing stuff about the world of writing. So we reached out to our lovely online writer friends, and found a few people happy to talk about their experience of being published by a small press.

And what we found out was very eye opening!

About the pros and cons… How different publishers work with their writers… How widely they publish…  What to expect from the relationship and why you might want to consider approaching a small press yourself!

Massive thanks to Scrivener for sponsoring the podcast.

Don’t forget you can get 20% off this glorious writing software at https://www.literatureandlatte.com by using our sneaky, little secret code: failing

Here are the details of the excellent people we waffled with:

We talked to Chris W McGuinness:

https://chriswmcguinness.wordpress.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hellbound-Bastards-Chris-W-McGuinness/dp/B0F2HY8DRM

https://alienbuddhapress.wordpress.com

https://cloakedpress.com/

Then we had a natter with flash maven Kathryn Aldridge-Morris:

https://www.kamwords.com/about-me

https://www.dahliapublishing.co.uk/product/cold-toast

Followed by YA writer Luke Palmer:

https://lukepalmerwriting.com

https://fireflypress.co.uk

And last but undoubtedly not least: Genevieve Marenghi-Daly

https://genevievemarenghi.com

Keep an eye out for her debut released on October 10th 2025…

https://www.burtonmayersbooks.com

And don’t forget… next week we continue our investigation into indie publication – when we chat with Kevin Duffy of BlueMoose Books.

Then…. go digging into the darker side of publishing…

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This week we launch into a good ole' natter with the brilliant Doug Naylor, co-creator & writer of Red Dwarf.

We talk about his excellent new children's book, and its space-ship based iterations.

We talk more generally about writing children's stories.

We talk about how Doug learned the craft of writing comedy.

We talk about how many times he and Rob pitched Red Dwarf unsuccessfully.

We talk about they went about developing an episode.

We talk about the abortive US version of Red Dwarf

We find out if it's likely there'll be another series of Red Dwarf

and we talk about persistence and 'actually finishing things' (which simultaneously inspires and upsets us.)

All very interesting and useful stuff from an actual real-life legend - we think you'll agree!

Buy his excellent book hither:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/sin-bin-island-the-unmissable-brand-new-adventure-from-red-dwarf-co-creator-and-sunday-times-bestselling-doug-naylor-doug-naylor/7955180?ean=9781788453707

Binge Red Dwarf here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b008ncn6/red-dwarf

aaaand probably don't watch this TOTP version of The Chicken Song, unless you want to spend the entire evening (and an entire sleepless night) with it rolling around and around in your head. (Yes. That happened.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OiZNGYmvg8

Also... you'll be wanting a link to Scrivener, won't you? So that you can get 20% off their popular and amazing writing software?

Well you can do that here: by using the code: failing

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

I know. We're very very good to you.

But hey, you deserve it, for being discerning enough to listen to The Failing Writers Podcast.

Well that just about wraps it up... other than to say: check out Hype Writer this week and the talented Solomon Atkinson-Padmore

This is his website... there's all kinds of goodies here so don't forget to check it out:

https://artofsolomon.com/

Thanks for listening, and being part of our little community!

See ya next time.

Jon & Tom.

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I mean, what else do you need to know?

That's the important bit.

Just that.

Ben Aaronovitch.

On this podcast.

Oh, apart from to say THANK YOU to our amazing sponsor Scrivener.

Which you can get right now.. with 20% off - as long as you use our special code FAILING.

Just pop along to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

Oh... and one other thing!

Check out our HYPE-WRITER feature this week - We've got listener Genevieve Marenghi-Daly's brilliant little piece: 'Team Drinks'

(INSTA: @genevievemarenghi)

OK.

Pretty sure that's it.

Now here's some Aaronovitch details as promised...

Ben's website:

https://www.benaaronovitch.com/

Buy Stone & Sky

https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/ben-aaronovitch/stone-and-sky/9781473226715/

Buy 'em all!

https://www.waterstones.com/author/ben-aaronovitch/27460

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So let's draw back the curtain and have a little peek at the actual, unfiltered, no-bull realities of giving birth to a beautiful baby book, with the supremely talented (and honest) journalist and author, Hamilton Nolan.

And if you too want to be all professional and authory, you could do a lot worse than getting yourself a copy of Scrivener.

It's a brilliant bit of software that honestly and genuinely makes writing easier.

Use our cheeky little code FAILING and get yourself 20% off the usual cost! Go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com right now.

And you'd assume, wouldn't you, that THAT might be all. Because any more of this aural nourishment could easily result in indigestion.

Well no. Sorry, but you should undo your belt a couple o' notches and ready yourself for pudding. Because we've got our brand new feature starting this week.

Yep. It's HYPE-WRITER! Where you send us a bit of writing you're real proud of. Could be your novel, could be a piece of flash, could be a short story, could be an article, could be a comedy sketch, could be a play, could be a sitcom episode. OR... it could be a poem, which is what we've got this week from the talented Guy Jones, founder of Hothouse Theatre, Nottingham:

https://www.hothousetheatre.com/

Insta: @hothouse_theatre

If you'd like to send us a bit of writing you're proud of so we can hype YOU up - send it over to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com with a bit of blurb about it, and you could see your name in lights*

*Forgive us a bit of hyperbole. x

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I know. We spoil you.

But it’s only cos you’ve been so good recently.

Yeah. Don’t be coy. You have.

So we thought. Oh heck, why not…

Let’s do an episode with the lovely Jessica Knappett. She of Inbetweeners / Drifters / Avoidance / Ghosts / Travel Man / Taskmaster and countless other stuff on telly- fame. BUT… also… you may not be aware... a very experienced and talented writer.

So pin back yer lug’oles and get comfy for a really fascinating chattanooga choo choo all the way to Jessicatown.

Here’s Jessica Knappett’s delightful podcast, now you've realised you need more Jess in your life:

https://podfollow.com/1744320313

And then, when you’re done listening to all that, and you’re all jazzed up on a cocktail of oxytocin and inspiration juice… why not make like a proper writer and get yourself a copy of SCRIVENER!

You can get 20% off with the code FAILING at https://www.literatureandlatte.com

And finally finish that pesky novel / screenplay / sitcom / poetry collection / academic book about the sexual proclivities of sea lions.

Finally. Please don’t forget to send in some writing you're reaaal proud of to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com

Then we can start our HYPE-WRITER feature, and start spreading love across the globe.

Wait, that sounds bad.

Spreading glory and huge, well deserved celebrations of YOU... to the world.

Clunky, but it’ll do.

x

Photograph of Jessica by Jiksaw.

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Done that?

Brilliant. First step towards becoming a proper writer - DONE.

Perfect.

Now... it’s time to settle the score, turn the tables, slip the shoe onto the other foot. Tom sets up a chat with Samia Rida, who’s taking her one woman play to Edinburgh.  A cunning way of encouraging Jon and Katie to crack on with their play.

Will it work?

Find out in this week’s episode, as we chat to Samia about how you go about taking a show to Edinburgh, the benefits of taking your writing into your own hands and turning it into a show, the trauma and comedy inherent in being kidnapped and taken to Saudi Arabia, the life of artists generally, and lots of other stuff that you’ll have to listen to the show to find out.

Samia’s play is called Kidnap, it’s on at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh from 30th July to the 10th August, and it sounds excellent!  Get your tix here:

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/samia-rida-kidnap

Samia on Instagram:

@rida_samia

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In this episode we’re looking at writing done especially for you.  Yes you, my Kiddiewinklepops. All the younger humans upon this little space rock we call Earth.

Why?

Because we are turning the spotlight on co-host Tommy Turner. He’s been a bit of a naughty boy and not been writing very much recently.  Can you believe that?

Oh you can.

Well, perhaps with a bit of inspiration from fabulotastimungouscintilliously brilliant middle grade author Thomas Taylor, he of Malamander fame, it might just be our turn to turn Turner into a page turning turn.

Let’s see shall we?

Righteeho… enough of this bothersome blather…. on with the show…

Oh wait… don’t forget that if you want to write like one of those successful, professional writers – get yourself a copy of SCRIVENER!

With our super secret magical code, you can get 20% off!

Just go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com and pop in the code FAILING

And for some SUPERB aged 7 – 12-ish books (Although I loved reading it and I’m quite a bit older than 12 – so maybe just ignore the whole age-thing)  check out Thomas Taylor’s Eerie on Sea series:

Visit Eerie on Sea here:

https://eerie-on-sea.com

Buy Malamander here:

https://eerie-on-sea.com/about-the-books/malamander/

Check out Thomas and his other stuff here:

https://www.thomastaylor-author.com

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And so, off we go, to try and defamiliarise the things which stare us in the face every blummin’ day. Relationships. Words. Coffee. Social Media. Prejudice. Siblings. Aging. Home. Industrial Estates. Nature. Sex. Love. Yep. We’re off to a poetry night, aren’t we? To find out what they’re all about. Who goes to them. What the poetry is like, and whether it’s something every writer should have a go at.

Poetry Jam in Durham to be precise. Wish us luck!

Here’s Kate Fox’s lovely new book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sycamore-Gap-2024-celebration-those/dp/0008735611

Here’s organiser Steve Urwin:

@urwin_steve on X.

http://steveurwintalkingpen.blogspot.com/

And here are the guest poets: 

Rach Lydon.  Insta & Threads:  @rachwritesreal

Gaeron Southern: https://gaeransouthern.wordpress.com

Julie Egdell:  https://aliceinwinterland.weebly.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week you're in for a treat. Cos, this week on the Failing Writers Podcast in association with Scrivener.... we've got a fantastic guest....

Pardon? Scrivener? You know! The brilliant writing app? Yeah. What's that? you've been thinking about buying a copy for a while?

Well... you're in luck! Just use our code "FAILING" and you can get 20% off right now! just go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com and make writing easier for yourself!

OK... where was I? Oh yes.... we've got a fantastic guest... Libbie Hawker. Writer of lots of historical fiction and lit fic... as well as "Take off Your Pants."

When it comes to writing guides, Take off Your Pants is a modern classic. It's a method that gives writers a scaffold to outline a great story, without necessarily nailing down all the plot points in your book. So it can work for plotters and even for pantsters! Designed to help you write your book more quickly and efficiently and make sure you end up with a really well considered, satisfying story.

So you'll definitely want to listen. In fact, probably stop reading this and crack on if I were you.

Actually before you stop reading, you might also like to know, we're revealing our writing goals for the rest of the year, as well as yours too!

You can find everything Libbie related here:

https://www.hawkerbooks.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get 20% off Scrivener right now, by using the code FAILING at https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

OK. Now, People…  buckle up.

You’re about to enter the Murverse.

Cos our guest this week is the lovely Mur Lafferty. A scifi / fantasy writer and podcaster whose refreshingly candid insights into writing and publishing caught our eye a while ago.

Being a fan of all things brutally honest, we thought it would be a fascinating exercise to join Mur in drilling down into the dark corners of our psyches by asking those horribly uncomfortable questions about writing. The idea being, that hopefully they might shed some light on the ways we could face down some of our demons.

And so… we created… THE WHEEL OF TERROR. A random-spinny-machine designed to pick all the questions we’d rather not answer.

There is no escape from the Wheel of Terror.

Why not ask yourself the questions?  (See all the questions at the bottom of the show-notes)

Find out more and connect with Mur here: as well as finding a list of her books... (‘Six Wakes’ is the book Jon read and enjoyed.)

https://murverse.com/

And check out Mur’s podcast “I Should Be Writing” here:

https://podfollow.com/79085800

1          What is holding you back from being one of the most celebrated writers of our time? (Oh… you have a list…)

2          What’s your biggest weakness as a writer?

3          What’s your current criteria for ’success’?

4          Why do you reaaaally write? I mean… the deep, gnawing, psychological need inside you… what actually IS it?

5.         What’s the most common thing that prevents you writing?

6.         Is there a project you regret giving up on?   

7.         Are you easily distractable by electronic devices? If so what’s the app you go to most?

8.         What’s the last thing you used as an excuse to not write?

9.         What was your absolute worst moment as a writer?

10.      When the doubt demons come at night, what do they whisper?

11.      What one thing (in relation to writing) would you like to be known for in the future?

12.      What do you usually think when you read back your first draft?

13.      Which writer are you most jealous of?

14.      What is your most embarrassing success daydream?  

15.      Who is responsible for making you think you’d be a good writer?

16.      At what point in a project do you tend to get stuck?

AND THEN, DON’T FORGET TO ASK THE QUESTION:

IF THIS IS A PROBLEM, WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY TO OVERCOME IT?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can try Scrivener free for 30 days. And if you love it, (which you will) you can use the code FAILING and get 20% off, you lucky, lucky duckies.

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

OK... This week, be prepared to have your beautiful, unsullied little brain absolutely stuffed to the brim with a gigantic, Haribo party-bag of sugary treats.

We reveal our new sponsor - Did I mention it's the amazing writing app, SCRIVENER?

We welcome the wonderful ADAM BUXTON onto the podcast to talk about memoir writing, journaling, agonising research, and the ups and downs of dredging up old memories.

Then, as though you're not already sick and bloated with aural glory.... as promised.... Tom tosses an array of sweet, sweet Clerihews into the crowd. Short, easy to swallow, biographical poems designed to make you chuckle and groan simultaneously.

And DO NOT FORGET to buy Adam's book here: It will be bloody excellent, we promise.

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ramble-book-2-adam-buxton/7722311

Or for the full Buckles experience... pre-order the audiobook.

And if you haven't read the first one yet... here's a link to that:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/ramble-book/adam-buxton/9780008293338

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and we shed a little light upon how melody can expand,

and we talked of books and words and how they sometimes change a man,

and by the end, our mate Paul Armfield had another couple o' fans.

Lyrics. Are they different to poems? Are they an art form all of their very own?

Is it best to write lyrics and then fit the music around them?

How do the words of songs develop?

All will be revealed in this episode of The Failing Writers Podcast where we talk to the extremely talented and delightful Singer-Songwriter and bookstore manager Paul Armfield.

Whose brilliant new album is all about books!

Check out his tour dates and buy his music here:

https://paularmfield.com/

We also discuss dream interpretation, an imminent open mic poetry night and Clerihews.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Come here.

A little closer.

Closer.

Don’t be afraid.

There. That’s it.

I’m going to tell you a story.

A story about an author called C.J. Tudor.

Who many years ago, waaay way back in season 1, episode 13, joined the Failing Writers Podcast for a harmless little natter.

Back when they were just podcasting children, playing down in the basement of obscurity.

Meanwhile, however, C.J. was on the way up. Climbing the stairs. Up, up she rose. Up to the very attic of literary accomplishment.

And there she’s lived ever since.

But wait.

What's that?

There’s something up there with her.

Something hiding in the shadows.

Something shapeless and malevolent.  Watching. Waiting.

What could it be?

What could haunt such a successful writer, with its grim, brooding presence?

Let's find out, shall we? As we catch up with C.J. Tudor again, 4 years on.

You can buy Caz’s books here:

(Yooooou’ll be sorry if you dooooon’t)

https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/131110/c-j-tudor

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Bet you missed us. Ah come on. Just a little bit?

Oh.

Well we're here now, so let's make the best of it.

Now... let's look at the menu.

What's for starters?

A delicious breakfast at Bettys Tea Rooms - a proper Yorkshire institution.

Then... the very antithesis of failing... Jennie Godfrey and her bestselling debut book: A List Of Suspicious Things,

All rounded off with a smorgasbord of excellent questions!

Bon appetit!

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/454971/the-list-of-suspicious-things-by-godfrey-jennie/9781804942949

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 6: FINISHED

Many years ago a simple undertaker made a blood oath to the Godfather of the Herringthorpe Mafia. Now, armed with incriminating CCTV footage of an urn theft, the conniving cremator tricks Jed and Bobby into taking that oath onto themselves. Being forced to choose between his best mate and the love of his life may well be too much for Jed. After all, when they said they'd do Anything 4U, this isn't what they had in mind.

Starring

Peter Dickson, Dave Baird, Tom Turner, Della Phillips, Gabriella Ashcroft, Emma Clarke, Elinor Hamilton, Sarah Sealey, Jon Rand, Katie Rand and Pete Nottage

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 5: TIPPED

With business finally booming the lads are forced to tackle jobs on their own if they're to have any chance of finishing in time for Jed to finally meet Rachel's Dad. But with a house clearance to organise, a flat-pack to assemble, windows to clean and a hypnotherapy appointment to keep things end up in one giant, flaming mess. Will Jed and Rachel's relationship survive the day? Will Jed and Bobby survive at all? Only one way to find out...

Starring:

Tom Turner, Dave Baird, Gabriella Ashcroft, Rachel Kershaw, Jack Oddie, Melissa Sinden, Stephanie Hirst, Della Phillips and Peter Dickson

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 4: SWABBED

Despite Rachel now being a firm part of the team, times are tough for Anything 4U, with dog walking their only source of income. So when they lose an expensive thoroughbred, things get really desperate. Conned by one of Crystal's criminal exes and making a surprise appearance on the Timothy Vile show don't help matters, but it all leads to what can only be described as a nut-busting finale.

Starring:

Tom Turner, Dave Baird, Gabriella Ashcroft, Elinor Hamilton, Everall Walsh, Guy Harris, Darren Altman, Blanche Anderson, Marie Ekins and Melissa Sinden

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 3: CATERED

Things get political when Jed and Bobby provide the catering for the national convention of the BNP. The moral quandary creates a rift between Jed and Rachel. Will their relationship survive? In fact, with cooking THIS bad...will anyone survive?

Starring:

Tom Turner, Dave Baird, Rachel Kershaw, Gabriella Ashcroft, Elinor Hamilton, Jack Oddie, Kenny Blyth, And Gerard Fletcher

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 2: DUMPED

Desperate for money, Jed and Bobby offer a brand new "dumping" service. If you've had enough of your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, whatever, but can't face dumping them yourself...they'll do it for you. After all, it's hardly a matter of life or death...or is it?

Starring:

Tom Turner, Dave Baird, Katie Rand, Jon Rand, Gabriella Ashcroft, Emma Clarke, Simon White, Elinor Hamilton, David Lane, Jack Oddie And Gerard Fletcher

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In absentia, they've decided to bring you all 6 episodes of Anything 4 U, which some of you may remember being occasionally mentioned on the podcast.

Yes... it's the lost classic.... The cult hit that got away... it's Dave's radio sitcom! Here to entertain you while you wait for the new season, with a few familiar voices, so you don't miss us too much.

Happy listening.

EPISODE 1: STRIPPED

Jed's feeling nervous about his first date with Rachel. Fortunately, he and Bobby have a big job on hand to keep him distracted. All they have to do is erect a fence at a naturist club. What could possibly go wrong?

Staring: Tom Turner Dave Baird Kenny Blyth Abi Phillips Elinor Hamilton Gabriella Ashcroft Jon Rand Simon White And Kristian Tiffany.

Anything 4U is a full cast audio sitcom following the micro jobbing adventures of Jed and Bobby. From walking the dog or mowing the lawn to faking a DNA test or fulfilling a blood oath to the mafia, anything you know you have to do, but just don't want to..they'll do it for you!

Award winning writer Dave Baird and mega producer Rik Watson create a raft of outrageous characters, brought to life by some of the best voice actors in the business.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please allow us a moment of self indulgence now, as all three of us bring you a bonus episode looking back on where we were 4 years ago, when we first began this lovely little writing / podcasting project.

Because for some inexplicable reason, we've decided to take our first ever episode and provide a kind of 'director's commentary' over it.

There will be cringing. There will be self-reflection. There might even be the odd moment of pride - as we look back at just how far we've come.

Well... alright... admittedly, from the outside it doesn't look like we've come very far, does it?

But the journey is long my friends, and the road is badly paved, and we're all easily distracted by all the fascinating little distractions along the way, aren't we?

So try not to judge too hard.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have a look at the rest of our festive flash fiction competition shortlist.

Warning:  They’re upsettingly good.

Any one of them, frankly, could have won.

Which must rankle somewhat.

Thankfully though, this is the moment they can shine.

Here were the winners (Announced last week):

Katie Holloway:

https://loseyourselfbooks.wordpress.com/

James Montgomory

https://www.jamesmontgomerywrites.com

John R Preston.

And here are the incredible Shortlisters:

Camilla Cassidy:

https://camillacassidy.co.uk

Genevieve Marenghi Daly

@genevieve.m.d

Rachael Dunlop:

https://rachaeldunlop.com

Insta: @rachaeldunlop1

Rebecca Latham

Debbie Howard

Please give them a massive round of applause and buy them a drink next time you see them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to the absolute legends at SCRIVENER - https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

You can get 20% off a copy by using the code 'failing' until the end of 2024.

ORRRR

maybe... just maybe... you've already won a copy, and you don’t know it?

Well there's only one way to find out isn't there?

by listening to this episode....

So come on in and let's find out who's won the Failing Writers Podcast £500 Festive Flash Fiction Final!

Whoop whoop!

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OK. Done that? Great. Now listen to this lovely episode featuring the wonderful Amy Daughters talking about how hand written letters can help bring people together.

https://www.amydaughters.com/books

Next, find out how Jon & Tom got on with a bit of letter writing ...

and then for the sake of balance, lets see what happens when you write letters pretending to be a 104 year old woman, who has a pet hedgehog and lives with a horrible lady called Mrs Hale...

Because Robert Popper's been busy again...

Get The Elsie Drake Letters for your loved ones in time for Christmas here "or you will regret it":

https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/robert-popper/the-elsie-drake-letters-aged-104/9781399817899/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And hey, thank yourself too! Whether you like it or not, you're now part of our powerful army of activists, who are going to help bring about a U-turn in reading and writing!

Let's start today - let's put away the smartphones - let's read more - let's volunteer as a paired-reader at a school. Let's big-up teachers - let's write something and share it with the world - let's write letters to the government until they change the way English is taught, and the way the arts are viewed in schools.

Thanks for listening, and if you want to know more about the stuff we've been discussing, or have any other suggestions about how we might give English in schools a boost - drop us a line!

failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A phrase you've no doubt overheard people say quite a lot over the years. At bus stops. Maybe in libraries? At the off licence?

No? Not even the off license?

Oh.

Anyway - not to worry - this week you're ALMOST CERTAIN to hear it, as Jon and Tom slip their pants on over their tights and become SAVIOURS OF THE SUBJECT OF ENGLISH IN SCHOOLS.

Yes, we're making it our mission to breathe new life into our favourite school subject and bring back the joy of reading and writing for the young folk of Britain!

How?

By writing a sternly worded letter of course! To Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education.

But first, we need to talk to some people who actually know what they're talking about. You know, to find out what the heck's going on with young people and reading and writing!

First up: Inspirational English Guru: (Yes. We're calling her a guru!) Leah Crawford.

Ooh... and don't you dare forget to enter our Festive Flash Fiction Competition in Association with Scrivener:

Get more details here:

https://www.failingwriterspodcast.com/episodes/episode/ad99e466/s4-ep-20-the-failing-writers-festive-flash-fiction-competition

Here's Leah's website:

https://leahcrawford.com

Bob Cox’s site - The home of Opening Doors:

https://searchingforexcellence.co.uk

The Opening Doors series:

https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/opening-doors

Let's Think in English:

https://www.letsthinkinenglish.org

Links to The English Association’s campaign to save English:

https://englishassociation.ac.uk/english-creates-a-campaign-for-english/

https://englishassociation.ac.uk/choose-english/

The Common English Forum Manifesto for English in schools:

https://commonenglishforum.org/a-manifesto-for-english/

The Just Imagine Centre championing excellent books in schools:

https://justimagine.co.uk/the-book-channel/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘spose it will be assumed

They won’t be as good as Henry’s

Normal service will be resumed.

In this episode, we meet up with Henry Normal: poet, writer of famous sit-coms, TV producer and poetry festival founder, and have a blummin’ lovely natter.

(After we did that - we watched him perform all his lovely poems, so effortlessly. So fluidly. So naturally.

And thus, inspired by his performance, we wondered how hard it would be to knock off a quick poem and perform it aloud.

“Bloobee blah blah bleeblee

 Bloobloo bloobloo la!…”

Sort of like that.

Dead easy.

So we did.

The results were... profoundly... um...

...well... decide for yourself.)

Henry Normal’s insta:

https://www.instagram.com/henrynormalpoet/

Buy Henry’s books:

https://flapjackpress.co.uk/products/henry-normal

Henry’s tour dates:

https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/henry-normal

BIG UPS…

The bloke who wrote the short story that Jon loved:

https://www.aaroncourts.com/

A.B. Finlayson and his excellent book:

https://abfinlayson.com/rockzombie/

Genevieve Marenghi-Daly’s lovely website.

https://sharpewords.uk/

Cover photo: J. Preston. Available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and saucy stuff.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I thought you did!

Well as coincidence would have it, that is exactly what we've got going on in this very episode.

So step this way, my cheeky little word-purveyor, and cast your well oiled ears at our glorious 350 word Flash Fiction Competition.

That's it.... yep... cast them freely.... mmmm.... that's the ticket.

*I say 'almost free', cos it's only a pound to enter. And we only did that to keep the pesky AI enterers from entering.

So, well... that pretty much qualifies as free doesn't it?

Here are some links to stuff mentioned in the podcast:

Buy the Fuel Anthology Emily mentions, here:  https://www.fuelflash.net

Find Smokelong Quarterly here:  https://www.smokelong.com

And here is your failsafe

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO ENTERING

THE FAILING WRITERS PODCAST

£500 FESTIVE FLASH FICTION COMPETITION:

1.        Listen to Series 4, Episode 20 of The Failing Writers Podcast.

2.        Jot down the special phrase you must include in your story.

3.        Write your 350 word, festive flash, (including that phrase!) Ideally well before the deadline - midday, Friday 13th December!

4.        When you’re super-happy with it and ready to go… log into your Paypal account https://www.paypal.com

5.        Click on 'send and request'.

6.        Under the send menu, type failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com into the box. It will suggest Tom Turner – click on that!

7.        If ‘you send’ is set to USD, change to GBP, and send £1.00  (don’t forget that decimal point or you’ll send us £100!!! whoopieee)

8.        ‘What’s this for?’ put something like “Comp entry”

9.        Hit send.

10.  Now go to your email and find the receipt you should’ve just been sent.

11.  Click Forward, and attach your flash fiction entry to this new email.

12.  Send that email (with Paypal receipt & flash piece) to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com

You’re all done!

Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

For all of the details and terms and conditions and all that jazz - go here:

https://www.failingwriterspodcast.com/post/win-500-in-our-festive-flash-fiction-competition

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

But pretend you haven't read that, so that you can find out from listening to this wonderful episode. In which, we have a chat with "S" co-author Doug Dorst and You Say Which Way author Deb Potter, in our quest to get to the bottom of what ergodic fiction is and why it's so blummin' good. Enjoy!

Here's some links for things in the show and stuff...

https://dougdorst.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-Doug-Dorst/dp/0316201642

https://yousaywhichway.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unfortunates

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/327088/house-of-leaves-by-danielewski-mark-z/9781529943993

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masquerade_(book)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you did it twice would you be re-treating yourself to a writing retreat?

If you tweeted about treating yourself to a writers retreat would you be tweeting your re-treat of retreating to a retreat?

And if you then re-tweeted your...

OK, I'll stop.

Tom & Jon not only answer the first of these pressing questions, but as they disappear into the wilderness (sort of) to sample a writers' retreat, they seek to answer the biggest question of all.

The one that's been haunting them for as long as they've been doing this podcast.

Can they actually knuckle down and write for 2 and a half days straight? No social media. No boxsets. No 'nipping to the pub for one' and then accidentally spending the entire afternoon there?

...

What?

Well I'm obviously not going to tell you am I?

Of course not.

What do you mean, I'm being a tease? That's what these bits of blurb are for! to tease you in.

Oh stop arguing and hit play.

Here's where we went:

https://writersretreatuk.co.uk/2023/01/our-own-venue-the-retreat-at-the-kings-arms/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out how they're approaching it, what agents' responses have been like and how they’re holding up under pressure.

Because when it comes to finding an agent, it’s more often than not, a long and painful process. No matter how talented a writer you are.

Byddi Lee:

Byddi’s website:

https://www.byddilee.com

Byddi's Books:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Byddi-Lee/author/B00OICWYUU?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1726051761&sr=1-3&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Özgür Uyanık:

Short stories MEN ALONE

https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/men-alone-short-stories?_pos=1&_sid=53c734e1d&_ss=r

Short story from the collection, BANTER:

https://nation.cymru/culture/short-story-banter/

Novel CONCEPTION:

https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/conception/

THREADS

https://www.threads.net/@liberatedsleepless

SUBSTACK

https://ozguruyanik.substack.com

Mari Stewart:

Mari’s website:

https://mari-stewart.com

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Time, I think, we had a chat about time. The fact that there's never enough of it. Especially for writing.

Why is that?

Well Oliver Burkeman might just have some answers.

Prepare to face the subject of time and limitation face-on.

Get ready to completely re-think how we view those precious hours, minutes and seconds. And ask... 'what would happen if we spent less of it worrying about the fact it's running out, and more of it just... being in it.'

Or even becoming time itself?

Might this shift in thinking actually help us stop procrastinating? and start spending more of our time doing the things that actually matter?

Hopefully, yes.

But what does actually matter?

You might have to answer that one yourself.

Regardless, whatever you do, you should definitely spend the next forty five minutes wasting your time listening to Oliver Burkeman.

Get a load of Oliver's brilliant 400 Weeks here:

https://www.oliverburkeman.com/fourthousandweeks

Get free incredible anti-procrastinatory tips here:

https://www.oliverburkeman.com/posts

And get Oliver's sparkly, life changing new book here:

https://www.oliverburkeman.com/meditationsformortals

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In an attempt to answer that question, we’re going to be looking at a couple of Tom’s flash fiction stories and asking if, why, and how, one of them is slightly less rubbish than the other. Both stories were entered into the same competition, but only one of them got published. Can Dave guess which one is which? Can YOU guess which one is which? Well, to answer either of those questions, you're gonna have to have a listen, aren't you!

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Well, there's only one way to find out...and that's to listen to our interview with J C Duncan!

Hear how he bravely decided to give himself a year to become a professional writer and, even bravelier, decided to tell everyone about it!

Plus home made knives, Vikings and our usual top quality chat!

Find out more about our most excellent guest (and check out that sword!) HERE: www.jcduncan.co.uk.

Buy his Vikingly books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/J-C-Duncan/author/B08WCYR1DR

And check out his #oneyeartopro threads here:

https://x.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1707002271010079150

https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1708465357424365671

https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1719670719628358012

https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1732823188453650477

https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1741821890270798104

https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1753131464768532959

https://x.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1755575800626073768

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This week Jon, Tom and Dave (or possibly Rod, Jane and Freddy) look into pseudonyms, nom-de-plumes, pen names...and basically just being someone else for a bit.

Does your name affect your chances of success? Does it even have an impact on how you write?

Join us to find out as the Failing Writers try to become the not-so-failing writers....for at least one chapter.

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This week, not only do Tom and Jon have a lovely chat with acclaimed author and current Richard and Judy Book Club pick Mike Gayle...but Jon also discusses his submissions to some actual writing competitions. AND Tom talks a bit more about the book he's actually published!

Oh, and Dave's there too.

Mike's latest novel:

A Song of Me and You: a heartfelt and romantic novel of first love and second chances, picked for the Richard & Judy Book Club

https://amzn.eu/d/2DqUyK9

Or see more at www.mikegayle.co.uk

"Under A Blood Red Sun" from Aaron Brooks in our WIP up a storm feature.

TOM'S BOOK - If you can't be bothered to go to Amazon and put in "Two Hour Sales Bible" then here's a link to it - GO AND BUY IT!

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We spoke to him about his debut novel "The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers", his frankly unbelievable journey to getting published and even had a chat about all things cryptic.

But, unfortunately, we're not really clever...so we didn't.

Which makes Tom's incredible publishing news even more puzzling!

Find Sam's already bestselling novel here

Or... if you're feeling adventurous, join an exclusive club and be one of the few to buy a copy of Tom's hilarious satire on the world of sales and salespeople...

PAPERBACK - KINDLE - AUDIO BOOK

Here's the link to Writers HQ - Write a Novel Month

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Plus we enjoy a WIP from Geoffrey G N Harrison.

And here’s a load of links…

Check out Aline’s YouTube here!

Here's Aline's Toktok

Here's Babette's new book and her website: https://www.babettehughesbooks.com

And you can read more of Geoff's story "Divided" here!

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Director, writer and stand up comedian Darren Walsh chats to us about his career, the art of a good pun and whether AI will ever be funnier than him.

Plus Jon comes up with what is almost certainly not an entirely new form of joke!

Find out more about Darren here...

https://darrenwalsh.co.uk

Here's Darren doing his award winning joke (and some others)

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Plus we take a look at another listener's bit o' writing they've kindly sent in to share with the class. This week we try and make Madelyn Postman cry...

Find out more about Richard here...

https://scarfolk.blogspot.com

and here...

https://www.richardlittler.com/

And thanks Mark@getcarterproductions.co.uk for letting us use those bangin' music tracks in Data Double! https://www.totim.audio/music

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Buy Miss Austen Investigates here:
 https://shor.by/MissAusten

Jessica’s soash:
Twitter: @NovelistJessica (https://twitter.com/NovelistJessica)
Instagram: @jessicabullnovelist (https://www.instagram.com/jessicabullnovelist/)

author pic by Cassie Baruc

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amphigorey-Fifteen-Books-Edward-Gorey/dp/0399504338/ref=sr_1_2?crid=26AXKS1XWG5UM&keywords=edward+gorey&qid=1687422426&s=books&sprefix=edward+gorey%2Cstripbooks%2C68&sr=1-2https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Rainbow-Grey/dp/B097YT66BF/ref=sr_1_3?crid=W030LZEE1D4A&keywords=laura+ellen+anderson&qid=1687422517&s=books&sprefix=laura+ellen+anderson%2Cstripbooks%2C65&sr=1-3https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-My-Bum-Went-Psycho/dp/0330400894https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Stink/dp/B0BS1MZ9Z6/ref=sr_1_7?crid=28PDPPRQDC1DG&keywords=jenny+mclachlan&qid=1687422651&s=audible&sprefix=jenny+mc%2Caudible%2C77&sr=1-7https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Underpants-of-Chaos/dp/B09DRH1HJH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ONQJ6XVGC5E4&keywords=the+underpants+of+chaos&qid=1687422706&s=audible&sprefix=the+underpants+of+chaos%2Caudible%2C70&sr=1-1

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