À propos de ce podcast
Writers talking about writing.
Writers talking about publishing.
Writers talking about life.
Authors Terry Mixon, Paul E Cooley, and Veronica Giguerre interview, babble, and usually cover a number of disassociated topics.
Épisodes
Les 50 épisodes les plus récents sur 299
- Find Your Way Back! · 1 h 1 minWe all have projects that have been put on hold for various reasons. Perhaps it was due to writer's block. Maybe they were pushed aside for a paying project, or maybe you had to…
- DRS After Dark - Public Edition · 1 h 1 minJoin Paul and V for a special episode of After Dark where we invite everyone to join us. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically…
- Q&A With Cooley · 1 h 0 minTerry is playing Traveler, V will be late, and Paul is available. So why not join him, ask questions, and more or less misbehave? DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you…
- Living Up To The Promise · 1 h 0 minHow often have you been disappointed by a story that had a less-than-satisfactory ending? How do storytellers ensure that the final act lives up to the promises made in the…
- Third Rail World Building · 1 h 1 minPolitics, religion, and taboos are all parts of a good fictional world. What should authors drag into their world, and how should they highlight differences between cultures? The…
- Time To Let This Mother Rip? · 1 h 1 minWhen do you start the action in your story? How much introduction do the world and characters need before things go off the rails? The DRS Crew Discusses DRS caffeinates with…
- Info Dumps and Scams · 1 h 1 minHow do you best convey the background or history of your story's universe without lengthy exposition and info dumps? Also? The scams are out of control in the publishing…
- Specificity and Vaguefulness · 1 h 1 minThe DRS Crew discusses when it's appropriate to pontificate in extremis on a facet of your world, technology, science, etc and when being vague is the smarter move. DRS…
- Plot Monogamy - Mindful or Menace? · 1 h 1 minShould you start a series and only write in that series until it's finished? Or should you "play the field" and work on as many different books as you feel like? Which is better…
- Human Prove Human Wrote · 1 h 4 minAccusations of using AI to write fiction are growing in number and severity. How can you prove you wrote the story without the assistance of LLMs and other assistive…
- A Passive Protagonist? · 1 h 2 minProtagonists are usually active participants in solving plot complications. But what if they aren't? What happens when the minor characters take over? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS…
- Refill The Tank! · 1 h 1 minWriting a novel requires a lot of energy. Finishing one often leaves you depleted and struggling to write another word. What do you do to recharge and avoid burnout? The DRS Crew…
- I Am X So How Do I Write Y? · 1 h 1 minWhile V is at an undisclosed location, Terry asks the age-old question: how do you write believable characters when they're a different sex than you? Terry and Paul discuss. DRS…
- Edit This! · 1 h 1 minBefore you send it to the editor, before you let another person set eyes on the manuscript, you need to edit. There are plot holes to look out for, character voice…
- Challenging vs Challenged Characters · 1 h 1 minHow smart is your protagonist? Can they realistically solve the dread puzzle you've laid before them? Or is the situation tailor-made for their skillsets? How can you keep your…
- Author/Series/Book Branding and Other Marketing Nonsense · 1 h 2 minThe DRS Crew discusses in-depth branding for authors and their work. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew…
- Writer? Meet Public. Public? Meet Writer · 1 h 3 minReaders leave comments. Readers send emails. Readers respond to your social media posts. But how should you interact with them? The DRS Crew discusses the ground rules. DRS…
- Quotables, Homages, and Outright Theft · 1 h 1 minWhen should a character or narrator use a quote? Does it have to be attributed? What about aping characters from an existing property? How do you do that? Most importantly, what…
- Infinitely Told Tales · 1 h 2 minSo-called "fairy tales" are some of the oldest tales. As writers, what tropes/plots/character archetypes can we steal to use in our speculative fiction stories? DRS caffeinates…
- Humans Do It Better · 1 h 2 minMichael J Strazinski wrote an article called "Silence Where a Story Would Have Been" that argues that the current state of the art AIs are incapable of writing great, memorable…
- SciFi/Fantasy Social Systems and World Building · 1 h 2 minDoes your future or fantasy world require a system of government? How about a social caste system? How in-depth do you need to be in constructing social norms, mores, and taboos?…
- Aliens and Religion · 1 h 1 minWhat effect, if any, would the discovery of aliens have on today's religions? Will those religions change if we become a truly space-faring race? Will new religions take their…
- Audible, AI, and Lawsuits · 1 h 1 minAudible is literally stealing from content creators, Eleven Labs is accused of stealing voices, and the DRS Crew is at its wits' end. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you…
- Timelines and Other Temporal Mischief · 1 h 1 minTerry and Veronica wonder about timelines and whether or not Paul exists after his surgery. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically…
- Arcs Vs Arcs · 1 h 2 minWhat are character arcs vs story arcs? Why do they matter? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown…
- So You Wrote A Novel... Now What? · 1 h 1 minYou wrote and sweated over every word. You've revised, you've edited, you've done everything to make this the best story of your life. You've even got a great cover. So what do…
- Brevity, Foreshadowing, And Sanity · 1 h 1 minWhen should you distill an entire scene in a couple of sentences? Do you always have to write an entire scene to convey information? Also, how much foreshadowing is too much? The…
- Bibles, Fragments, and Corners · 1 h 0 minWhat's the best way to create a story bible? What about those little fragments you've written? How do you turn those into scenes or stories? Most importantly, however, how do you…
- Publishing Industry News...Now With AI! · 1 h 3 minHachette pulls a book. Claude source code leaks. HarperCollins signs a deal with an AI animation studio.... The DRS Crew pontificates. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee. If you…
- How Do You Climax? · 1 h 0 minYou've taken your characters to the edge. The plot is nearly finished. Now it's time for the big reveal. How do you make it happen? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with…
- Sciency-Solutions and Technobabble · 1 h 1 min"Captain! The doomaflachie is reaching critical something-or-other!" Science fiction literature is rife with technobabble, questionable science, and straight-up fantastical…
- Slimmin' Down and Toe-Taggin' · 1 h 3 minPublishers sometimes require a minimum word count, while magazines, contests, etc might impose a maximum word count. While adding words is easy, how do you decide what to cut?…
- The Lesson of John Wick · 1 h 3 minPaul is on a walkabout, so Terry and Veronica are on deck to extoll the virtues of John Wick. Chiefly, how he responds to animal abuse. Join Terry and V as they discuss how best…
- John Wick Is Boring · 1 h 2 minGunfights? Explosions? Marvelous melee mayhem? Non-stop action scenes that go on for dozens of minutes? Works great in visual media, but how well does it translate into…
- Love, Lust, and Sex · 1 h 5 minIt's Valentine's Day, and the DRS Crew is in the mood for romance. And maybe a little "rumpy-pumpy." Chat will bring flowers and chocolate. Our links: Paul's store…
- Repeat The Plot? · 1 h 0 minThe DRS Crew recently discussed violating reader expectations. But what should writers expect from their readers? Can you trust them to remember vital clues or key details? Or do…
- Space Opera With Dinosaurs! · 1 h 0 minWhen as a reader do you draw the line on suspension of disbelief? Should writers mash up genres without significant tells that the story will have left turns? And if you're going…
- Topic? What Topic? · 1 h 2 minThe DRS Crew didn't do their homework and have nothing planned for today's lesson. Therefore, we'll regale you with whatever comes to mind... Perhaps chat will help/hinder us…
- Happy New Year! Now Get To Work! · 1 h 0 minIt's 2026, and the DRS Crew has plans. What are they doing to make 2026 more successful? What are you doing to make your 2026 successful? Our links: Paul's store…
- 2026 Approaches... · 1 h 2 minWhile Terry is on a walkabout, Paul and V discuss plans for 2026, including ad budgets, editing budgets, cover budgets, etc. Also? Aren't we supposed to write, too? The DRS Crew…
- Karmic Monsters · 1 h 1 minMonsters are not always forces of nature. Sometimes they only come for those who deserve them. The DRS Crew discusses. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com/paulecooley…
- Websites, Social Media, and Stores--What Do You Need? · 1 h 2 minA DRS Patron asks the question: Do you need an author website? Do you need a store? The DRS Crew discusses. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com/paulecooley Paul's site…
- Influence and Reimagination · 1 h 2 minHow does fiction influence society? What about the inverse? Also, can one pull plots from classic literature or films and repurpose them in modern works? The DRS Crew discusses…
- Author Nation Autopsy · 1 h 0 minVeronica and Terry have returned from the "Author Nation" convention and have more than a few thoughts. Paul will heckle. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com/paulecooley…
- Going Solo · 1 h 0 minCan you have subplots when there's only a single main character? How do you handle it when there are no repeated secondary characters? The DRS Crew discusses. Our links: Paul's…
- What's Going On? · 1 h 0 minThere's more Amazon/Audible news. There's Salesforce news. There's... How do you keep up on the industry gossip, buzz, and class action lawsuits? The DRS Crew discusses and takes…
- Zero Drafts and Lovecraft · 1 h 1 minWhat is a "Zero Draft?" Can the processes outlined help you in your writing? Also in this episode, Paul and V discuss Lovecraft's "Call of Cthulu." Our links: Dead Robots'…
- Sea Turtles and Deadlines · 1 h 4 minPaul has returned from an eco-tour of Costa Rica. While he had a great time, he's now behind the proverbial 8-ball with a deadline. Terry knows how he feels. So does V. Why are…
- We're Gonna Need A Bigger Starship! · 1 h 2 minTerry has gone full bonkers for starships, including creating blueprints and statistics. This madness must be appreciated., The DRS Crew discusses the kinds of detail you should…
- Audible 2 Scamaloo and Going Wide · 1 h 1 minTurns out that the Audible Premium Plus scam was before our eyes all along... After that discussion, the DRS Crew explains how to go wide. Our links: Paul's store…
