Category Archives: Guest

Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.43: Audiobook Narration, with Bruce D Richardson

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Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Mary Robinette, and Howard, with special guest Bruce D Richardson

Bruce D Richardson, who is often credited as BDR, or BD Richardson, is a voice-over actor and audiobook narrator. He joins us for a discussion of reading out loud for an audience, including some mic techniques and best practices for recording.

Liner Notes:
https://www.accenthelp.com/
“I never said she stole my money.”

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Read something out loud, for an hour, in a genre you do not like.

Dragon Planet, by Dan Wells

Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.41: Researching the FCK out of Things, with Cory Doctorow

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Your Hosts: Mary Robinette, Piper, and Howard, with special guest Cory Doctorow

In journalism, that three-character string in our episode title means “Fact Check.” Those three characters are a great way to drop a note to yourself, reminding you to get some answers later.

In this episode Cory joins us to discuss when we drop FCK into our works, and how we go about removing it later.

Credits: This episode was recorded at sea by Bert Grimm, and mastered by Alex Jackson

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Use the Internet to pretend-visit a place.

The Future of Another Timeline, by Annalee Newitz

Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.40: Researching for Writing the Other

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Your Hosts: Piper, Dan, and Tempest, with special guests Nisi Shawl and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Writing stories which feature people who are not like you is, in a word, difficult. In another word? Fraught. But good writers do difficult things, and in this episode Nisi Shawl and Silvia Moreno-Garcia join us to discuss how research can make “writing the other” less difficult, and perhaps even less fraught.

Credits: This episode was recorded by Ross Smith, and mastered by Alex Jackson.

 

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Find news article or clipping from before 1980 as part of your research into something that interests you.

Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Career and Lifestyle, Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.39: Translation, with special guest Alex Shvartsman

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Your Hosts: Mary Robinette, Dan, and Lari, with guest Alex Shvartsman

Translation is fantastically complex. In this episode Lari and Alex help us navigate those complexities, both from the standpoint of the translator, and from the standpoint of the author seeking to have their work translated.

Credits: This episode was mastered by Alex Jackson

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Write a story in which the characters are in trouble because of a linguistic misunderstanding.

“The Green Hills of Dmitry Totzkiy,” by Eldar Safin, (English translation by Alex Shvartsman)

 

Career and Lifestyle, Guest, Theory and Technique

15.36: Collaboration, with Shannon and Dean Hale

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Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, and Dan, with special guests Shannon and Dean Hale

We’ve had several discussions about collaboration, and we’ve learned that the answer to “how do you collaborate with other authors” is different with each collaboration team we talk to.

Shannon and Dean Hale have written fifteen books together, and in this episode they talk to us about how they do it.

Credits: This episode was recorded by Joseph Meacham, and mastered by Alex Jackson

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:40 — 11.5MB)

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“Picture-word” game, which you kind of need to listen to Dean describe.

Kind of a Big Deal, by Shannon Hale

Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.35: Tools for Writing and Worldbuilding, with Erin Roberts

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Your Hosts: Dan, Mary Robinette, Lari, and special guest Erin Roberts

We’ve received a number of questions about the ‘tools of the trade’ for organizing our work, especially with regard to worldbuilding. In this episode we talk about what we use, including some old-school analog tools like sticky notes and ballpoint pens.

Credits: this episode was recorded remotely, and mastered by Alex Jackson

 

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Using whichever tool you would like, examine your favorite worldbuilding elements, and determine what your influences are for them.

The Midnight Bargain, by C.L. Polk (currently available for pre-order)

Career and Lifestyle, Guest, Season 15, Theory and Technique

15.32: Short Story Markets

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Your Hosts: Dan, Mary Robinette, and Lari, with special guest Erin Roberts

Erin Roberts joins us for a discussion of short story markets—a topic which is very susceptible to “churn” because of the way short story markets come and go. We cover how to research and evaluate the various markets based on what you need from publication, and what you might reasonably expect from them.

Credits: This episode was recorded remotely during the Great Isolation, and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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Pick a couple of contemporary short fiction writers. Track their publication history, and get a feel for how their writing career has developed.

Nebula Awards Showcase 2019, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Career and Lifestyle, Demonstration, Guest, Q&A, Season 15

15.31: The Agent in the Room

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Your Hosts: Dan, Dongwon, Piper, and Howard

You had questions for agents, Dongwon has answers!

  • How do you go about becoming an agent?
  • How do an agent and author work together?
  • At what point do agent and author talk about the “sticky stuff?”

Credits: This episode was recorded by Bert Grimm, and mastered by Alex Jackson

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:59 — 14.5MB)

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Make a list of the questions, especially the hard ones, you want to ask prospective agents.

Extreme Makeover: A Novel, by Dan Wells