This week I'm delighted to welcome Tim Clare, writer of fiction and non-fiction, for a chat about focus. We talk about planning, fractured focus & intense focus, confidence, editing and the theory that attention is the purest form of compassion.

Tim opens up about the specific pleasures and pitfalls of deep focus for neurodivergent people. We talk about experimental French literature group The Oulipo, we disappear up our own bumbles but we do come out again.

Tim's latest book is The Game Changers is published by Cannongate.

He also wrote Coward, in which he explores all possible cures for anxiety.

Check out his podcast Death of a 1000 Cuts, it's an amazing resource for writers!

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice is an award winning comedy writer, Broadcaster, and performer. Listed in the Telegraph’s 50 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century, her solo comedy shows have been commissioned as TV specials on Amazon Prime, NextUp and the ABC.

She has made four documentaries for Audible: Meditation 101, Habit Change, Wellness and Work Life Balance. She also co-hosted BBC Radio 4 series Stranger Than Sci Fi, about ongoing conversations between science and science fiction.

Alice recently published her first book A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance. It's a glorious homage to genre fiction, celebrating the solemn silliness of romance novels.

She has an excellent Patreon, where she writes a brilliant blog. She also hosts creative retreats in Switzerland! Let's all go!

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm talking to poet and novelist Sophie Robinson. Sophie's debut novel Prairie Oyster came out last week. Buy it from your local bookshop, or from Bookshop.org who donate over 80% of their profit margin to independent bookshops.

As well as being a writer, Sophie runs Devotion, a radical and inclusive writing workshop for people working at all levels.

We talk about the concept of vulnerability, both in writing and in life. We also explore addiction, panic attacks, radical acceptance & surrender, chronic illness, becoming an accidental knitting influencer and ignoring the male gaze (but not the male gays).

Read Sophie's poem Art in America here.

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Josie Long! Josie is a stand-up comedian, writer and filmmaker. She has toured her live shows all over the world. She co-founded the charity Arts Emergency, helping young people get a fair start in the Arts and Humanities. Join us for a chat about Josie's struggles with output and productivity. We also talk about writing as an incantation, imbuing your life with the spirit of creativity, hallucinogenic revelations and how art teaches us what we don't know about ourselves.

Buy Josie's brilliant book here!

Learn more about Arts Emergency here!

Follow her on Instagram!

Buy one of her excellent hats!

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen up troublemakers! From January 12th you're invited to join us for a refreshing, rejuvenating CREATIVE COURSE. Six weeks of prompts, activities and ideas designed to kickstart your practice for 2026. Episodes will drop every Monday as usual, but rather than an interview with an esteemed guest (we'll get back to that in season 3), you'll receive a short audio workshop for you to engage with at your own leisure. Light on homework, hopefully heavy on inspiration.

THIS COURSE IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO PATREON SUBSCRIBERS. So head over to Patreon anytime before January and join as a paid member (not available to free subscribers). You can sign up for as little as £2.50 a month (you can cancel easily any time). You'll have access to the course for as long as you're a subscriber, and you'll also have access to the Patreon community page if you want to share your experience with other listeners. https://www.patreon.com/c/MakingTrouble

Can't wait to see what happens!

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this season 2 finale, Molly is joined by Grace Petrie to answer your questions and respond to your creative dilemmas.

Thanks for listening to this season of Making Trouble! We'll be back in 2026 with more trouble, more fabulous guests and more bath snacks. Until then, happy making!

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musician Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) joins Molly for a chat about saying no. Why it's hard to do in the moment, how to get better at it, what happens when we don't do it, and why we need to say yes to ourselves.

Check out the music video for Bashed Out, which featured on Sex Education and Pretty Little Liars.

This Is The Kit's website: https://titk.cargo.site/

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the bard of Barnsley himself, Mr. Ian McMillan! Ian is a poet and broadcaster. He presents The Verb on BBC R3 and has been a regular on BBC Breakfast, Coast, Pick of the Week, You & Yours, Last Word and The Arts Show. He’s been a castaway on Desert Island Discs!

Ian joins Molly for a chat about Time. How do we find more? How do we use it wisely? What should we spend less time doing, and what should we spend more time doing?

You can read Ian's work on The Poetry Society website, or buy/order one of his many collections from your local bookshop.

Check out the Maurice Dobson museum next time you're in Yorkshire.

Join Molly's mailing list

Follow Making Trouble on Instagram

Support the podcast on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.