A message to fans, writers and storytellers alike… the wait is over. The Dale Hurst Writing Show Season 3 is on its way…

When the first season of our podcast The Dale Hurst Writing Show came to a close, there was some debate over whether we’d return for a second. But our fanbase appreciated enough to request Season 2, which we delivered last year. The feedback during that second season was overwhelmingly positive and so The Dale Hurst Writing Show Season 3 was a no-brainer. Had to be done. And now, we can reveal it is due for launch in the next couple of weeks. Listen to the trailer now.

What can listeners expect?

Listeners and guests alike have praised the show’s format, referring to it as easy to listen to, informative, and in many ways different to other writing podcasts. With this in mind, we’ve tried to go with more of the same. A new episode released every fortnight leading up to Christmas. Guests on The Dale Hurst Writing Show Season 3 will range from traditionally published authors to up-and-coming screenwriters; from filmmakers with huge followings to members of the publishing industry. As usual, we tried to deliver a mixture. All of them discussing topics and issues from the worlds of writing, publishing and storytelling.

This season will include a couple of episodes that tackle more serious issues from a writing standpoint. Themes including the cost of living crisis, female honour, and knife crime. Other topics include the role of the commissioning department in publishing, how much magic is too much in fantasy, and scripting a TV series from start to finish.

Another small addition to the proceedings is a focus on advice for aspiring and new writers and storytellers. Those who may be starting out on their careers or even just toying with the idea. This season, our guests offer tips and advice, warn of traps and bust myths, based on their own experiences.

Who will feature in The Dale Hurst Writing Show Season 3?

As with previous seasons, Season 3 will comprise ten episodes, including a Christmas special to serve as a finale. And as previously mentioned, we have invited a mixture of writers and storytellers from a variety of backgrounds, genres and areas of the industry to discuss topics relating to their own expertise.

In one episode, we talk to novelist Awais Khan, whose work No Honour deals with the serious subject of female honour and honour killings. Meanwhile, fellow author Ashley Hickson-Lovence also features this series. In his episode, he discusses the themes of knife crime and county lines prevalent in his upcoming novel Wild East.

Poet Winston “Mayor” Lindsay, filmmaker Bertie Brosnan, playwright Justin McDevitt, publishing professional Abbie Rutherford, author E.B. Hunter, and screenwriter Ryan Avery also feature on this year’s programme.

Irish filmmaker, actor and author Brosnan commented on how important it is for writers of any stage of their careers to have a platform like this podcast to discuss their work:

“Discussing your craft at any stage of your development is vitally important because that’s how you reflect on what you’ve learned. It is also a way of seeing objectively where you are, if you can look at what you’ve achieved from an eagle-eye perspective. That inadvertently helps the listener, too, because they are listening to the processes of the craft.”

Where can we listen, and when?

Season 3 will launch on Thursday 3 August 2023, with new editions releasing every two weeks thereafter. They’ll be available in full on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. This is also where you can catch up on the first two seasons if you haven’t caught them before. Listen to the trailer now.

Want to find out more about the podcast? Or maybe you have an idea for a guest or topic for an episode? Get in touch with us via Facebook and Instagram. 

Half the battle with a long-term writing project is getting in the right frame of mind and staying there. Here’s my advice for getting in the right writing headspace…

It takes focus, determination and attention to successfully start and finish a writing project. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts and the occasional podcast episode, it’s a lifestyle choice to be a writer. Everything else needs to adjust around it. Including — and some may argue, most importantly — your mindset. It’s quite a psychological business, writing. If your head isn’t fully in it, you won’t get it done. And yes, obviously everyone’s process will be different for getting into the right writing headspace. But as I start another week’s work on You Can Hear Chopin, these are the steps I take to get mentally ready.

Set a reasonable time frame

One think adult life continually teaches me — there aren’t enough hours in a day. But even that shouldn’t prevent you from progressing into your project. So, I always begin by setting aside some time, whether that’s in that day or across a whole week, and call it dedicated writing time. You set yourself too much or too little time, your mind is going to wander, or you’re going to feel too much pressure and procrastinate. My window is usually an hour, maybe two depending on how long or difficult or busy the day is. With complete focus, a lot can get done in those 60 minutes.

Set an achievable goal for that time frame

Again, this can vary according to your own commitments, dependents and so on, though there are a lot of writers argue the whole 1,500 words a day thing as gospel. Within an hour, I like to aim for 1,000 words. Or, on particularly busy days when I’m working on other projects simultaneously, 500 words. That’s easily achievable and pushes me closer to the end of the process. More often than not, I’ll exceed that anyway, which gives a greater sense of progress at the end.

Remove distractions

You’ll see a lot of writers out there on social media posting pictures of their writing spaces. If you’re lucky enough to have such a space, fantastic. However, if not, make one as fit for purpose as possible for getting into that writing headspace. If you can sit in another room from your TV, games consoles, etc., that’s a good start. Otherwise you’ll have Netflix calling you from the other side of the room.

It’s a no-brainer: the fewer distractions you have, the more likely you are to engage with your work.

Close your web browser

An off-shoot of the distractions point. I find that unless I find a very engaging playlist, I cannot have YouTube open on my browser. I don’t even like to check research points, facts, etc. while I’m writing — I’ll leave a comment to myself in the draft to check another time in the re-draft and edit process. Because I know what I’m like. I get on YouTube or Google, I fall down a rabbit hole of watching videos and reading irrelevant content. Best advice: keep it all turned off. Just you and your Word processor.

Set your ambience

Admittedly contradicting my previous point. Unless you’re someone who thrives in total silence, give yourself a soundtrack. It may help you focus, maybe even inspire you. Whether it’s a full-on Ibiza-style dance playlist or just ambient sounds like waves on a shore or a rainforest… set it on your phone and then set your phone on the other side of the room. Out of reach, out of sight, out of mind. You’ll be less tempted to check it, flick onto Instagram, or whatever else could risk distracting you out of your timeframe and away from your goal.

None of what I have described above requires a great deal of effort, when you boil it down. So, getting into the right headspace for writing is quite easy.

Thank you for reading. Do you have any questions? Or alternative suggestions for getting into the right mindset for writing? Get in touch via my Facebook and Instagram pages. Also read further posts out more about my latest novel, and stay up to date with my podcast.