The Failing Writers Podcast

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/0316201642https://yousaywhichway.com/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unfortunateshttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/327088/house-of-leaves-by-danielewski-mark-z/9781529943993https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masquerade_(book)

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/

... 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/fourthousandweeksGet free incredible anti-procrastinatory tips here:https://www.oliverburkeman.com/postsAnd get Oliver's sparkly, life changing new book here:https://www.oliverburkeman.com/meditationsformortals

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!

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/B08WCYR1DRAnd check out his #oneyeartopro threads here:https://x.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1707002271010079150https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1708465357424365671https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1719670719628358012https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1732823188453650477https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1741821890270798104https://twitter.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1753131464768532959https://x.com/JCDuncanauthor/status/1755575800626073768

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.

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 Clubhttps://amzn.eu/d/2DqUyK9Or 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!

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 hereOr... 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 BOOKHere's the link to Writers HQ - Write a Novel Month