Workshop Episode 103 (Guest Host: Clint Gaige)

Literary alchemist Marie Brennan – author of “A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent”, The Onyx Court Series, and “Lies and Prophecy”, and so much more – returns to the Guest Host chair to lend her astonishing brainstorming savvy to a tale of two strangers who’s lives become entangled by a drug that imparts magical powers as a side effect.

The tale is offered up by a pair of creagous Guest Writers, Saskia den Ouden and Thomas de Man… a street level slice of life where the protagonists walk the very fine line between hero and villain. Joined once again by the fabulous Marie Bilodeau as co-host, we indulge in a bit of worldbuilding (what a shock), as well as delving into what makes for a truly effective antagonist. The Literary Gold flows like Spice (NOT of the pumpkin variety) and your share is just a click of the “PLAY” button away!

Cerece Rennie Murphy – creator fo the Narazu Media Portal, author of The Order of the Seers trilogy, “To Find You”, and more – explores worldbuilding, her discoveries in fandom, how she develops her stories, and more.

Joe McKinney is our guest for this edition of 20 Minutes With, talking horror, suspense, zombie pride

I love this. I really do. The opportunity to showcase the talent and vision of creative people is a blast,…

Robyn Bennis – author of “The Guns Above” and the soon to be released “By Fire Above” – returns to the Big Chair in the APN virtual studios to workshop a tale of future steampunk, alien invasion, the fate of a planet.

The tale is offered up by creageous Guest Writer, Christopher Michael, a tale of a loyal naval officer – struggling to overcome the shadows of her parents’ deeds- who is drawn into a conspiracy of global (and possibly galactic) consequences.
 
Marie Bilodeau rocks the co-host chair once again and together we fire up the aethyr engines, hoist the mainsail and set course for LITERARY GOLD!

Paul Elard Cooley (aka The Fiendmaster) has evolved a growing canon of psychological and supernatural horror. Notable not only for its bone-chilling dread, but also its use of history as the backdrop for the progression of tales he tells, Paula has distinguished himself as a storyteller and a student of history. And if you’ve heard what he does to Muppets, you might question our sanity in bringing him on the show. As it turns out, he’s a cool guys with a lot of excellent insights for writers and horror fans.

The challenge was made: come up with a better “Hero vs. Hero” superhero movie. The gauntlet was thrown… and NINE…

Michael R. Underwood returns to the APN! Joined by co-host Marie Bilodeaux, we indulge in (way more than) 20 minutes of writerly discourse exploring Michael’s astonishing new project, the “Born to the Blade” story world serialized by Serial Box… how it began, the nuances of the collaboration between him and his co-writers, the notion of “post-cynical optimism”, and more!

So here we are, one year into our ongoing search for Literary Gold and we were wondering how we can celebrate. The answer came from long-time fan Peter Ellis… workshop our OWN stories (thanks, Peter)!

We have the remarkable Christopher Moore – author of exquisite tales of satirical humor – returning to the Big Chair, and we wheel in a second Big Chair for our Special Co-Guest Host and veteran RTP Host Alasdair Stuart! With this astonishing Duo of Awesomeness we are primed for some epic story workshopping… of Brion’s story idea!!

Brion’s tale of a dystopian post-apocalyptic horror serves as a marvelous opportunity not only to explore a very cool story idea, but also to observe how two masters of their craft approach the same story terrain. The end result is an intricate tapestry of concept and perception woven densely with threads of Literary Gold.

Clint Gaige tells stories with light and sound. He’s a film maker with dozens of titles gracing screens (silver and digital) around the world and a life time of experience in the world of media storytelling. His “Shotgun Mythos” series has been picked up by several television stations, his latest endeavor – “A Clean Exit” (from Growth Media Productions) – is making the festival circuit now, and he’s far from finished. His insights into the process of storytelling for film transcend media, opening new perspectives for artists of all disciplines.

Joined by the remarkable Marie Bilodeau – author of the Nigh series, as well as “Hellmaw: Eye of Glass”, and more – we indulge in a exceptional 20(ish) Minutes of writerly discourse with Clint, exploring the considerations for storytelling in film, the value of doing it and the bane of “perfection”, the keys to successful collaboration, and more. Writerly inspiration awaits you, dear friends… just click that “PLAY” button!

Jeanne Cavelos – scientist, author, and founder of the astonishing Odyssey Writers Workshops – returns to the ARCHIVOS virtual studios discussing techniques of crafting effective dialogue, working in collaboration with shared world fiction, emotional arcs within a scene, and more. 

Recently, Warner Brothers announced the official synopsis for the upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” movie: Fearing the actions…

Cerece Rennie Murphy returns to the Big Chair in the APN studios to add her storytelling mojo to brainstorming a tale of a magician who doesn’t believe in magic, a priest who doesn’t believe in god, and a warrior who doesn’t believe in war.

At the first-ever UtopYA Con, I had the amazing good fortune to sit down with some of the dynamic innovators who are building an astonishing media event… Auror’s Tale.

Jake Kerr – Nebula-nominated author of the Tommy Black series the Guildmaster Theif series, short fiction, non-fiction, and more – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to focus his brainstorming mojo on a tale of a betrayed emperor seeking his path across the expanse of his interplanetary empire.