Word Docs

Three writers walk into a room...and somehow manage to work together. Not these three writers, necessarily. But in theory, that's how collaboration works. Welcome to the final Word Docs of the season, where Sean, Alex and Amy are in fizzy spirits thanks to acute cases of over-caffeination (or in Sean's case, too much hot chocolate). What's the secret to a good collaboration? Talk talk talk. Pizza. Precious puppet masks. And the supreme act of Veto. Unfortunately, none of the Word Docs have veto power, so there will be tangents, including a charming little story about Alex the Ungovernable Daisy, a call for spam recipes, and a trip down memory lane to when Pizza Hut was an actual restaurant. Those were the days. But these are also days and we're serving them up with a steaming hot spam pizza of knowledge.  Seriously, we really do talk about collaboration. And a lot of it is very useful stuff. Besides, you'll miss us next week, so why not put up with us this week? Spam for all!   #Word Docs #writing #WritingPodcast #AmWriting #WritingLife #FlindersCreative Writing #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #CreativeWriting #SeanWilliams #AmyTMatthews #AmyBarry #AlexVickeryHowe #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #SpamSpamSpamSpam #Collaboration #ShaneDix #GarthNix #PizzaHut #WellMissYou #WeKnowYoullMissUsToo #HappyWritingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean tests Alex and Amy's knowledge of action and pacing this week (ding ding ding!). What are the pitfalls of pacing an action sequence? We've got all the answers - get your fast bits right and your slow bits even righter. Is righter a word? It is now! Get some classic Word Docs wisdom about character, theme, and how to control the story. There may also be a lot of references to John Wick and some random sportsball chatter that contains no wisdom at all. But stick with it until the reversal, when all will snap into focus. (Don't hold us to that).   #Word Docs #writing #WritingPodcast #AmWriting #WritingLife #FlindersCreative Writing #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #CreativeWriting #SeanWilliams #AmyTMatthews #AmyBarry #AlexVickeryHowe #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #ActionScenes #Pacing #JohnWick #AmericanPsycho #ShaneDix #StarWars #TheWookieEdition #CatrionaWard #LastHouseOnNeedlesStreet #SimoneStJames #InsertActionFilm Here #TriplePenis #ThanksAlex #TheSlugInTheSky #FixItInPost #AmyGame #HappyWritingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello from the sickbed... Alex is calling in from home, where he's down with COVID; Sean is suffering from post-COVID brain fog; and Amy is infuriatingly healthy. Today the Word Docs are answering the most annoying questions people ask writers: Will you read my manuscript? If I give you an idea, will you write it, and we can split the profits? Can I have a free book? The answers range from 'No', to 'Hell, no', with the odd 'Amy is not a mule' thrown in, to spice things up. There's also some consideration of the stupid questions people must ask dentists...  #WordDocs #Writing #SeanWilliams #AmyBarry #AmyTMatthews #AlexVickeryHowe #FlindersUniversity #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #WritingCommunity #StupidQuestions #NotSoStupidQuestions #COVID #HappyWritingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Sean, Amy and...uh...Alex?...for this week's episode of Word Docs. Our usual Alex is out with COVID so this week we're welcoming a substitute Alex, in the form of our friend and colleague Dr Alex Cothren, who sidles up to the mic to talk satire, short stories and writing challenges. By the end of this one we'll all love Alex Cothren, fear Sean, and wonder if Amy might be missing next week...   #WordDocs #Writing #SeanWilliams #AmyBarry #AmyTMatthews #AlexCothren #FlindersUniversity #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #WritingCommunity #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #LetsTalkTrojanBee #Satire #ShortStory #Meanjin #StephenColbert #SamanthaBee #ItsAlwaysSunny #BlackMirror #SomeoneElsesBucketList #FearSean #WeMissYouAlexVickeryHowe #HappyWriting  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs have written a masterpiece. No, really...it's great. It's alright. Look, it's not bad. Together, Amy, Sean and Alex have devised the ultimate romance. Don't Touch My Dad should be coming to a bookshop near you, but probably won't be.   #MorePeccable #ImmanuelCollege #Style #Plot #TheCorpseofanAuthor #Audience #JumpingAhead #MalandJeanette #Genre #HappilyEverAfterAgain #SomeoneElsesBucketList #MadFather #SaneSon #FathersandDaughters #ExtendedFamilies #AlexHasSpoken #Tropes #WickedQueen #SuziQuatro #RiverPhoenix #Nala #Grimhilde #SecondChance #Incesty #Ageism #Longing #ActivelyCovering #Cheater #Secrets #FatheroftheBride #EmpathyandCompassion #ParentYourParent #FindingHappiness #ScrewupinaDifferentWay #Chances #GoldenIdea #UncleBill  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He has finally done his homework! Alex has come to the table with trees to shake and pots to stir. Can Sean and Amy handle their sugar addled friend? Will they withstand his jittery scrutiny? The host is juiced up...and he has calories to burn. #AlexVickeryHowe #SeanWilliams #AmyTMatthews #PinkDrink #Caffeine #DifficultMaterial #MassagingTricks #EndoftheNightGirl #TheBookofMormon #JeanetteVickeryHowe #Tone #PostColonialism #MattandTrey #PunchingUp #Comedy #Metafiction #Simon&Schuster #ItsAlwaysSunnyinPhiladelphia #HolidayInn #BreakfastatTiffanys #NavigatingtheKingdomofNight #Goodness #AmandaNettelbeck #FraughtHistories #AnitaHeiss #ImpossibleMusic #TheBoyintheStripedPajamas #VoteYes #TheTrumpYears #JodiPicoult #CulturalBaggage #BookTokBurns #Junebug #SupremeDickheadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And the golden statue goes to... There are some trophies you don't mount on your bookshelf (pun intended) but they colour your career nonetheless. The Word Docs have gleefully unearthed the worst of the Bad Sex Awards to explore the act of love in print. With lots of laughter and a little light vomit, Amy, Sean and Alex will discuss the whos, the whys, and the oh-dear-god-nos of these explicit encounters.   Warning: This episode contains weird swearing, confusing anatomy and icky metaphors. Not to be played in public.   #AmyTMatthews #SeanWilliams #AlexVickeryHowe #TheSlugintheSky #LoveandDeath #MarryingOffMorganMcBride #SkinnyDipping #Beards #ShesAllThat #TheWildMan #HelmsDeep #TessLeSue #DefinitionsofSex #JulianGough #NippleSucking #Bleep #MaryCostello #TwistyPigPenis #DidierDecoin #SpiderArms #HannibalLecter #PleasureCave #MichaelBay #Blank #MyDadWroteaPorno #TabA #SlotB #CliveBarker #TheCentralZone #HaroldandMadge #BambiTits #SportsBall #HarryPotterandtheGiantSquid #TheOddKids #Haruki Murakami #AMedicalProblem #OhGloriousPubes! #AnyoneForBillards? #PornistheProblem #SanitisedBodies #LongerHarderMore See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs are perusing expert recommendations and dissecting them at length. Amy is unwell and trying to keep the train moving, Alex is stuck on a constant delay...and Sean wants to kidnap a dog. This week we learn about Einstein's epic battle with Hitler, the importance of supportive desk chairs and the dark secret of Mount Everest.   #HiPluto #Limp #ZooCam #JoanneHarris #FiveThoughts #WorkSpace #AReallyGoodDeskChair #ClimbingMountains #ThePhysio #VoidofMyOwnMind #JohnMajor #AffectEffect #Clutter #Walking #NaturalLight #Reminders #PlanYourSnacks #HydroHomie#EinsteinvsHitler #GoodStory #GoodCharacters #Succession #HouseofCards #TurkeysWithFirearms #MountEverest #Feelings #MakePeopleCry #BeingAuthentic #JudiDench #ArchiveofEmotionalMemory #DogThreats #AMelancholyPerspective #HavingaGoodNight #MoreDogThreats #TedLasso #PointofView #Traps! #FirstPerson #LarryDavid #LionelShriver #Empathy #JurassicPark #TheSlugintheSky #ReadReadRead #SneakyThoughts #TiffanyLyndallKnight #FrozenAlex #GhostAlex #Loose&Sick See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the Word Docs are responding to a listener question and exploring immortality. Would you want to live forever? Would you want your work to live forever? Would you want to spend eternity inside a giant spider? Is that even an option? Sugared up on chocolate, this is Word Docs at their most rambunctious. Sean reads palms, and Amy finds she doesn't seem to have a lifeline, while Alex frets that he might be taken to a farm up state when his time is up. By the end of this one you'll feel you've lived many lives, and you'll be able to use 'heretofore' in a sentence.   #WordDocs #Writing #SeanWilliams #AmyBarry #AmyTMatthews #AlexVickeryHowe #FlindersUniversity #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #WritingCommunity #Immortality #WhoWantsToLiveForever #NotMe #MaybeMe #OnlyIfICanLiveInAGiantSpider #Lifelines #WordDocVampire #SciFiWriter #ThoughtExperiment #GiantSpiders #FarmUpState #Heretofore #HappyWriting  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean and Alex are sickly and disgusting (in that order), but Amy is here to save the day with research and cogent thoughts. This week, the Docs explore the wisdom of Betsy Lerner and unpack the various writer archetypes Lerner describes. Who among them is the Natural? The Ambivalent Writer? The Wicked Child? Well, some things are painfully obvious... join the gang as they embark on free, unqualified therapy!   #FeelingGood #OnTheCouch #BetsyLerner #PostGrads #ComplexProblems #Research #TheForestForTheTrees #AmbivalentWriter #LarryMcMurtry #Slog #ThePerfectThing#RomanticDream #MessyPeople #Love #Hate #CoreValues #SharedVision #ImaginaryCaleb#Motivation #YoungPadawan #Frozen #Risk #SlingsandArrows #Haunted #Bothered #Otherness #Paradox #TheNatural #LimpBooks #TooEasy #SecondBookSyndrome #OvernightSuccess #Grit #PoorAlex #Hunger #ComingBack #GrowthMindset #SupernaturalWriters #WickedChild #Family #Community #Watchlist #GordonLish#JeanetteVickeryHowe #EvaHornung #SomeoneElsesBucketList #FascinatingGrandmothers #Marriage #PrinceHarry #ToBeContinuedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A promise delivered! Bookmark this. The Word Docs are back with the second half of their self-diagnoses, once again working from Betsy Lerner's examples to whittle away at their artistry and categorise their quirky habits. Maybe this week they'll each discover what kind of writers they really are. Along the way they'll explore rejections, chutzpah, sportsball and poor old Missus Heartwig...   #LonelyCorner #CancelledPilot #SixKindsofWriters #TheForestFortheTrees #BetsyLerner #TheAmbivalentTheNatural&Me #Detention #MissusHeartwig #StupidDeadBoy #TheSelfPromotor #TheNeurotic #TouchingFire #NewYork #Chutzpah   #ShyandWeird #Moxie #RomanticIdeals #IvoryTower #WeNeedtoTalkAboutKevin See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The doctors are in the house. Or rather two of the doctors are sick and stuck at home. This week the Word Docs are recording from home and everything's a bit looser than normal (which is saying something). But on the plus side, they get to practice clapping again, preferably in time to Amy's playlist for Someone Else's Bucket List. Sean boycotts clapping to The Cranberries and Alex is determined to flirt with copyright infringements as he sings along. This episode is about playlists, soundtracks, music and silence - and they get off track in the best possible way, exploring how writers use and abuse music.   #WordDocs #AmyTMatthews #AmyBarry #SeanWilliams #AlexVickeryHowe #AFL #Watchlist #SomeoneElsesBucketList #Hyperaurea #SomeoneElsesBucketListThePlaylist #WritingPlaylist #BookPlaylist #BookSoundtrack #SpotifyPlaylist #TheCranberries #DaisyJonesAndTheSix #TaylorJenkinsReid #Elbow #TheWaterboys #StuckInTheMiddleWithYou #ReservoirDogs #TheSingingDetective #FUMA #ShaneDix #NineInchNails #ACDC #BinauralBeats #TheSoapBubble #TheIronicPoseur #ImpossiibleMusic #GlamGong #ScrotePunch #AnalTwin #Hufflepuff #DuaLipa #Physical #OliviaNewtonJohn #Antarctica #ClappingAgain #HappyWriting  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Amy leads us through using beat sheets to plan and/or fix a story. Alex and Sean join in from where they recline eating salty gold Irish chocolate. It's the middle of teaching and everyone's pinch points are more pinchy than usual, but it's nothing gold-plated chocolate can't fix. If you're curious about how story experts like Michael Hauge, Blake Snyder, Larry Brooks and Jami Gold deal with planning Acts One to Three, this is the ep for you. There are sportsball metaphors, car metaphors, and the word 'blue' gets bandied about, especially when the monkey elbows get a mention - but despite it all, you'll still come away with a good idea of how to use a beat sheet to get your acts together. (And yes, there are many silly jokes about the term beat sheet - insert word 'blue' here).    #Word Docs #writing #WritingPodcast #AmWriting #WritingLife #FlindersCreative Writing #FlindersCreativeArts #FlindersCreativeWriting #CreativeWriting #SeanWilliams #AmyTMatthews #AmyBarry #AlexVickeryHowe #AssemblageCentreForCreativeArts #MichaelHauge #DebDixon #JamiGold #LarryBrooks #BlakeSnyder #TheBear #PassTheChocolate #HappyWriting  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a secret to writing a bestseller and it is...nah, kidding...nobody knows. But the Word Docs will keep asking people anyway. This week, the dysfunctional trio bend their knees at the altar of the great men who...nah, kidding...Sean has sorted through the rules of the blokey gasbags who've come before and now Amy and Alex are trying to decide who wrote what. Join the party as Vonnegut, Heinlein, Leonard and Lewis are meticulously poked, prodded and dissected for the edification of emerging generations. Rules are made to be splintered, but it's wise to mock them first.  #Aspiring #SeanWilliams #AmyTMatthews #AlexVickeryHowe #Nightmarish #BlokeyLists#KurtVonnegut #RobertHeinlein #ElmoreLeonard #CSLewis #TalkingAboutIt #GarthNix#PeterBeaglehole #CruelSegue #RecreationalSadism #NoCreditForAlex #ChasingTrends#BUYSOMEMILK! #OldOldMan #JustLikeToffee #Succession #Veep #Seinfeld #ItsAlwaysSunnyinPhiladelphia #Macbeth #GailJones #SixtyLights #ThePerfectSentence#SarahWaters #IanMcEwan #AStylishSean #TheMightyBoosh #WriterlyvsReaderly#PlayDregs #RandomBits #WhatAboutBob #OffloadingResponsibility#ThrowMommafromtheTrain #LeonardCohen #Suddenly #WheresWally #WheresWaldo#BirdBox #EnoughButNotTooMuch #JustOnePerson  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They've emerged from the marking void! Alive and insane, the Word Docs discuss activities, opportunities, Nic Cage, scientology, chaotic planning, Nosferatu, spiders, inch ants and hungry catfish... Eventually, they may also get around to discussing their books. You never know.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex is in the Mastermind hot seat! Many years after writing Japanese/Australian rock musical Once Upon a Midnight, Alex is trying to remember what he was on about and why it was interesting. Luckily the Word Docs are on hand to tease all the shades of grey out of the process. Join us as we travel the world from our studio and explore the cultural conundrums that arise when mythology, nationality and generational identity intersect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs are slowly catching up with this mysterious invention called BookTok where all the young people are. Together, the intrepid geriatrics will sort through the virtual shelves and explore their favourite tropes with the usual blend of light-hearted humour, emotional pain and existential despair. If you're a morally grey villain, a soul in search of a mate or a grump with a heart of gold, this episode is all about you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're off the rails again! Amy is trying her best to keep the troops under control, but the troops are idiots. The sage advice of Anne Lamott is pearls before bewildered swine as Sean's eerie chanting and Alex's fear of naked cults turns a perfectly reasonable vegetable metaphor into something chilling. In this episode we will wonder... why did Sean give up meditation? Why the hell can't Alex remember going to France? And what's up with Amy and purple sharkskin suits?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week it's Amy's turn to sit in the Mastermind hot seat and the topic is Popular Romance Studies. Join us for love, sex, happy endings, trauma porn, happy for nows, and all the feels. Does Amy have the answers? Has Alex done his homework? Will Sean write a romance novel? And who is killing all the butterflies? If you ever wanted to know the not-so-secret intellectual life of a romance author, now's your chance!   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Got any dead books lying around? Manuscripts that didn't work, or didn't sell, or are just dead in the water for reasons you can't quite put your finger on? The Word Docs sure do. Alex is curious to pry into Sean and Amy's literary closets, looking for dusty old relics of the past. There must be something to be learned from books that didn't work? Was it all a waste? Or are dead tomes valuable things? In response to Alex shining a light into their closets, Amy and Sean drag out Alex's juvenilia, discovering the glory that is Jimmy and the Wizard and King Mean Man. By the end of this episode, you'll be grateful for the books that never made it, and you may also be wishing that you were at the Proscenium in the 90s, pretending to be a Goth.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you do when the end of the world is nigh? Give into despair? Eat chocolate? Read books? Or, maybe now's a good time to join Alex on a pirate ship outta here? This week the Word Docs discuss climate-change fiction and the challenges of writing about our climate changed world. As an unseasonable hail-storm rages outside, Amy, Alex and Sean travel through deep time, searching the literary landscape for ways to think about the future. What is the role of fiction in all this? Can you be positive and optimistic when things seem so ****ed? And who ate all the chocolate?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unthawed from the ice, the Word Docs have returned to the airwaves to explain where the hell they've been, what the hell they've been doing, and who the hell they might be creating next. As lockdowns ease and the world reawakens, tune in to hear the gang discuss the perils of balancing professional commitments as writers, teachers and researchers. Just when you thought it was safe to open your ears, Sean is back to conjure honourable ghosts, Alex is back to bleed teens dry...and both Amy T. Mathews and Amy Barry are back with secrets to tease.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs are going back to school. Marian Keyes is the guide this week as the dynamic trio attempt, for once, to do what they're told. Weighing Marian's advice against their core criteria of Wank Factor, DNF and Repeatability, the Word Docs try to adopt a writing prompt from the bestselling author. When the exercise produces mixed results, there's only one way to settle the ensuing debate... The Docs have to seek Jeanette Vickery-Howe's approval.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We know you've been waiting for this. The day Sean is finally allowed to talk matter transmitters to his heart's content. Be transported into speculative story worlds, where sex romping may happen on a young man's fictional spaceship, murderers get creative with transmitters, and where Alex and Amy are increasingly scared of ever setting foot into a car again... In this episode Sean leads Amy and Alex through the horrifying, mesmerising, inspiring, mind-bending possibilities of the matter transmitter in fiction. Beam me up, Scotty! And I better not be looking at my ass when I get there...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How are writers portrayed in fiction? The Word Docs (or, as they're inexplicably calling themselves, the Warlock, the Wizard and the Witch) are investigating the magic of storytelling as depicted in popular culture. From Fforde to Ginsberg, and Ginsberg to King, there is a tradition of romanticising authors and their work. Amy is into it... Sean really, really isn't. Join us as we separate the myth from the grind.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're lifting the boot and unpacking our process. This week, Amy leads a discussion on the form and purpose of exegetical writing as Sean snores audibly in the corner (not for the first time) and Alex rails against ever discussing his own work. What is an exegesis? Why is it important? Who is it for? The Word Docs pray the Deans of Research are not listening as they quarry this most sacred pillar of university life.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writers are cruel creatures. This week, the Word Docs discuss all the occasions when they've felt let down, horribly surprised, or otherwise manipulated by authors, playwrights and screenwriters. Alex is upset by animal cruelty, Amy by failed romance, and Sean by lions that aren't really lions. When the contract between reader and creator is broken, Amy has been known to throw a book across the room...but Sean is even more sadistic...he once threw a book in the fire. Join us!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're baaaaaaaack! The Word Docs have spent the last couple of years recording random episodes and failing to release them. But today is the dawn of a new age. Otherwise known as 2023. Alex stops polishing his awards, Amy crawls out of the writing cave, and Sean returns from a galaxy far, far away (as in, Ireland) and the 'quite interesting' episodes have been collected into a 'transitional' season of uncontained writing joy. Time travel through a year and a half of delayed Word Doc-ery, with writing tips, pitch fests, research chats and more in the clap-free world of the new ambisonic sound studio. Happy Writing!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Fool Me Twice' is a podcast about diamonds. Jules and Zara were approached by a woman in Hong Kong who owns a diamond business, and had an incredibly compelling story to tell, full of twists and turns. Hearing her story, Zara became interested in diamonds themselves, and started doing some digging. This podcast follows the story of that scam, and attempts to unravel some of the shadier aspects of the diamond industry as a whole. We interview people related to the scam, a diamond miner, scam experts and individuals with their own personal diamond stories. This 8-episode true crime podcast will have you on the edge of your seat. COMING SOON:  Available on Auscast Network and all podcast platforms in July 2021. Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/36kbNmH Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3gBgOdR Auscast Network: https://www.auscastnetwork.com/home/fool-me-twice See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs have returned! Out of the classroom and back at the mics, Amy, Alex and Sean are dissecting the fertile minds of director Lisa Harper Campbell and actor Gianluca Noble who have brought Alex's latest play Watchlist to the stage. How do talented people turn scribbles on a page into a live event? Who does it belong to once the author has ‘died' and the director has left the building? Why does Alex get arrested for public walking? Is it just the beard? We don't think it's the beard. Join us! We're back!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs bare their bruised egos this week and attempt to find a balming (is that a word?) salve. Alex drags Sean and Amy into the cobwebby corners of their psyches, seeking to learn whether ego is a help or a hindrance in an artist's life. This week we'll learn about the book that broke Sean; traverse the Dark Place and the Vague Place; confront mediocrity; and try to ignore the fact that Alex's dad seems to be popping out of the wardrobe. We tackle troubling questions, such as: Is smugness perilous? What projects should we say no to? Where's the line between self-belief and delusion, or self-belief and narcissism? And is Caleb Lewis real? (Spoiler: we don't believe he's real.) Join us for an unusually serious and vulnerable episode Of Word Docs. Please...? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before you write your magnum opus – or perhaps during – a visit to a distant shore to get you in the mood and help you find the perfect setting for your novel is not a bad idea. Likewise, visiting the scene of your favourite work can bring you deeper into an author's mindset. This week, the Word Docs share their tales of pilgrimages. From the ice flats of Antarctica to the oppressive heat of a bathhouse in Shinjuku, the dynamic trio are not afraid to push boundaries and smash social norms...even if it ends in injury and humiliation.  Stay tuned for the outtake: It's longer than Alex's novel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Word Docs are stirring from their slumber and weaving their magic – both the whimsical technicolour kind and the wicked dystopian kind – on a raw 2021. How do writers recharge after an insane year? Is downtime part of the process? What do these people do when they're not abusing stationary? You may think the Word Docs simply fold up neatly into cupboards, but no...some of us jog! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, that's it for the grand old dystopian wonderland of 2020. Bring on the New Year! This week, the Word Docs are reflecting on the year that's been: deadlines missed and goals hit, unexpected delights and inevitable tipsiness, real estate bought, sold and fantasised about, and the fact that Amy never delivered on the promised scones. We're making plans for 2021 and even 2022: New bathrooms! Secret disco rooms! Starting our own magic writing school, where Alex will be potions master! Those bloody scones. And we introduce a new segment: Is this illegal? Amy takes the role of Alex's parent; Alex sings, undaunted; Sean promises to DJ for New Year's. Pour yourself a rum and Milo (don't ask) or a cheeky Moscato and settle in for some festive cheer from the three wise elves (is that a thing?).    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we have a full pod of doctors and a bonus Word Dog, as the Word Docs are joined by playwrights Piri Eddy and Peter Beaglehole, and Piri's dog Murphy. We explore the experience of writing and producing plays, the life affirming joys of working with other humans, and the reasons why sometimes you just have to go a little nuts. There are power tools and secret ninjas, and Alex gets approximately 20% more manly. Come along and help us probe the vexed questions of playwrights the world over: Why theatre? Can we start a fight in the foyer? Why bring the world together when you can rip it apart? And when will the secret ninja come to our rescue? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From big structural issues to hooks and semicolons, and everything in-between ... the Word Docs are all over it. Together, Amy, Sean and Alex have edited a lot and been edited even more. In this episode the docs become surgeons, unpacking the editorial process in forensic detail.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, our intrepid Word Docs dig down into the relationship between writers and their words. Can you separate the fiction on the page from the reality of its wider context? Which matters more, the message of the author or the impact of the work? And what happens when your favourite creator turns out to be an appalling human? Join Amy T. Matthews, Sean Williams and a particularly hyper Alex Vickery-Howe as they unpack that thorny relationship between story and storyteller.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no getting around the fact that we live in strange and difficult times, from a global pandemic to a ‘Leader of the Free World' who refuses to concede defeat ––  but, never fear, the Word Docs are here to provide their remedies! Join Amy, Alex and Sean as they unpack the ups and downs of creating new work and telling new stories in the midst of isolation and upheaval. For Sean, it's about chocolate. For Alex, it's about Moscato. For Amy, it's about finding a room without a random relative in it. Every decade has its challenges, and its lessons...now is the perfect time to reflect on where we've been and plan ahead for the tales of tomorrow.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we compare submitting your work to setting up a profile on Tinder. How far can we take this metaphor? Too far. Much, much too far. As a Tinder virgin (metaphorically speaking), Alex is grilling the pros (not a metaphor, although they do get paid for it) on how to submit your work to agents and publishers.  How do you find them? How do you talk to them? When are you being too pushy? Do you split the bill? The questions are endless. Don't fret, the Word Docs are here with the ultimate dating guide for writers seeking long-term love in the industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the Word Docs follow Alice down the rabbit hole and take the academy by the tassels to hash out research outcomes, research expectations and non-traditional research outputs. What is research? How do you do it? Are creative works really so different from scholarly articles? The plucky trio will offer some answers, with only occasional segues into – among other things – honeybees and daises, narcissism and duality, rolling cigarettes, the Elkhorn Mountains, homoerotic cowboys, Matter Transmitters, and Miss Shirley Bassey. But segues, rabbit holes and blind alleys are all part of the researcher's daily mental adventures...it's writing them up in a few thousand words that's the hard part. Like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, these ‘PhD People' know that nature, and Sean Williams, always finds a way.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's that special time of year again, and to celebrate Word Docs lifts the veil on their inability to stick to the subject, keep it clean, or avoid the giggles. This adults-only episode collects unused excerpts from nine months of broadcasting in the hope of bringing good cheer or at least the occasional shake of the head to all our listeners. There may even be a word or two about writing. Happy All Hallow's Eve, everyone. Don't forget to scare the kids! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we're talking about how we juggle multiple projects, completely unaided by clones (lazy bastards). This week the Word Docs cram the muse back in her box and adopt a pragmatic approach to this juggling thing. Anti-romantic to the core, we tackle how to be multiple people at once, how to be one person on multiple projects, how to have a life, and whether balance is possible. Just ignore the mental traffic jams and post-deadline crashes and the fact that none of us know who Betty is or why she hijacked the end of the pod. It turns out we have a few strategies for keeping all our balls in the air. If you have balls too then this is the episode for you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.