The Failing Writers Podcast (The Failing Writers Podcast)
Explorez tous les épisodes de The Failing Writers Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Apr 2024 | S4 Ep8: A tour of Scarfolk, with Richard Littler | 01:05:48 | |
Have you ever been to Scarfolk? It's a strange, yet hauntingly familiar place. Join us as we take a bus trip into the mind of the man who dreamt it all up, Richard Littler. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13 May 2024 | S4 Ep9: Darren Walsh - He Knows His Punions | 00:57:17 | |
Would you like a pun? Well, that's handy because this week we've been punning for gold and ended up with a bucket load. 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) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27 May 2024 | S4 Ep10: Does Age Matter? with Aline Dufflocq & Babette Hughes | 01:11:08 | |
The average age of our guests this week is 64. Nothing too amazing about that you might say… until you find out the first of our two guests is in her mid-twenties! This week we ask, “Is there a best age to write?” 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 Babette's new book and her website: https://www.babettehughesbooks.com And you can read more of Geoff's story "Divided" here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Jun 2024 | S4 Ep11: Samuel Burr & The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers | 00:51:51 | |
If we were really clever, we'd have written the show notes for this week's episode in the form of a cryptic crossword clue in honour of our guest, Samuel Burr. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Jun 2024 | S4 Ep 12: Mike Gayle | 01:10:17 | |
A change is in the air here at Failing HQ. A scent on the wind, a signal that the new dawn will herald the arrival of long overdue success. 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 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Jun 2024 | S4 Ep 13: Tune that name! All about pseudonyms | 00:56:58 | |
A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet...but would he have written that line if he wasn't called Shakespeare? 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 08 Jul 2024 | S4 Ep14: How to become a full-time author... maybe | 00:52:44 | |
Do you have what it takes to quit your day job and follow your dreams to become a full time author? 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26 Aug 2024 | S4 Ep15: How do you know if your writing is good enough? | 00:44:19 | |
Well, that’s the summer hiatus done with - and we're back with an episode which asks the question, "how do you know if your writing is good enough?" 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 09 Sep 2024 | S4 Ep16: Let's put off procrastinating, with Oliver Burkeman | 00:46:57 | |
... What? Did 2 weeks just fly by since the last episode? No flippin' way. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22 Sep 2024 | S4 Ep17: A Shortcut To Querying Success | 01:02:31 | |
Are you querying? or nearly querying? Maybe you’re fearing querying? Or merely getting weary and a bit teary querying? Well let’s hear from three writers who’ve been down in those querying trenches for a while now. 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: 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: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 07 Oct 2024 | S4 Ep18: What do we think of writing retreats? | 00:56:54 | |
Should you treat yourself to a writing retreat? 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. | |||
| 21 Oct 2024 | S4 Ep19: Ergodic Fiction | 01:02:39 | |
What is ergodic literature? Well, it's when a story becomes more than just something you read, and you become part of it. 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. | |||
| 04 Nov 2024 | S4 Ep 20: The Failing Writers Festive Flash Fiction Competition | 00:36:35 | |
Sorry? Did you just say you'd love to enter an almost free* festive flash fiction competition to win £500? 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. | |||
| 18 Nov 2024 | S4 Ep21: Henry Normal & Performing Poetry | 00:43:53 | |
If Tom & Jon wrote poems ‘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/ https://flapjackpress.co.uk/products/henry-normal https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/henry-normal The bloke who wrote the short story that Jon loved: A.B. Finlayson and his excellent book: https://abfinlayson.com/rockzombie/ Genevieve Marenghi-Daly’s lovely website. Cover photo: J. Preston. Available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and saucy stuff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 02 Dec 2024 | S4 Ep22 Resuscitating The Subject of English (pt1) | 00:37:41 | |
"Thank goodness for the Failing Writers." 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: Here's Leah's website: 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. | |||
| 09 Dec 2024 | S4 Ep23 Resuscitating The Subject of English (pt2) | 01:03:53 | |
Time to finish our letter to Bridget Phillipson, and once again thank the incredible teachers we spoke to, and the pupils for their fabulous creative writing. 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. | |||
| 16 Dec 2024 | S4 Ep24 The Lost Art Of Letter Writing | 01:18:02 | |
Don't forget you can still get 20% off SCRIVENER using the code 'failing' until the new year - so do that first before you get side-tracked with all the less-important Christmas stuff. 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. | |||
| 23 Dec 2024 | S4 Ep25 Festive Flash Fiction WINNER | 00:43:08 | |
Winners winners, turkey dinners! 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 06 Jan 2025 | S4 Ep27 A Stroll Down Memory Lane | 01:05:17 | |
Hello and happy new year, you lovely lot. 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. | |||
| 30 Dec 2024 | S4 Ep26 Flash Fiction Competition Runners Up 2024 | 00:35:44 | |
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: 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. | |||
| 13 Jan 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep1 - Stripped | 00:28:33 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 27 Jan 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep2 - Dumped | 00:25:30 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 10 Feb 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep3 - Catered | 00:26:41 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 24 Feb 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep4 - Swabbed | 00:26:40 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 10 Mar 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep5 - Tipped | 00:31:18 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 24 Mar 2025 | Anything 4 U - Ep6 - Finished | 00:30:42 | |
Hello Worldwrights, The Failing Writers are now on a little sabbatical, plotting, (or possibly pantsing) the next season of the podcast and maybe... maybe... even writing some stuff? I'd like to think so anyway. 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. | |||
| 14 Apr 2025 | S5 Ep1: Jennie Godfrey | 01:02:03 | |
Aaaaaaand we're back. 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. | |||
| 20 Apr 2025 | C.J. Tudor is back | 00:57:17 | |
Hello. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26 Apr 2021 | S1: Episode 0 - Introducing failure | 00:04:05 | |
Tom, Jon and Dave welcome you to the Failing Writers Podcast. Come on a journey of self-development with us as we attempt to transform ourselves, and maybe even you, from failures to nailing it-ers. Listen to this first to find out what it's all about. Music by DanoSongs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 02 May 2021 | S1 Ep1: There's No Hope | 00:53:49 | |
In our first ever episode we have a chat about why we started the podcast, we talk about those little things that prevent us from becoming internationally renowned bestselling authors and about how we write. There's a bit more waffle in there too about various bits and bobs... but, y'know, it's our first ever podcast, give us a break. Music by DanoSongs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 02 May 2021 | S1 Ep2: Teenangstasaurus | 00:46:36 | |
This episode sees us bravely digging out our embarrassing teenage poetry and sharing it shamelessly with the world. We talk about what writing we're trying to work on at the moment and a few other fantastically interesting bits and bobs as well. Which is nice. Music by DanoSongs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 09 May 2021 | S1 Ep3: Erotica's a hard one | 01:02:54 | |
This week we have a good old fashioned chin-wag about our ongoing writing projects – including a unique take on the murder mystery genre and a truly amazing idea for a play. Then we seamlessly segue into talking about the time Dave and Tom met a Hollywood big-wig... and probably slightly embarrassed themselves. Oh, and we make foolish promises that will no doubt come back to haunt us all in Episode 4 next week. Music by DanoSongs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 16 May 2021 | S1 Ep4: Aural Sex | 00:53:52 | |
Well, here it is. The episode literally no-one has been waiting for. Packed to the brim with smut and naughtiness, with a few rib-ticklers thrown in for your enhanced pleasure. Plus some very high quality chat about our worst jobs ever. Enjoy! (Well, try to enjoy it... or just lie back and think of England, it's up to you). Music by DanoSongs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 06 Jun 2021 | S1 Ep7: OMG it's OMJ Ryan | 00:51:17 | |
This week we talk to crime fiction author OMJ Ryan and we find out the answer to questions like; What happens when you quit your job to become an author? What do you call a competition where you have to dig up hidden snooker balls? And, what happens when you give a critical review of a book written by the person you're currently interviewing, which you thought was anonymous but it turns out it wasn't?! Awkward! (But also hilarious). Oh, and DON'T MENTION COATS. https://www.omjryan.com/blog-avenue https://www.amazon.co.uk/OMJ-Ryan/e/B07RSZS4BP/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coats_in_detective_fiction Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13 Jun 2021 | S1 Ep8: From first pages to review rages | 01:02:23 | |
In this week's audio smorgasbord (let's call it a smaudiosbord), inspired by our chat with OMJ Ryan in episode 7, we present back our first pages of our best-selling crime novels and then we have a bit of a natter about reviews - whether they're good, bad... or should just be blummin' ignored. We also find out about the time that Jon got blacklisted from the local writer's group and shortly after that, Dave unsuccessfully tries to find a book for 15 seconds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book) Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23 May 2021 | S1 Ep5: Ideas about ideas! | 00:58:59 | |
Due to recent events we’ve had to swap our episodes around a bit. So this week we’re using our experience as advertising creatives to discuss creativity and where ideas come from. Then we take a long hard look into the future and begrudgingly welcome the unstoppable rise of our, soon to become, robot overlords Useful links TED talk on creativity - https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_a_powerful_way_to_unleash_your_natural_creativity The Creative Penn Podcast. (12th Feb) episode https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2021/02/12/the-artist-in-the-machine/ Tom Scott’s YouTube AI generated episode https://youtu.be/TfVYxnhuEdU 'Sunspring' short Sci-fi film: https://youtu.be/LY7x2Ihqjmc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 30 May 2021 | S1 Ep6: Robot Writers | 00:53:58 | |
This time out, we talk about our "work in progress" and then touch upon important issues such as houmous on nipples, one of us being a better director than George Lucas and take the challenge to see if we can tell the difference between things written by us or by a super smart AI computer. Thanks for listening. Links from the show... Make your own pretend person. Maybe print it out and frame it, pop it on your desk and pretend you've got a friend! https://thispersondoesnotexist.com Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20 Jun 2021 | S1 Ep9: A nice chat with Beth Chalmers | 00:55:08 | |
We thoroughly enjoy a lovely chinwag with Beth Chalmers this week. She's a hugely successful writer with sketch shows, dramas, programmes like Horrible Histories and much, much more to her name. We talk about what goes on behind the scenes, the pitching process and eventually we manage to squeeze some top tips out of her too. Enjoy!! Beth's current TV series "Mystic" (co-written with long time collaborator Amy Shindler) is currently on the iplayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000kxr2/mystic Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27 Jun 2021 | S1 Ep10: Logs, trees and beats | 01:05:31 | |
What's a log line? How are they useful? How should you do them? These are all questions we really should have considered before recording a podcast about them. But as you'll hear, we get through it ok and actually find it really useful in the end. Plus, look out for an exclusive "arboreal narrative" reveal from Jon and the real highlight of the whole episode; Dave trying to be cool by making sounds like he's about to swallow a wasp. Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 04 Jul 2021 | S1 Ep11: I can't believe it's Caimh! (That rhymes by the way!?) | 00:53:06 | |
This week we talk to multi-talented writer Caimh McDonnell about hecklers, dogs and successful self publishing. And we witness a huge moment in the history of podcasting; the release of Dave's brand new catchphrase! https://whitehairedirishman.com/podcast/ https://whitehairedirishman.com/caimhs_books/ https://davidgaughran.com/ Gary Delaney - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qja1VIOBVcs Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 11 Jul 2021 | S1 Ep12: Rejections | 00:45:31 | |
This week (as the more astute of you may have gathered from the title of this episode) we talk about rejections – including a surprise for Tom and Jon that Dave has been keeping up his sleeve for over a decade! Plus there's an exciting announcement about our first live show. Enjoy! Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 18 Jul 2021 | S1 Ep13: A chat with CJ Tudor | 00:51:28 | |
This week, we talk to brilliant thriller-mystery-horror writer C.J. Tudor. Topics covered: Dog walking, the 1980s and what it's like when one of the biggest authors in the world decides to say something rather nice about your book. Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 25 Jul 2021 | S1 Ep14: "In one eye and out the other" with stand-up poet, Kate Fox | 01:12:11 | |
This week we're joined by the superb Kate Fox, poet extraordinaire. Kate shows us around the secret world of poetry, enjoys Dave's catchphrase (I mean, what right thinking individual wouldn't?!) and she definitely doesn't violently drown someone shortly after chatting with us. Plus, Kate reveals which famous comedy favourite she inspired to get on stage and tell some gags. https://katefoxwriter.wordpress.com/ Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 01 Aug 2021 | S1 Ep15: The Little Pod of Horrors! | 00:55:28 | |
Ouhhhhhhh... it's a spooooooky horror episode! This week we present back our short horror stories. Then we try and teach Dave how to give something marks out of ten. (We have no idea if we did a good job of that. I mean, he gave us an 7/10... but who knows). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 08 Aug 2021 | S1 Ep16: Hidden Tools of Comedy review & Chris Paling interview | 00:57:14 | |
It's a half and half treat this week! Half book review ("The Hidden Tools of Comedy" by Steve Kaplan) and half interview - a lovely natter with novelist, and writer of "A Very Nice Rejection Letter", Chris Paling. In addition to this we obviously also briefly discuss Lion dressage. https://www.chrispaling.com/ https://www.kaplancomedy.com/product/book/ Music by Dan-o Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15 Aug 2021 | S1 Ep17: Let's do it LIVE! | 00:56:54 | |
Some people thought it couldn't be done... they were wrong. Some said no-one would be daft enough to turn up... they were wrong too!! And some people said we wouldn't be able to create the greatest story EVER with nothing more than our wits and a willing audience. They were mostly possibly right, but it didn't stop us having a right old load of fun trying. Enjoy!! Music by Dan-o Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22 Aug 2021 | S1 Ep18: Whingefest '21 | 00:50:23 | |
After entering a micro-fiction contest Tom, Jon and Dave rather maturely consider the judge's feedback, and deal with it in a level-headed and sensible fashion. Kind of. Apart from the stupid bits where the stupid judges stupidly got their stupid facts wrong. Welcome to Whingefest '21! Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 29 Aug 2021 | S1 Ep19: Talking TV, comedy and California with Adrian Poynton | 00:46:44 | |
Well, despite somehow failing to record the first 30 minutes of the interview, we still manage to have a rather interesting chat with TV comedy scriptwriter Adrian Poynton about his work and his adventures in the world of American TV in Los Angeles. Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 05 Sep 2021 | S1 Ep20: Save the f%@#!ng cat | 00:49:04 | |
In this week's bl**dy episode, Jon reviews the mega-f***ing-successful screen-writing guide "Save the cat" - and then we have a motherf***ing chat about swearing. Listener discretion is f***ing well advised. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/20/bloody-loses-its-place-atop-swearing-lexicon-as-british-use-of-expletives-falls Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 12 Sep 2021 | S1 Ep21: Talking to best-selling Gillian McAllister! | 00:42:41 | |
Another great guest this week, in the form of Gillian McAllister. Sunday Times best-selling author, with the TV royalty seal of approval from Richard and Judy, she chats about her journey, her work and the philosophical musings of Taylor Swift. Read all about Gilly here https://gillianmcallister.com/ Buy her latest smash hit best seller here https://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Night-gripping-psychological-thriller/dp/1405942444/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= See her on the Richard & Judy Book Club here https://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/ And listen to her on The Honest Authors Podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-honest-authors-podcast/id1194154338 Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 19 Sep 2021 | S1 Ep22: A (not so) mystery guest special! | 00:54:01 | |
This week we yet again prove we couldn't arrange an over consumption of alcoholic beverages in a place that makes alcoholic beverages, and we do it in the company of a special mystery guest who's primed and ready to give us some honest feedback on some previous writing we've done. It's all very exciting. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deadly-Caller-gripping-thriller-Detective/dp/B09F1CZTKS/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26 Sep 2021 | S1 Ep23: Rosie Wilby, a writer's room zoom AND A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! | 00:58:58 | |
This week we've got a big announcement, a great interview with Rosie Wilby, author of The Breakup Monologues, and there's also a rather sizeable announcement. Oh, did I mention we're announcing something? That's in there too. Find out more about our fabulous guest here https://www.rosiewilby.com/ You can get her even fabulouser new book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakup-Monologues-Unexpected-Joy-Heartbreak/dp/1472982304 And listen to her ridiculously fabulous (though not quite as fabulous as ours) podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-breakup-monologues-with-rosie-wilby/id1310409996 Have a go at writing for an hour with the, um, writers hour https://writershour.com/ And finally, get all the details of our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT here https://www.failingwriterspodcast.com/blog/ Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Oct 2021 | S1 Ep24: Halloween flash fiction contest - plus Tim Craig's tip-top top tips | 00:37:04 | |
It's here and we want you to be part of it! Our £100 Halloween flash fiction contest is now open! Just listen to this episode to get your ears round the phrase you need to include in your entry... and get writing! Plus, we've got fantastic flash fictioner Tim Craig on to give us all a few top tips on how to write great micro fiction stories. Enjoy! Find out more about our guest here https://twitter.com/timkcraig More short form top tips from this fella (not to be confused with the other Gaffney) https://www.davidgaffney.org/ Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Oct 2021 | S1 Ep25: Interview with writer and illustrator Jason Cockcroft... and our own amazing artwork | 00:58:28 | |
We welcome super talented (and all round super nice chap) writer and illustrator Jason Cockcroft on to the podcast to talk about his latest book, We Were Wolves. And, not to be outdone by Jason's fancy pen work, we try and draw a cow. Jason's artwork - https://www.thelittleyellowbird.co.uk/ We Were Wolves book - https://www.waterstones.com/book/we-were-wolves/jason-cockcroft/jason-cockcroft/9781839130571 Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Oct 2021 | S1 Ep26: The Brainstorm Ideagasm | 00:59:41 | |
Thinking. It's hard. And this week we prove it. Join us at the start of a journey of creation. Like the big bang... but probably significantly smaller in terms of impact on the universe. And before you listen, try to guess which Sunday evening TV classic that we decide would be better equestrianised. Music by Dano songs...and Jon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Oct 2021 | S1 Ep27: Children's Author Adam Bushnell | 01:02:48 | |
Crazy kids names, rejection, tortoises - that's what writing for children and inspiring them to develop a passion for reading and writing is all about. We catch up with children's author Adam Bushnell to find out a bit more about writing for kids, teaching teachers and... well, look, we're not just going to tell you everything that's in this episode, are we? You'll have to listen to it. http://www.adambushnell.co.uk/ https://www.wigtownbookfestival.com/ Tips for watching Jon perform Shakespeare - https://academyoffencingmasters.com/blog/fencing-with-glasses/ Diary of a bookseller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGFljyfORi8 Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 31 Oct 2021 | S1 Ep28: And the winner is… | 00:57:35 | |
Congratulations to the winner of our Halloween Flash Fiction competition! What? You don’t know who that is? Well, sounds like you need to get your old flappy head trumpets round this episode doesn’t it? Enjoy! Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 08 Nov 2021 | S1 Ep29: Poetic Judgement (with the right honourable Kate Fox presiding) | 00:55:10 | |
We invite poet Kate Fox back on the podcast to critique our work and help us improve our poetry. Which Failing Writer will come out on top? Find out in this week's exiting episode. (That's not a typo. After listening to our poems, you'll be pretty keen to leave). Enjoy dearest listener, enjoy! If you're joining in with NANOWRIMO (or doing any writing at all) here's that handy little tool to stop you wasting time selecting character names. https://www.name-generator.org.uk/ Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15 Nov 2021 | S1 Ep30: An interview with Tim Glister - author of "Red Corona" | 00:54:50 | |
We talk to Tim Glister, who is definitely not a spy. And he tells us about when he REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED at Cambridge Analytica, as well as the time he REDACTED. But what's probably most interesting is the REDACTED REDACTED and the REDACTED, with an ostrich feather umbrella. Find out more (or at least as much as one can for such a secretive character) here https://www.timglister.com/ And buy his fabulous new book right here https://bit.ly/30aJaY1 Music by Dano songs (and Jon) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22 Nov 2021 | S1 Ep31: The greatest day of Jon's life - an interview with Andy Stanton | 01:14:13 | |
We're pretty lucky that Jon's writing hero responded to his somewhat serial killer-esque letter of invitation in the affirmative, rather than pursuing it further through legal channels. But all's well that ends well! We had a proper funty time with Andy, his chair and loads of really good insights into "the craft". (Fortunately we managed to keep Jon from embarrassing himself and letting it slip that he's actually got an Andy Stanton shrine in his downstairs loo... oh, and that he nearly called one of his kids Jammy Grammy Lammy F'Huppa F'Huppa Berlin Stereo Eo Eo Lebb C'Yepp Nermonica Le Straypek De Grespin De Crespin De Spespin De Vespin De Whoop De Loop De Brunkle Merry Christmas Lenoir). Find the wonderful world of Mr Gum here http://www.mrgum.co.uk/ See Jon's...um...not at all creepy letter to Andy here https://www.failingwriterspodcast.com/blog/why-jon-wanted-andy-stanton-on-the-show-so-bad/ Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 29 Nov 2021 | S1 Ep32: Lets' talk about using f*$%ing apostrophe's correctly with Simon Griffin | 00:57:44 | |
So, this week its' time to have a little chittertychat with Mr Simon Griffin, author of F*$%ing Apostrophes'. We talk about review's and how Simon pretty much almost became an author by accident! Enjoy's! Find Simon's lovely book here https://iconbooks.com/ib-title/fucking-apostrophes/ And, now Jon's little feature is finally off and running, you can find David Lucas' book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uprooted-Vietnamese-Familys-Journey-1935-1975-ebook/dp/B019DIW1DS Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 06 Dec 2021 | S1 Ep33: Our 250 word NYC midnight flash fiction challenge | 00:54:39 | |
Undaunted by our ignominious failure in the previous NYC midnight flash fiction competition, we once again put ourselves through the short story wringer and present our writing for all to see and to praise/laugh at/mock/experience as an epiphanical life changing moment (delete as appropriate). And as well as giving our honest, frank and uncompromising feedback on each other’s 250 word "masterpieces", we also wrap up our NaNoWriMo adventure and review some writing software while we’re at it. Find out more about NaNoWriMo here... https://nanowrimo.org/ Scrivener here... https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview And the HG Wells story that Jon blatantly ripped off is here... https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23218/23218-h/23218-h.htm Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13 Dec 2021 | S1 Ep34: Sally Wainwright | 00:49:42 | |
Sally Wainwright OBE joins us on the show this week! What do you ask a multiple BAFTA award winning screenwriter with an impressive string of hit TV series to her name; like Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and At Home With The Braithwaites? Oh really? You’d have asked her that? OK… OK… So... nothing about her bus driving career and her favourite crisps? You sure? Music by Dano Songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20 Dec 2021 | S1 Ep35: The Failing Writer's Christmas Special Spectacular! | 00:43:12 | |
Wrap yourself in tinsel, stuff 12 pigs in blankets in your mouth and get yourself comfortable to listen to this festive treat. In this seasonal spectacular, we proudly present the Failing Writers Podcast Panto (ohhhh yes we do!) and also a journey back through our first season, via some of our favourite songs from the series, in our top ten silly little ditty countdown (with a mystery celebrity DJ presenter!) Enjoy... and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Music by Dano Songs (And Jon and Tom and Dave) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27 Dec 2021 | S1 Ep36: The End of Season SPECTACULAR (pt1) | 00:45:15 | |
The end is nigh. The first part of our two part End of Season Spectacular sees us catch up with some of the guests that have helped make The Failing Writers Podcast one of the best (and as yet, pretty much undiscovered) podcasts of the year in the whole wide world. We have a quick catch up with poet Kate Fox, novelist Chris Paling, comedian and author Rosie Wilby, fabulous flash fictioner Tim Craig, children's author Adam Bushnell and international spy Tim Glister. Music by Dano songs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 01 Jan 2022 | S1 Ep37: End of season spectacular (pt2) | 00:59:55 | |
Some people are on the podcast* - they think season one's all over... it is now!! *(those people would be Adrian Poynton, Caimh McDonnell, OMJ Ryan, Andy Stanton, Beth Chalmers and Simon Griffin - to whom we offer our thanks for dropping back in to have a catch up with us). Thank you to everyone who has listened to, supported and championed the podcast in our first season. We've had a great time putting it together and can't wait to bring you more thoroughly average chit-chat and moderately interesting happenings in March! Happy new year!! Music by Dano Songs (and Jon & Tom & Dave) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23 Mar 2022 | S2: Here we go again! | 00:10:54 | |
So, we're back! And this time we're having a BIG idea. (Hopefully. At some point. Maybe. If we get round to it). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Apr 2022 | S2 Ep1: We're back! Welcome to Season 2 | 00:48:47 | |
Big ideas, rude t-shirt slogans, misplaced confidence and our infallible master-plan – The Failing Writers return for season 2 of their potentially award winning podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Apr 2022 | S2 Ep2: An interview with Jeremy Dyson | 01:21:58 | |
We're honoured to have one of our favourite writers on the podcast this week - as we welcome Jeremy Dyson. He shares some fantastic tips and a fair few 24-carrat-knowledge-nuggets with us too. So, sit back... relax... and soak it all up. League of Gentlemen: Funland: The Cranes That Build the Cranes Ramsey Campbell ghost stories: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Apr 2022 | S2 Ep3: Writing Competitions | 00:53:30 | |
In this episode we discuss writing competitions. And linked into that, we talk with a few people involved with The David Nobbs Memorial Trust - a bursary scheme that Dave entered recently (spoiler alert... he didn't win, but we speak to the person that did, Zoe Tomalin). We also have a delightful chat with trustee Margaret Cabourn-Smith, to find out more about the trust and its aims. David Nobbs Bursary Website: Writers HQ website - for writing competition listings: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Apr 2022 | S2 Ep4: Emma Kennedy | 01:10:04 | |
This week we welcome author, comedy writer, performer (and all round massively talented) Emma Kennedy on to the podcast. We find out about her writing, she throws a few home truths our way and she gives us some good old fashioned advice as we start out on our Season 2 quest to write a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Kennedy https://twitter.com/EmmaKennedy https://www.waterstones.com/book/letters-from-brenda/emma-kennedy/9781529371970 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 01 May 2022 | S2 Ep5: Talking Sitcomedydramas | 00:59:14 | |
In preparation for finally actually, maybe, starting to possibly begin to put pen to paper on our TV comedy pitch - this week we have a chat about our favourite (and less favourite) sitcoms and comedy dramas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 08 May 2022 | S2 Ep6: Interview with Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling | 01:18:54 | |
We have a fantastic, illuminating and thought provoking chat with Will Storr this week. Delving into the human psyche and our fundamental core need for storytelling and narrative. Plus we continue to progress with our joint writing project for the season and Tom gets persuaded to share his work with Jon and Dave so they can offer "constructive criticism" next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15 May 2022 | S2 Ep7: Constrictive Criticism | 01:11:33 | |
So the time has come for Tom to get some honest feedback from Jon and Dave, as he bravely submits his silly little sales book for appraisal from his fellow podcast hosts. Take a listen to find out what they thought of it, what Tom thought of what they thought of it, and what they thought of what Tom thought of what they thought of it. And if you're brave enough to make it through to the end, there's a lovely little surprise for all you tree lovers out there...... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22 May 2022 | S2 Ep8: Nels Abbey, author of Think Like a White Man | 01:25:43 | |
This week we talk to Nels Abbey, author of Think Like a White Man, and mostly cover all the same old subjects really. You know; stripper politics, Jim Davidson, Didcot Parkway and how to solve racism worldwide. (We also definitely don't give a plug to the release of the paperback verison of Chris Palling's A Very Nice Rejection Letter either). https://twitter.com/nelsabbey And if you want your very own copy of his wonderful book, to love and cherish and keep forever, you can... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Like-White-Boulé-Whytelaw/dp/1786894343 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 29 May 2022 | S2 Ep9: A critical review of Jon's Tree story | 01:11:05 | |
This week it's Jon's turn to open himself up to some honest feedback from the other Failing Writers - and also, somewhat bravely, from an unfailing writer too. Will Jon just want us to leaf him alone? Will his story take root in our imaginations? Will Dave and Tom's critique sap Jon's enthusiasm or is their bark worse than their bite? (Will anyone read this far or will they give up due to all the awful tree puns?) Find out, in this week's exciting instalment of... The Failing Writers Podcast!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 05 Jun 2022 | S2 Ep10: Cards on the table about Poker Night (and a mystery guest) | 01:02:26 | |
This week we acknowledge that maybe our group writing project isn’t exactly racing ahead (surprise, surprise!) and try to actually get things moving on our stalling Poker Night sitcom. Plus we also have nice little guessing game, as Jon introduces a mystery guest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 12 Jun 2022 | S2 Ep11: Talking with Joanna Penn | 01:04:56 | |
This week we have a chat with Joanna Penn - author, podcaster, entrepreneur - and she shares her views on the business side of writing and being a successful author. Really interesting stuff! -- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 19 Jun 2022 | S2 Ep12: Julia Roberts. No, not that one. | 00:53:17 | |
Writers... erm... thingy. Does it... erm... errrrrr... y'know, is it a wotist. A thingy-majig. Or not? We answer these perfectly formed questions and many, many, many, many* others in this week's thrilling installment of The Failing Writer's Blockcast. *we probably only answer about two other questions if we're honest - but let's not pretend you thought otherwise. https://www.decodingcreativity.com/ Write Without the Fight: Master Your Creative Process to Write with Ease & Satisfaction - preview: https://amzn.to/3bmjzBb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26 Jun 2022 | S2 Ep13: The Freshly Award Winning Screenwriter Paul Quinn | 01:00:06 | |
This week we're joined by a lovely chap by the name of Paul Quinn. He's just won a rather interesting "Best Unproduced Screenplay" award for his script, Pushing Daisy. So, we have a chat with him about where he's been on his writing journey so far and where he hopes it might take him in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Jul 2022 | S2 Ep14: Dave's Spooky War Book | 00:56:00 | |
It's finally Dave's turn to lay bare his work for the other Failing Writers to critique. Will he be happy with the advice he receives? Will Jon and Tom enjoy his work? Will Dave just have a tantrum and decide to quit writing for ever? Well, we’re not going to tell you in the show notes are we?! You’re gonna have to go and have a listen! Plus, we also have flash-fiction-meister Tim Craig back on to have a chat about his debut book (link below if you fancy buying it). BUY TIM'S BOOK HERE!!! https://bookshop.adhocfiction.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=235 And we gave a nudge to Anuj who very kindly added us to his Feedspot.com list of writing podcasts. Nice one Anuj. https://blog.feedspot.com/writing_podcasts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Jul 2022 | S2 Ep15: The last word on bad writing | 01:07:51 | |
This week we unironically appoint ourselves as judge Judy and executioner when it comes to deciding what constitutes "good" and "bad" writing. We wade, like treaclenauts through the metaphorical linguistic molasses, to address profligate supererogatory expatiated prose as well as the down right boring and clunky – in a quest to get to the bottom of the question; “So, what exactly makes bad writing bad?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Jul 2022 | S2 Ep16: David Quantick interview | 00:56:39 | |
This week we are honoured to welcome Emmy award winning writer David Quantick. We talk window goats, having big ideas, getting the sack and chat to David about the reams and reams of amazing work he's done. It's fair to say we think this episode is Quanticky AND quality. LINKS https://davidquantick.com/ The first EVER internet sitcom "The Junkies" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFOayYFu7Fs That Star Wars bit from "The Thick Of It" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg-pnGFbwMQ New novel "Ricky's Hand" - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rickys-Hand-David-Quantick-ebook/dp/B09DV2CVCB “How to Write Everything” https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Write-Everything-David-Quantick/dp/1783191031 “All My Colours”, David's novel about a failing writer: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41840158-all-my-colors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Jul 2022 | S2 Ep17: Janice Horton - The Backpacking Housewife | 01:22:03 | |
As well as having a lovely, lovely chat with Janice about her romantic fiction work, we also subject her to our own "love" stories. She's kind enough to offer her thoughts and feedback on all three of of our stories, as (unsurprisingly!) we push back the boundaries of romantic fiction to breaking point. https://thebackpackinghousewife.com/ https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 21 Aug 2022 | S2 Ep18: Benjamin Stevenson - AND ANOTHER BIG COMPETITION!! | 01:19:48 | |
Interviewees. Every podcast needs good interviewees. And with a little understanding, you can find the perfect chap - that's when good interviewees, become good craic. This week we talk to Aussie comedian and novelist, Benjamin Stevenson. Talking about his fantastic new book, "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (spoiler alert - everyone from the family in the book has probably killed someone), getting optioned by HBO and we also talk about his even better unpublished work "Not Expecting Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom". Plus, there's details of our upcoming writing comp, where you can win hundreds of pounds!!! Here's a link to Benjamin's book - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/452671/everyone-in-my-family-has-killed-someone-by-stevenson-benjamin/9780241594933 And a link to Scrivener (get 20% off by using the code FAILING) https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 28 Aug 2022 | S2 Ep19: On the other Rand (plus the competition entry details!) | 01:00:47 | |
Looking for all the info on how to enter our £300 competition, brought to you in association with Scrivener? Well, you’ll find it right here - along with a tale of two Rands. Our very own Jon Rand and American playwright Jon Rand. Two completely different people… or are they?? And a link to Scrivener (get 20% off by using the code FAILING) https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 04 Sep 2022 | S2 Ep20: Developing Characters | 01:11:13 | |
Having trouble developing your characters in your writing? Well, we are too. Thankfully though, Jon has had a clever little idea that we explore in this episode. Will it be helpful? Who knows. Will it be worth an hour of your valuable time? Probably not. But you're going to listen anyway, aren't you? Admit it, you're a little bit addicted to the Failing Writers Podcast. Go on... one more listen won't do you any harm will it? You could quit whenever you want. Course you could. Find our most favouritist writing software, Scrivener, right here - www.literatureandlatte.com (and remember "FAILING" will get you 20% off!) See if you have a personality here - https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 11 Sep 2022 | S2 Ep21: Talking with Evan S Smith | 01:29:29 | |
We thought it was time we got a bit of expert advice from a professor of sitcomology, to help us progress our Poker Night project (which we've been regretting making the focus of this season for some time now). So who better to get than the bloke who is the author of the book Writing Television Sitcoms, Prof Evan S Smith? And, there's only one week left of our writing competition!! So, hurry up and get your entry in to failingwriterspodcast@gmail.com for your chance to win £300, thanks to our friends at Scrivener! The beat sheet article Evan talked about - https://scriptmag.com/features/comedy-writing-every-script-deserves-good-beating Evan's book - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/304655/writing-television-sitcoms-by-evan-s-smith/ www.literatureandlatte.com - get 20% off Scrivener using the code FAILING Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 18 Sep 2022 | S2 Ep22: An enthricing chat about not much | 00:45:16 | |
This week, a guest we're expecting doesn't show up... and we've got no other time to record the show. So, we just have to go with it, put our big boy pants on and deliver some high quality, unscripted content. You can probably guess how that went. Or maybe you can't, and you're still going to listen. Which we thank you for. Loads of great writing comps at https://www.globesoup.net/ And a link to Scrivener (get 20% off by using the code FAILING) https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 25 Sep 2022 | S2 Ep23: Quite a long longlist | 01:08:42 | |
Have you entered our Love story flash fiction competition? Well, we're announcing the winner next week, but this week we're giving you a sneek peak of some of the entries for which we've fallen head over heels. They might go on to win or we may read others that we like more as we digest our way through the mountain of entries. Either way, we just thought that these were too good not to share. So, are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin... And a link to Scrivener (get 20% off by using the code FAILING) https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 02 Oct 2022 | S2 Ep24: We have a winner! | 00:56:28 | |
Our love story flash fiction competition (in association with the delightful folk at Scrivener) comes to a thrilling finale as we announce the two runners up, each winning a copy of the fantastic Scrivener software - AND our £300 first prize, gold medal, top of the class, cream of the crop, tippity of the toppoty, overall winner - as chosen by our lovely guest judge; comedian, and author of the Breakup Monologues, Rosie Wilby! Enjoy!! Check out our supreme courting judge’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakup-Monologues-Unexpected-Joy-Heartbreak/dp/1472982304 And her fabulous podcast right here: http://podfollow.com/breakupmonologues Get your hands on probably the bestest writing software EVER! And get 20% OFF with the code FAILING https://www.literatureandlatte.com Oh, and many thanks to our lovely voice actors - The inimitable Alex Hall and of course Katie Rand. http://www.alexhallvoice.com https://randmade.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 09 Oct 2022 | S2 Ep25: National Poetry Day 2022 | 01:07:04 | |
We celebrate National Poetry Day with some “free writing”, as we go for a little paddle in the stream of consciousness. Four minutes of furious writing which we are We also take the opportunity to share one last favourite from our love story competition. And here's a link to our lovely special guest's lovely book https://www.waterstones.com/book/where-theres-muck-theres-bras/kate-fox/9780008472894 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 16 Oct 2022 | S2 Ep26: The Episode That Was Never Meant To Be | 00:27:46 | |
Well, we weren't actually going to do an episode this week. What with our various domestic dramas and general time shortages, we thought our time would be better focussed on doing more work on our Poker Night project. So that's what we did... until we had an idea, that we just had to share. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23 Oct 2022 | S2 Ep27: Talking Pitching with TV Exec Saskia Schuster | 00:52:28 | |
This week we're after some tips and tricks to help us when we pitch our Poker Night idea. So, we've asked Sakia Schuster to come on. She's worked for loads of TV companies over the years, and is now Head of Scripted at Fullwell 73 Productions. It's fair to say that she knows her onions. And we're going to take some of those onions, and unwrap them... hoping that they don't make us cry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 31 Oct 2022 | S2 Ep28: Halloween and Sunyi Dean | 01:01:00 | |
A little bit of a spooky special this week, as we reveal the winner of our Trick or Tweet Halloween writing competition and we welcome author of The Book Eaters, Sunyi Dean, on the show. We have a lovely chat with Sunyi about her writing, vampires, the world of publishing and few other things too. Check out Sunyi's great blog here - https://sunyidean.com/ Buy Sunyi’s excellent debut novel here: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-book-eaters/9780008479442 Sunyi’s inspiration for her blog: https://www.kameronhurley.com Sunyi's recommendation for writing emotional connection: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Emotional-Craft-Fiction-Beneath-Surface/dp/1440348375 Get yourself in a write panic, right here - https://www.squibler.io/dangerous-writing-prompt-app/ - Check out our twitter for all the Halloween stories - https://twitter.com/failingwriters/status/1581891373933830145 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 07 Nov 2022 | S2 Ep29: Lucy Porter interview | 01:16:22 | |
Comedy star Lucy Porter joins us this week, to have a good old natter about comedy, quiz shows and cephaloporn. Plus she throws a few shiny pearls of wisdom in along the way too. Fancy seeing Lucy on tour? https://www.lucyporter.co.uk/gigs/ Any other links we need??? I don't know. Should we delete this bit? Yes, probably. On it... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 14 Nov 2022 | S2 Ep30: End of season-ish | 01:08:28 | |
Some will be sad. Some may be happy for what has been. Many will call it an “end of an error”. Well, you know what, they might all be right. This week we share some of our old writing from years ago, as we bring season two to an end… ish. We say “ish”, because we promise to be back soon for a one-off special, in which we’ll be pitching our Poker Night comedy project to a TV exec. But until then, goodbye and thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Apr 2023 | S2 Ep31: Finally... we pitch Poker Night | 01:02:31 | |
Are you ready for a BRAND NEW SEASON of the Failing Writers Podcast? Of course you are!! Well... you'll need to wait a bit longer. We've got to finish the end of Season 2 first. We promised that we would write a sitcom and pitch it to a TV big-wig, and (rather surprisingly) that's exactly what we've done. Enjoy!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Apr 2023 | S3 Ep1: Elaborating on collaborating | 00:34:12 | |
Just a little episode, to say "Welcome to season 3". This week join Jon and Tom to have a chat about what it was like to (try and) work together on our Poker Night project. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Apr 2023 | S3 Ep2: Stuart Turton | 01:13:17 | |
Hello again! This week we're having a chat with Stuart Turton, author of "The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" and "The Devil and the Dark Water". We also try to give some worthwhile feedback on work that one of our listeners has kindly sent in to us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||