By day, Wayne is
a video producer, editor and script writer. When he’s not doing
that, he hits the page – novels, short stories, songs and anything
else that puts juice in his creative batteries. He co-hosts The
Joined Up Writing Podcast and blogs at www.waynekellywrites.co.uk
He loves to connect with other creatives on Twitter, where you’ll
find him @MrKelly2u
BLOG
Listen
up! How Podcasts Can Help Writers and Creatives.
I’m passionate
about podcasts and the positive impact they’ve had on my writing
and creativity. Patsy has kindly given me the opportunity to share
some of that passion with her readers and to introduce you to some of
the amazing content that could entertain and inspire you and your
work.
Quick intro –
What Are Podcasts?
Podcasts are episodic, usually themed,
audio content that you can listen to on the web or subscribe to using
iTunes or on your smartphone. They’re almost always free and come
in a variety of flavours from Audio Drama, How-To Shows and
Lifestyle, to Science, Comedy, True Crime and of course . . .
Writing.
Anyone who knows me, reads my
blog or follows me on
Twitter will probably have noticed my podcast obsession. I
actually co-host one with Leah Osbourne – The
Joined-Up Writing Podcast, where we interview successful authors,
editors, agents, screenwriters and anyone connected with reading or
writing good books. We were even lucky enough to interview Patsy
about her recent book, From Story Idea to Reader. You can find that
episode here.
Making connections and getting
involved
Our show is called The Joined-Up
Writing Podcast because we want to ‘join up’ and connect with
other like-minded creatives. Too often, Social Media forgets to be
social – we’ve all been deluged with constant ‘BUY MY
BOOK’ tweets or Facebook posts. Podcasts provide a forum for real
conversation, and it’s a conversation that you can be a part of.
Have a burning question for your favourite author? Want to suggest a
topic or a guest for a future show? Maybe you want to be a guest
yourself? Podcasters love their listeners to get involved and, thanks
to technology and the flexibility of the format, it doesn’t matter
where you live. Our most recent guest was a playwright based in New
York, but Skype allowed us to connect for his interview.
No niche too small!
Mainstream TV and radio must always
cater for the masses but Podcasting embraces the niche, which is
great if you want quality content on just about any facet of Writing.
There are shows on the mechanics of narrative and storytelling, like
The Story Grid. Joanna
Penn has The
Creative Penn, packed full of information for Indie authors. The
Narrative Breakdown looks at screenwriting. The
Worried Writer has long-form interviews with writers, often
focusing on dealing with self-doubt. If you want some quick and dirty
writing tips then Writing
Excuses is a good one to try, as each show is only 15 minutes
long.
The point is, there’s a wealth of
free hints and tips out there, just waiting to find your ears.
Be inspired . . .
It isn’t all about Writing podcasts.
We all know that inspiration can come from anywhere and there are
loads of top quality shows to get your creative juices bubbling.
Perhaps you’re a crime writer and looking for inspiration? Try some
True Crime like Serial,
Crimetown or
Stranglers. For
real people telling real stories, have a listen to The
Moth. Homecoming
is a suspenseful audio drama that stars Friends’ David
Schwimmer.
New shows are appearing every day, and
because they’re audio, podcasts are great for multi-tasking. I
download my favourites on to my phone and listen whilst walking or
driving, so there’s no excuse not to give them a try.
16 comments:
Thanks for acknowledging me about podcast. It has huge impact on your writing skills.
Haven't really caught the podcast bug yet. Some writers swear by them, so I'll bookmark yours and have a listen.
Just been over and signed up for the emails and listened to a couple of the podcasts. Great post!
I'll listen to a couple of them and decide about getting into it. Thanks for the info.
Podcasts aren't something I've had much to do with, but I'll pop over and take a look.
Love podcasts, informative and entertaining and so easy to download. Great to listen to when you're out and about or doing mundane stuff around the home. I enjoy several of those listed, but also listen to Bleeding Ink too.
Thank you for sharing Wayne.
Thanks for such a great post, Wayne - I've listened to a few in the past but will check out some of these that are new to me. Haven't tried making any yet!
Thanks for all the great comments and for Patsy's invitation to write the post. Really hope it's been helpful for you all and do swing by on Twitter or anywhere else to let me know as and when you try new shows. Happy listening and writing!
Um, yes.
They're quite new to me, Alex.
There's a lot of good info on them, Teresa.
Good plan, Oscar.
This is my first involvement, Wendy.
Listening whilst doing something boring sounds like an excellent idea, Maria.
Perhaps you could be a guest on one of Wayne's Rosemary, to see if you get a taste for it.
Thanks for being my guest, Wayne - and for interviewing me on your show.
Post a Comment