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!

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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

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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.

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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

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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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

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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 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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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)

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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 [email protected] for letting us use those bangin' music tracks in Data Double! https://www.totim.audio/music

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

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