Emerging UK-based screenwriters Tray Epps, Martin F. Wong and Ben Robins chat, debate, moan and celebrate the emotional and financial rollercoaster that is trying to build a career as a working writer in the film and television industry. Alongside a revolving door of (much more successful) guests, they discuss everything from how to approach agents, to which writing competitions are worth applying to and everything inbetween, in a funny, down-to-earth and practical way.
Join us on this journey - you are not alone!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emerging UK-based screenwriters Tray Epps, Martin F. Wong and Ben Robins chat, debate, moan and celebrate the emotional and financial rollercoaster that is trying to build a career as a working writer in the film and television industry. Alongside a revolving door of (much more successful) guests, they discuss everything from how to approach agents, to which writing competitions are worth applying to and everything inbetween, in a funny, down-to-earth and practical way.
Join us on this journey - you are not alone!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As emerging writers, we spend so much time working on how to present our scripts, we don't always think about the other (sometimes even more important bit), how do we present ourselves?
So let's talk image - everything from our writer bios and CVs, to how we dress, and how we come across in person, in meetings and at networking events. If someone's only meeting you for 10 minutes, what image of you do you want them to come away with?
We also dig into what makes a good writer bio (and what doesn’t - get Chat GPT out of your head right now), how to talk about your work without cringing (*cries in British*), and how to balance coming across as a pro with not sounding like a robot. It's hard work, but remember the hard and fast rule - pretend you're a rich, white American and you'll immediately feel more confident.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Burnout is real, it's a sexy word right now, millenials everywhere seem to be suffering from it *constantly*. And we’ve all hit that point, when you want to write, but your brain and body just say "curl up in a ball and give up on the world". So let's talk about it, what burnout looks like, why it creeps up on us, and how we can find a way through it without completely grinding to a halt.
As emerging writers, that feeling that we have to be working all the time is all too real. Whether that's writing, networking, applying for schemes, or just staying visible. But what happens when that constant pressure starts to break us down?
We're sharing our own (very current) experiences of burnout, that guilt of slowing down, and some practical ways to reset, recharge, and still move forward (even when you’re running on empty).
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With the 4Screenwriting deadline well and truly vanquished, this week we're asking ourselves not only "what's next?" but more importantly, "what are we even doing with our lives/careers?" We're zooming out and looking at the bigger picture, setting goals, both short term and long term.
It can be so easy as emerging writers to just move from scheme to scheme on autopilot, chasing the opportunities dangled right in front of us. But sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture - where do we ultimately want to be as writers, and how do we actually get there? Schemes and competitions can be the perfect stepping stone for such goals, but we run the risk of not taking full advantage of them or wasting time and energy on the wrong ones, if we don't have a proper idea of what we're actually trying to achieve.
Feel free to join in, and let us know what you're planning between now and the end of the year, and what you want to achieve in 2026.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Staying focussed as a writer is hard, especially when you're single-parenting, or coming up against a lot of pressure from your money job. So how do we deal with these short term disruptions, and not let them totally throw us off pace? Falling off the productivity wagon can be a big loss for writers, and getting back on is easier said than done.
So here's an episode for anyone who, like Tray, has had a bit of a week of it. Especially as deadline season refuses to slow down, sometimes even making the tiniest amount of progress is worthy of celebration.
If you want to join us on this accountability journey, drop us an email or a DM and let us know how you're getting on.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We've all been there, you spend months and months refining the perfect idea into a (passable) screenplay, only for some hotshot Hollywood type to release a Netflix show using almost the exact same concept. So what happens next? Do we throw it all out and start again? Or do we rest assured that our voice is strong and different enough that the world can have multiple takes on the same basic plot?
Naturally these are the things bothering us most as we approach the final few weeks before the 4Screenwriting deadline, as all three of us start to question whether we're writing the right thing at the right time. Are we putting all this time and effort into the right project?
If you want to join us on this accountability journey, drop us an email or a DM and let us know how you're getting on.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Being confident is such an important part of being a writer, but most of us will struggle to say a nice thing about a script we're currently working on. So how do we find that inner confidence and back our own work? How many times have you read or re-read one of your own scripts and in that moment, actually been your own favourite writer for a change?
All this and more, as the deadline gets closer and we crack on with our drafts, keep each other productive and accountable, and try to enjoy and embrace our own work, warts and all.
And if you want to join us on this accountability journey, drop us an email or a DM and let us know how you're getting on.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As deadline season approaches, we're kicking off a new run of (slightly) shorter episodes focussing on productivity, accountability and the brass tacks of actually getting down to writing, as opposed to just talking about it. So what does one week into our new productivity goals look like? What excuses are we making for ourselves already?
Within this week's more relaxed chat, there's a whole bunch of helpful (and hopefully inspiring) little tidbits about burnout and writing too much too fast, as well as how to approach starting over with an old idea, repurposing it for a different time or medium.
And if you want to join us on this accountability journey, drop us an email or a DM and let us know your writing goals for this Autumn/Fall season.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If it's one thing a lot of writers aren't great at, it's keeping track of their progress and setting realistic writing goals. It's a fickle process - we've lost count of the amount of times we've failed to deliver on a personal target. So let's talk about it - not just how to set realistic goals, but how to hold yourself (and others) to account for the work we say we're going to do.
And with both the new school year and deadline season rapidly approaching (say hello to that annual 4Screenwriting deadline creeping up in October!), now's as good a time as any to start challenging ourselves and setting new goals. In the second half of this episode, we actually put in place some very credible writing targets too, so why not do the same?
Join us on this (hopefully) productive journey!
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's one of the hardest questions in writing - when is it time to give up? On a script, on an agent, or even on writing altogether? None of us are about to throw in the towel completely, but it's a punishing business filled with rejection; the question's bound to pop up every now and then. Or in Tray's case, weekly apparently.
When is quitting okay? When do we know it's time to walk away from a script (at least for now)? When do we know something's just not going to happen? At what point does our work ethic shift from tenacity, to just good old fashioned denial? Consider this episode both a pep talk and a bit of a reality check (for all of us!)
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A special little bonus this week - fresh from a 4 day trip to Edinburgh, Martin breaks down his main industry takeaways from the Edinburgh TV Festival. Including some sneaky little tidpits, some thoughts on diversity and a real first, a panel focussing on ESEA (East and South East Asian) lead stories.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As festival season well and truly kicks off with the Edinburgh TV Fest, we're looking at all the many different kinds of events, both big and small, and our top tips for getting the most out of the entry fee. Whether that's how you plan your time around the festival programme, the appeal of attending an industry focussed event (like Edinburgh) and why sometimes, going to a more local short film fest might actually serve your career better.
Naturally this episode pairs really well with our chat about Networking too, so definitely give that a listen if you haven't already!
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If writing is hard, rewriting can be even harder - especially if you're working on someone else's draft. But we're in luck, as this week we're joined by our first ever returning guest, fountain of industry knowledge Mr Mike Powell. A successful working screenwriter, Mike helps us understand the ins and outs of not only the most effective way to redraft your own work, but what it's like when you're brought in as a professional to redraft someone else's too.
As usual with Mike, there's *a lot* of other info here, covering everything from his approach to researching a project, to how he holds himself in meetings, as well as the inside track on working with producers, and finally - the last 10. It's such a gold mine of great advice and useful experience.
And if you want more from Mike, dig through our archive and you'll find his two parter Industry Jobs and Getting Paid, which are both full of equally vital nuggets of advice and info. If you want to follow Mike's career, he's also @mikepscreenwrites on Instagram.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Whether it's just studying screenplays you stole off the internet, or writing your own one man show, or even being taught how to write by the pros at Harvard, there's no one right way to learn the craft - and our guest this week would know, because he's done literally all of those things.
The sensationally lovely Thomas Burr is a writer, actor, dear friend and Harvard graduate (despite being from the Welsh valleys!) with an unbelievable amount of learning experiences under his belt for someone so young (approximately 14 years old give or take a decade). From taking his play Collar to the Edinburgh Fringe to striking gold with his first ever TV script, Thomas has some incredible stories to tell that perfectly encapsulate just how windy the path to success - and how varied our way into learning the craft of screenwriting - often is.
If you want to follow Thomas's career, you can find him on Instagram as @thomasjosefburr!
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Networking networking networking, all everyone ever talks about is networking. Everyone hates it, it can be pretty scary if you're not partiuclarly social, but it's very much the life blood of making it in this industry. So learning how to make it work for you is one of the most important skills you can build as a writer.
And you're in luck - in this very advice heavy episode, we're pulling together all of our (and some of our guest's) top tips on the best ways to work the room and meet people/build your network in a meaningful way. From how long to spend talking to each person, to how to approach a conversation, which faux pas to avoid and how long you should wait before following up. Plus a few bonus funny stories for good measure.
Always remember: Don't be a dick. Don't be a creep. Be chill baby.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabredfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trying to 'emerge' as a writer is tough enough, sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on or a bit of lasting encouragement to just keep going, so having a community of supportive, likeminded people around you is fairly vital. But communities don't just *happen* - how do we find our "tribe"? And why does it always feel so awkward? Especially for those of us who aren't the most confident socially, it can be a pretty daunting prospect.
Join us for a very sincere and open chat about putting ourselves out there not just as writers, but as people too; looking for not just a network, but friendship. It's not always easy (even the American struggles!) but having a kind and honest space to share work, have a moan and seek guidance could not be more important on this journey!
And if you don't know where to start, WE HAVE A DISCORD, so come on over and share your favourite turtleheading joke - https://discord.com/invite/Sa6TNJzs
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabredfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Research is both the ultimate procrastination tool, and the holy grail for making your characters and your worlds feel lived in and three-dimensional. So how much is enough? And what does meaningful research even look like anyway? Are we writing endless bulletpoints, watching stacks of movies, making stupid collages, or just cramming it into our brains in the hope that it'll all just sort of work itself into the script in the end?
It's safe to say we all have our different methods, so please do let us know what works for you (you never know, it might be the missing piece of the puzzle for someone else!), and if you are finding yourself getting lost down endless research rabbitholes - we've got you covered with some top tips on how to avoid it too.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabredfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
One of the hardest truths about making it as a writer is that so much of your time will not actually be spent writing scripts. There's networking, building and maintaining relationships with helpful people, writing those dreaded applications and pitch documents, and obviously all the actual business stuff too - accounts, invoices, taxes...
It can be a scary leap if you've never been a freelancer before, so this episode is all about demystifying that administrative balancing act. How much time we spend writing vs. all the other essential bits of trying to find work as a writer? What's the difference between PAYE, a sole trader and being a limited company? What if I'm an introvert and *really* hate networking?
All this and more, in Tray's favourite episode to date (seriously, it's all he talks about).
(Producers Note - We do mention this in the show itself, but if you're looking for actual financial advice, please seek out a professional accountant and don't just listen to these three self-taught podcasters!)
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabredfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It doesn't matter who you are or what level you're at, the film and TV industry feels like it's built on rejection. Every single one of us will experience it many many times. And it sucks. It hurts. It can make you question your work and your talent and your place in the world. But it's part of the process.
So with that in mind, how do we deal with the constant kick-backs? Does it ever get easier, and is there a way to turn it into something positive?
Consider this episode a safe space to have a good vent about one of the worst parts of being an emerging writer; we share some personal rejection stories, plenty of tips for overcoming those dreaded writing rejection blues and as usual, try to make us all feel a little bit less alone.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do share far and wide - let's revel in how much rejection sucks together.
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabredfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After mentioning it in almost every episode to date, this week we finally talk openly about racism and diversity in the film and TV industry - from the uncomfortable truths everyone knows but rarely says out loud, to the internal battles we face as emerging writers navigating it all.
We actually sat down to talk about rejection (more on that next week) so this one's a little more free-form than normal, but we do pick at a lot of ongoing worries. Particularly that tension between knowing the system is unequal but still wondering if it's just that we're not quite up to standard as writers. We also talk about the pressure to self-censor (even on this very podcast) vs. being honest about our experiences, and of course how race and identity shape not only the stories we tell, but the way we’re allowed to tell them.
BESEA Rising Waves statement on ESEA Representation in UK television can be found here - https://www.risingwaves.org/?p=1692
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It might sound wild, but sometimes our best and most meaningful work happens completely subconsciously. How many times have we sat down to write something profound and deeply thematically powerful, only to be crushed by the weight of what we're trying to do? So this week, we're (as Tray would say) "deeping it", to dig down into the overarching themes of our scripts, the intention behind them, and how much planning actually goes into their inclusion.
We talk about Sinners, about Star Wars and about the great Michael Arndt, discussing how we came to write about everything from loneliness, to difficult parental relationships, to our cultural identities and only realised the subtext of what we'd written long after typing 'Fade Out'. After all, writing can be the best (and cheapest) therapy around!
And if you're interested in the Michael Arndt lecture on endings, it's currently on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHfsEJ5JJo
📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps
✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
