Getting it out there

I’m eight pages into a script for a short audio piece, a bare bones science fiction two-hander that I’m going to have a go at producing myself. I think I should try and get some work recorded and out there in the form of some original podcasts. It is something I’ve talked about doing for ages, and as I’m getting so much done of late, I think now is the time. It is a little strange working with audio script again after so long. It’s been a while, but I’m enjoying the experience and it is all good practice.

It is important to stretch yourself now and again. Don’t restrict yourself to writing one thing in one genre, or for one medium. Keep your mind working on a variety of things, and you will find things improve on all fronts. Music journalism has helped me a great deal. I’m meeting deadlines, always writing, and always trying to say something new while staying as honest as I can with each piece I review.

There’s so much you can do to expand your writing horizons, and not just with blogs. Stories, articles, interviews, poetry, scripts, there is literally no limit on what you can write. An important thing is placing your work. Personally, everything I write gets placed somewhere, be it the dozen sites I write for as part of my day job, the magazines I write for, or my own work in fiction. It all goes somewhere, even if it is only placed here. Getting your writing out there and in front of readers is an incredibly important step. You can hone your craft as much as you want, but people have to actually READ it somewhere along the line.

Check out some magazine sites. See if they would be interested in an article, or some reviews. Get in touch with artists, musicians, writers, anyone you admire and politely enquire as to whether they would be willing to do an interview. Distance isn’t an issue any more really, there’s always email, and with the increased use of services such as Skype, there’s no reason you can’t talk to someone worth writing about.

I am seriously thinking of putting out a podcast series of my own. I’m considering something that encompasses some news, reviews and chat with a regular fiction spot, in which an original story is ether read out or dramatized. The possibilities are endless nowadays. Don’t let that work languish in a drawer or on your hard drive. Get it seen. Get it read. Have it enjoyed or criticized. Get it out and into the minds of the world. Don’t worry of you don’t think your work will find an audience. There is an appetite for everything.

Give it a go.

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