Brainstorm #122 (Guest Host: Michael R. Underwood)

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” -Jack London When attending a writers’…

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. 

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.

Patrick E. McLean isn’t really all that interested in how things have been done. Sure, it’s useful for a sense of context and perspective, but if you’re going to imagine a new future, you simply can’t let “convention” get in the way. As the author of “Unkillable” and the “How to Succeed in Evil” series of fiction as well as the founder of “Good Words (Right Order)”, Patrick has stepped boldly off the path and, in doing so, discovered a wealth of insight and inspiration.

During this 20(ish) minutes of discourse he shares generously of both with Ryan Stevenson and myself, discussing the “work” of creativity, the value of performance in the context of writing, how things go right (and wrong) and so much more!

Michael R. Underwood brings a rare combination of perspectives to any literary discourse. His insights into the industry and market of speculative fiction is informed by his experience as North American rep for Angry Robot Books. His knowledge of narrative form and structure is refined by his academic achievements. But his understanding of storytelling comes from a deep commitment and practice of the craft.

Joined by co-host Giles Hash (co-host of the Beyond the Trope podcast) we engage in (far more than) 20 minutes of writerly discourse of Michael, exploring the structure and execution of the novella, the effective utilization of tropes in storytelling, and a unique perspective on framing your writing towards a specific market. Writerly goodness is at your fingertips, friends… just click that “PLAY” button!

“There are people who appear to be able to invoke creativity on command.  They sit down and BAM, creative inspirations…

This week, Janet Morris and Chris Morris – authors of The Sacred Band of Stepsons series, “I, the Sun”, and the Heroes in Hell series, and so much more – return to the Big Chairs at the Roundtable to infuse our story brainstorming with their incredible writing mojo. Joined by my co-host, the eloquent and insightful Michael R. Underwood ( “The Younger Gods”, “Shield and Crocus”, “Geekomancy” and more), this can only be described as a Master Class Story Workshop.

In a very short amount of time, Fran Wilde has done many marvelous things – including crafting marvelous stories like Updraft and The Jewel and her Lapidary. But she has also explored the realms of technology, explored art and a broad spectrum of diverse disciplines, crafts, and exotic pursuits. These explorations give her a unique perspective, both on the world and the writerly arts.

Joined by the fabulous Marie Bilodeau as co-host, we wax rhapsodic with Fran, exploring the value of critiquing both in a writing group and as writer, the way stories start, the merits of curiosity and more. It’s a conversation fraught with writerly goodness… click the “PLAY” button and let the fabulousity commence! (and join us on July 19 for Fran’s equally awesome Workshop Episode!)

Jeanne Cavelos – scientist, author, and founder of the exceptional Odyssey Writers Workshops – returns to the Big Chair at the RTP (for the third time!) to lend her considerable and extensive workshopping mojo to a tale of betrayal and revenge in the classic noir tradition.

Margaret Dunlap and Brian Francis Slattery are each astonishing storytellers in their own right. But TOGETHER, they comprise two-fifths of the writing team for Serial Box Publishing’s exceptional series “Bookburners”! With Season FOUR (!!!) of the series releasing tomorrow (June 13), we consider ourselves fortunate indeed to have these two literati join us in the APN virtual studios.

Joined by APN colleague and co-host, Marie Bilodeau, we indulge in 20(esque) minutes of writerly discourse with Margaret and Brian, exploring their unique contributions to the series, the allure of collaborative shared world writing, war stories from the collaborative trenches, and more!

Adam Christopher – an author who follows his amazing stories through whatever genre terrain they lead him (and we follow him cheerfully because… well.. he writes amazing stories) – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to workshop a tale of memory and madness offered by veteran game designer (and player) James Silverstein.

James’s story of lost memory, conspiracy, and deceit arrives with a substantial “Awesome” factor in its own right, which sends all of us off in search of even more Literary Gold (spoiler alert: We find it. A LOT of it). Classic Roundtable goodness awaits…

So, there I was: writing the first scene of the first draft of Hapax. I was bright-eyed and innocent, the scene zipping along beneath my fingers. My monks were preparing to hold vigil to see if the Apocalypse was nigh (spoiler: it was). I had a plot outline, I had character notes, I had worldbuilding…

And then, I realized.

I had forgotten to figure out the monks’ hierarchy. I had no idea who or what their leader was.

Oops.

Don’t Panic

C.W. LaSart – weaver of tales of horror featured in collections like “Ad Nauseam” and “Grimm Mistresses” – returns to the Big Chair…

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.

-More than one of them cried out in pain, “This is impossible, my brain hurts!”-   Write what you know….