Welcome back to Writers Behaving Badly, the podcast where the manuscripts are dusty, the ideas are questionable, and the clients are—well, if you ask Lisa, one of them is a real handful the rest are delightful (Annie, this is about you). This week, we’re diving into the emotional chaos of writing when you’d rather be doing literally anything else (like inventing erotic Wordle-based Substacks), and Lisa tries to stay professional while her co-hosts spiral into sentient-object romance and questionable life choices.

Got a sin to confess?

Tell us your worst writing sin of the week in the comments—did you out-bad us?

What’s inside this episode?

🔥 Sins & Wins – Lisa is laser-focused, Brooke solves a plot riddle, and Annie… well, Annie’s manuscript is quietly sobbing in the corner while she flirts with new ideas and ponders publishing “Dirty Wordle.”

✍️ Roast or Toast – We critique a beautiful scene from a listener submission, unpacking the nuances of narrative distance, child POV, and why “extricates” is not exactly playground vocabulary.

🧠 Curly Questions – Brooke corners Lisa with the dreaded “Show, don’t tell” dilemma, and Lisa delivers a masterclass on filter words, narrative technique, and why your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect (but your second one better try).

🍵 Tea Time Rant – Publishing house mergers are shaking up the Aussie lit scene. Lisa shares her spicy take on what this means for authors, small presses, and the ever-shrinking list of places to pitch your masterpiece.

😂 Chaotic Sign-Offs – Annie and Brooke admit to corrupting their algorithms with object romance, Lisa tries to bring some order (again), and we end on a high note of monks, nuns, and carnival rides. You just had to be there.

Writers, readers, and lovers of literary drama—subscribe for your dose of craft, chaos, and occasionally useful advice.

🎙️ Want your manuscript critiqued live on air? Submit your first page on Substack—we promise we’ll be gentle!

🚨 Leave us a five-star review Leave us a five-star review… or tell Lisa how brave she is for mentoring Annie. Either works.

Lisa’s full critique of Brooke’s work

We’re sharing the original submission and Lisa’s edits on Substack. It’s a masterclass in turning good writing into great—and a perfect example of how to bring childlike perspective to life on the page. Big toast energy. 🥂

Catch up on the last episode 👇

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Welcome back to Writers Behaving Badly, the podcast where writing sins are confessed, manuscripts get a little crispy, and literary chaos reigns supreme. This week, we’re serving up fresh mischief with special guest Kerryn Mayne, who joins Lisa, Brooke, and Annie to spill all the tea on publishing, manuscript meltdowns, and the questionable choices that got us here.

Got a sin to confess?

Tell us your worst writing sin of the week in the comments—did you out-bad us?

What’s inside this episode?

🔥 Sins & Wins – Who’s been productive, who’s been procrastinating, and who’s drowning in a shiny new idea instead of finishing the old one? (Brooke, we’re looking at you 👀).

✍️ Roast or Toast – Lisa takes a very close look at Brooke’s latest manuscript draft. Will she make it out unscathed?

📖 Editing is Painful – Kerryn Mayne shares how her debut novel Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder changed from first draft to final book—and why sometimes, losing a character (or two) is necessary.

🍵 Tea Time Rant – Are male authors really being discriminated against in publishing? 🤡 Or are women just writing better books? The WBB crew spills their most scalding takes yet.

😂 Chaotic Sign-Offs – Who’s getting roasted next? How can you submit your manuscript for a light (read: brutal) critique? And why is Lisa pretending she has control over this podcast?

If you’re a writer, an aspiring author, or just here for the absolute shenanigans, hit subscribe and join us every week for more literary mayhem.

🎙️ Want your manuscript critiqued live on air? Submit your first page on Substack—we promise we’ll be gentle(ish).

🚨 Leave us a five-star review or roast us. We really don’t mind.

Lisa’s full critique of Brooke’s work

If you’d like to read Brooke’s full extract (including Lisa’s comments), you can access a Google Docs version below.

Brooke should be deep in edits for her current book… but The Shiny ✨ (aka a tempting new idea) is making that very difficult. Hopefully this critique will get her back on track! Lisa loved the atmosphere of Brooke’s opening pages but had thoughts on clarity and flow. You can hear the full critique—and Brooke’s reaction—on the podcast!

To read our brave guest, Kerryn Mayne’s latest book JOY MOODY IS OUT OF TIME click the button below!

Welcome to the Writers Behaving Badly podcast—where writing sins are confessed, manuscripts get lightly roasted, and mayhem is inevitable.

In our very first episode, Lisa Ireland, Brooke Turnbull, and Annie Bucknall launch this chaos-fueled podcast with a toast 🍷, some questionable life choices, and a whole lot of literary hot takes.

Got a sin to confess?

Make Brooke and Lisa feel better and let us know where it all went wrong (or right!) this week.

What’s inside this episode?

🔥 Sins & Wins – Confession time! Who wrote, who didn’t, and who’s getting assigned penance? (Spoiler: Lisa is drunk on power.)

✍️ Roast or Toast – Annie’s Till We Are Ghosts gets its first live critique—will she survive the feedback?

🎤 Meet Lisa Ireland – Our in-house mentor, eight-time published author, and former stalker-victim (thanks, Brooke).

🍵 Tea Time – Embarrassing publishing moments, featuring Kerryn Mayne and a networking disaster at Penguin HQ.

😂 Chaotic Sign-Offs – Who’s getting their manuscript roasted next? How can you submit your work? And why is Lisa overthinking taking us on?

If you’re a writer, aspiring author, or just here for the literary mischief, hit subscribe and join us every Saturday for a brand-new episode!

Lisa’s full critique of Annie’s work

If you’d like to read Annie’s full extract (including Lisa’s comments), you can access a Google Docs version below.

This is a brand new project and Annie is writing her way into it. Lisa was excited by the opening pages but still had a few words of advice. You can hear Lisa’s thoughts on the podcast.

To read our brilliant first guest, Kerryn Mayne’s latest book JOY MOODY IS OUT OF TIME click the button below!

Welcome to Writers Behaving Badly, where Lisa Ireland, Brooke Turnbull, and Annie Bucknall take you behind the scenes of the writing world—spilling industry secrets, mentoring writers live, and embracing the chaos of creativity.

📅 Our first episode drops this Saturday, February 22!

Here’s what’s coming up:

🔥 Roast or Toast – our live mentoring segment (Annie’s up first!)

🔥 Lisa Ireland in the hot seat – We turn the tables and grill her on imposter syndrome, writing advice, and how to write worse to write better.

🔥 Bestselling author Kerryn Mayne spills the tea on an embarrassing Penguin HQ moment.

🔥 And more publishing fails, craft chats, and mischief!

📩 Want your writing critiqued? Submit via our Substack.

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @writersbehavingbadly

🎧 Subscribe now so you don’t miss our launch episode!