Time to bring you up to speed. Let’s resume the monthly progress reports…

It feels silly to say “What a year it’s been!” when we’re just entering September. But, seriously, what a year it’s been! Sorry to say, poor mental health has thrown a lot of my projects off schedule and balance. But (touch wood) we seem to be on the way back. It’s a reminder to all my fellow creatives who may be checking in that practising self-care is of paramount importance. Deadlines and so on should not be a reason to suffer.

That’s enough honesty for one blog post. Want to know how the creative projects are going? Allow me to run them down for you:

You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic

…Or whatever I may end up calling it in the end. Saying this, many friends and fans have discouraged against changing this title! I won’t lie, this outcry surprised me a little, but I’m taking it under advisement. The redrafting stage of my third novel has been as much a labour of love as the process of writing it. After seven months struggling to work through it, amid cutting and rewriting large sections of the story, considering I’m expanding the role of one of the supporting characters, I can say I am over the halfway mark. At last, I feel like I’m at a stage where the story ties together well. Of course, there’s every chance I could fall down another 20 holes coming to the end. But so far, so good. The deadline is still to have finished redrafting by the end of this year, with a mind to polish it and prepare to query agents during 2025. However, remember there’s only so much to be said for my plans… if my adherence to targets this year are anything to go by…

A new project for 2025 release

As it’s looking less likely that You Can Hear Chopin will be ready for next year as I had initially hoped, it’s time to give you loyal readers something new. To advance the narrative, so to speak. I’ve been working on something else, around my efforts on the third book, and it is about 75% of the way done. I have design plans, I know what the final content is going to look like, I know the title. It’s just a matter of finishing it, and juggling my priorities. But for those who are wondering when I’m going to have something brand-new out, you can still look to next year. More information to be confirmed in further instalments of these progress reports.

The Dale Hurst Writing Show

Season 4 of my podcast, The Dale Hurst Writing Show launched last month, with episodes featuring author L.S. Goozdich and screenwriter Asad Moghal proving as popular and thought-provoking as ever. About now comes the time when I start to plan my line-up for the Christmas Reunion special — keep up with these posts and I may confirm who’s going to feature in advance. Otherwise, follow the show on Spotify and you won’t miss an episode as they continue to come every fortnight. Fans of science fiction, psychology and good death scenes will want to pay particularly close attention this September!

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We can’t stop podcasting… The Dale Hurst Writing Show returns with Season 4 later this month.

2024 has already been a busy year for The Dale Hurst Writing Show. We took the podcast to Bournemouth Writing Festival earlier in the year to produce a series of special mini-episodes, and now, we’re bringing it back for a full season. Season 4, to be precise. This post offers an idea, for newcomers and repeat visitors alike, of what to expect. Or you can visit Spotify and listen to the trailer.

I’ve not listened to The Dale Hurst Writing Show before. What can I expect?

As it’s Season 4, the podcast has a well-ironed format, with episodes comprising both discussion about a different topic each edition and interview with the special guests. The guests themselves vary, but the vast majority are writers of some kind, all at differing stages of their careers. The Dale Hurst Writing Show commits itself to exploring the writing and storytelling craft across all mediums, so the podcast isn’t limited to writers of prose. Poets, screenwriters, playwrights, filmmakers and more have featured in episodes since the show’s inception in 2021.

Episodes in the upcoming fourth season explore a wide breadth of subjects, in our usual style ranging from the basics to the nitty-gritty. Some of the topics include writing adventure stories, mapping fantasy realms, how we can put a fresh spin on science fiction, and self-publishing poetry.

In addition to the guests’ insights into their respective topics, the writers also tell listeners about the characters, scenes and dialogue they love to write. We also learn who their inspirations and influences are as writers, and what traps aspiring creatives should avoid.

Which guests feature in Season 4?

Like previous guests, we’ve enjoyed meeting and chatting with a plethora of creatives across the craft. And not only in our home of the UK. Season 4 will feature the likes of adventure novelist L.S. Goozdich, and poets Karishma Natu and Ben Whittall, as well as authors Lee Dawson, D.C. Eastman and Oscar Mendoza. We also enjoyed chatting with Asad Moghal, the writer behind the Amazon Prime series Patterns, and screenwriter-director Andrea M Catinella.

Where do we listen?

Season 4 of The Dale Hurst Writing Show launches on Thursday 15 August 2024, and new episodes will follow every two weeks, ending with a Christmas special mid-December. You can listen on Spotify and Amazon Music, as well as catch up with all our previous episodes.

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