Mad Writers Union

One of the Mad Writers has a little bit of news to share relating to their goals for the year. They discuss it all in this first ever minisode.

On this very special episode of Mad Writers Union, the Mad Writers finally get serious. They delve deep into their psyches and come through on the other side as changed writers. Follow along on their journey to where no man, woman or non-binary person has ever been before. Welcome to the Mad Writers Union.

Most working writers agree that there is one quality above all needed to make it in the business: persistence. The Mad Writers invited the legendary Cat Rambo over to talk persistence and writing. From her days at Johns Hopkins through to keeping up writing a short story a week after Clarion West and all the way to her days working in SFWA. Cat Rambo is a writer, teacher, SFWA president and previously secretary. Generous in her encouragement of new writers and brilliant in her turn of prose, she can be found at catrambo.com Recommended reading: Cat’s recommendation: Lovecraft Country: A Novel by Matt Ruff Tim’s recommendation: Definitely Maybe (Neversink) by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Jay’s recommendation: The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building by David J Peterson Nina’s recommendation: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

On this action-packed episode, the Mad Writers talk to Kameron Hurley. Their path wanders through non-fiction, characters, plotting or, rather, the lack thereof. Especially writers finding their own way in terms of the way they approach their methodology. Kameron shares her wisdom gained over more than a half-dozen books as well as several funny anecdotes from along the way.  The big takeaway from this interview being, of course, that you need to figure out the best way for you to write, however you can. Kameron Hurley is a writer of books and relentless mover and shaker. She is responsible for badass female bounty hunters and bug magic in the Bel Dame Apocrypha -series, sentient, carnivorous trees in the Worldbreaker Saga and a balls-to-the-wall call to action of an essay collection, The Geek Feminist Revolution. She can be found online at KameronHurley.com and on various social media sites as Kameron Hurley. Her latest novel, The Stars Are Legion, is out now. Recommended reading Kameron’s recommendation: River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey ‘ Tim’s recommendation: Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire (Novels of the Roman Empire) by Ruth Downie Jay’s recommendation: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle Nina’s recommendation: Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia Butler and John Jennings (illustrator) and Damian Duffy (adapter) Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Viable Paradise, without hyperbole, changed the lives of all the Mad Writers. 16 months ago our intrepid hosts arrived on Martha’s Vineyard and together with 21 other hopefuls went through a grueling week. In this episode, they go through their journey to the island as well as some of the things that have them thinking about their time there frequently. They share some reasons why they applied and what they did to get there. They also touch on the community of Viable Paradise teachers and alumni, all of whom are anxiously awaiting for next year’s students, VP XXI. You can apply today! Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Jay’s recommendation: Behind the Throne (The Indranan War) by K.B.Wagers Nina’s recommendation: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

It’s 2017! All the Mad Writers survived 2016 which at times seemed somewhat unlikely! They are now hesitantly ready to tackle not only the second season of the podcast but also a number of writing goals. Tune in to our Mad Writers planning novel drafts, workshop applications and querying, they do it all! Or at least plan to. It might even be that they are finally learning their own, human limitations and are starting to consider them in their goals. Although their podcasting may be a little rusty this time. Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: Nine Princes in Amber: Book One (The Chronicles of Amber 1) by Roger Zelazny Jay’s recommendation: The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don’t Have with People You Don’t Like Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do (A No F*cks Given Guide) by Sarah Knight Nina’s recommendation: The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales edited by Dominic Parisien and Navah Wolfe   Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

The time has come for all mad writers to check in on their 2016 goals one last time! Spoiler warning; we had two failures and an epic win! As the year turns, so do the minds of our Mad Writers, returning to see what happened there. Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) by Lisa Cron Jay’s recommendation: Monstress Volume 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Nina’s recommendation: Letters to the Pumpkin King by Seanan McGuire Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Characterization, meaning presenting character through non-verbal means. This shows up in the way they choose their words, the way they dress, the way they hold themselves and all kinds of other details. The Mad Writers get flummoxed but then manage to rally and figure out several things about creating characters through showing and not telling. They discuss examples from Daredevil (the Netflix show), Mary Robinette Kowal, their own work as well as the sleazy lounge singer, Lionel Cheese that sprung out of Tim’s effort to speak in a lounge singer voice. Mary’s room exercise Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction September/October 2016 Jay’s recommendation: The Dragonbone Chair: Book One of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (Osten Ard) by Tad Williams Nina’s recommendation: Rise: The Complete Newsflesh Collection by Mira Grant Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

NaNoWriMo is the bane and simultaneously the hope of many a writer. Every November, millions of people get together to write 50.000 words. Our intrepid Mad Writers have entirely varying experiences with this yearly event. Jay has broken up with NaNoWriMo because while she always gets the trophy, it usually comes with completely unusable prose that she doesn’t even consider worth editing. Nina on the other hand has very positive experiences with NaNoWriMo in that it is largely based on gamifying the writing of thousands of words and Nina is nothing if not a sucker for gamification. Tim, for his part, is somewhere in the middle, preferring the community over the gamification. They discuss what they each get out of NaNoWriMo (or don’t, in the case of Jay), how to approach it so that you’ll have the greatest chance of winning as well as making sure to emphasize not sending your newly finished NaNoWriMo story out to agents and editors. Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: Borderline (The Arcadia Project) by Mishell Baker Jay’s recommendation: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Nina’s recommendation: Feedback (Newsflesh) by Mira Grant Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

There are many ways to serial fiction and Mur Lafferty knows about them all. From serializing her novellas and the book Playing For Keeps to participating in the Serial Box Bookburners serial fiction. The conversation goes from topic to topic, touching on her Star Wars novella as well as her upcoming book, Six Wakes. The Mad Writers really enjoyed talking to Mur and we hope you will enjoy listening to it. Mur Lafferty is a podcaster, writer, editor, winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and all around reneissance creative. She can be found online at Murverse.com and on whichever social media she’s on (such as Twitter) as mightymur. Please Note! There are some audio issues with this episode that we could not get rid of and cannot figure out where they came from. We appreciate your patience. Recommended reading Mur’s recommendation: The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth) by N.K. Jemisin Tim’s recommendation: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman Jay’s recommendation: Viscera by Gabriel Squailia Nina’s recommendation: Cloudbound (Bone Universe) by Fran Wilde

The bane of iGor’s existence, self-editing, is none the less an important weapon in the writer’s arsenal. For the continued co-operation of mini- *ahem* beta-readers, it is vital that writers are always respectful others’ time and the best way to do that is to only send out the best thing that you can. This takes the form of various stages from the nitty-gritty sentence level stuff to the full-on story-level high vantage-point view. The Mad Writers weave through the inverse triangle of self-editing in an effort to make sense of things. Notable notes Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King 25 Steps to Edit the Unmerciful Suck Out of Your Story by Chuck Rock Your Revisions: A Simple System for Revising Your Novel (Rock Your Writing Book 2) by Cathy Yardley Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan E. Rosenfeld Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff Vandermeer Jay’s recommendation: Swordspoint (Riverside) by Ellen Kushner Nina’s recommendation: The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

There comes in every writer’s path to world domination a time for panel moderation. Our intrepid Mad Writers are fair newbies themselves in the big, bad world of conventions and none of them have ever moderated a panel, so they decided to call in some expert assistance in the form of Steven H. Silver. Currently the Events Director at SFWA, Steven has also been an author, editor, Chicon 2000 programs director, and a Jeopardy contestant. The Mad Writers grill Steven on the various aspects of being a good panelist and a good moderator. Notable notes Use the microphone Sharing is caring Prepare Do not get on a panel to say “I don’t know why I’m on this panel” Seriously, be kind “The Art of the Con” You can find Steven online at: SF News and his website. Recommended reading Steven’s recommendation: Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay   Tim’s recommendation: Player Piano: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut   Jay’s recommendation: Downbelow Station (Alliance-Union Universe) by C.J. Cherry   Nina’s recommendation: Once Broken Faith: An October Daye Novel by Seanan McGuire          Please support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS.Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

During Worldcon, the mad writers grabbed master networker K.M. Szpara to join them for a little chat. They start with the basics of networking, with Kelly providing the Mad Writers with specific conversation starters. He emphasizes the power of listening. Thanks to their live studio audience they also discuss more fraught topics such as alcohol consumption during events. Receive instruction in how to leave a conversation you’ve been edged out of. Because of the live situation, this episode is Not Safe For Work, as the customary bleeps could not find their way into the temporary Volcano Waterfall lair.PLEASE NOTE! The sound quality on this episode is, unfortunately, poor. iGor did his best to improve it but he will need to be whipped for his performance. Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: Making Conversations by Theresa Neilsen Hayden   Jay’s recommendation: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Ghainani   Nina’s recommendation: Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal   Kelly’s recommendation: The Usual Path to Publication: 27 Stories About 27 Ways In edited by Shannon PagePlease support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS.Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

One of the essential parts of a creative life is making sure that you can keep on creating new things. As MidAmericon II is fast approaching, our intrepid introverts talk about self-care. They touch on both acute situations as well as going the long slog that can sometimes get exhausting. This is a resource-heavy episode with a huge list of links to various things the Mad Writers have found helpful. Notable Notes Emergency Kittens Mary Robinette Kowal: Sometimes Writers Block is really Depression Superbetter Habitica Miracle Morning Jeff Bridges Sleeping Tapes The Bullet Journal Nina’s favorite resource for Bullet Journal ideas: Boho Berry Franklin Covey The Artist’s Way Morning Pages 750 words Headspace Bunny Yoga Chuck Wendig: SELF-CARE FOR WRITERS: SOME TIPS! List of suicide crisis lines around the world The Bloggess Strange and Beautiful with a huge list of self care tips Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: Something Rotten (Thursday Next Novels) by Jasper Fforde   Jay’s recommendation: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry   Nina’s recommendation: Zoe’s Tale (Old Man’s War) by John Scalzi

Jay’s writing relies heavily on both alpha and beta readers. In this episode, she explains in detail her method of getting a book from an idea to finished draft. Her approach is very reliant on a communal form of storytelling. While they’re talking, Nina realizes that Jay has been her alpha for a while already. Lots and lots of giggling ensues. Also actual organized comparisons of various methods of using alpha and beta readers, including one by one of our favorite authors, Mary Robinette Kowal. Notable notes Jay’s most trusted alpha, Valerie Valdes Mary Robinette Kowal explains her own Alpha Reader process Writing Excuses episode on Alpha Readers Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff Vandermeer Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: Cetaganda (Vorkosigan Adventure) by Lois McMaster Bujold   Jay’s recommendation: The Daughter Star (Grayline Sisters Book 1) by Susan Jane Bigelow   Nina’s recommendation: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy) by N.K. JemisinCome say hi to us at MidAmericonII!

Tim is having problems with his Flash Fiction eating too many doughnuts and expanding into short story territory. The Mad Writers get together and try to figure out how to get his stories to stay within a reasonable range for Flash Fiction. They talk about the shape of a story vs Vignette, control of user perception, arranging implications instead of statements, getting rid of filler words and making words pull their weight. Many of the things they talk about are applicable to other forms of fiction but things that are especially important when writing Flash Fiction. Join them as Tim tries to figure out the magical world of Flash Fiction. Notable Notes Terry Bison’s They’re Made Out of Meat Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants Daily Science Fiction Sunil Patel Caroline M. Yoachim John Wiswell Flash Fiction Online Ken Rand’s 10% Solution Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: The Everything Box: A Novel (Another Coop Heist) by Richard Kadrey   Jay’s recommendation: The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All: Stories by Laird Barron   Nina’s recommendation: Night Watch: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Back in January we announced our goals to the world. None of us would have any kind of idea of just how much things would shift during transit. And so, having reached the halfway point of the year, we thought we would have a look at how the work on our goals is progressing and just how much has changed.As with the original goal setting, we’ve had varying levels of success with our goals thus far and things have happened that we never expected to happen this, including moving house, quitting jobs, hospitalization of a loved one as well as editorial interest in projects that didn’t even exist at the start of the year. Jay went back to see what they all said they’d do this year and is now holding some feet to the fire. Recommended reading Tim’s recommendation: The Collected Stories (FSG Classics) by Grace Paley   Jay’s recommendation: The Escapement of Blackledge: a novella by Mary Robinette Kowal   Nina’s recommendation: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane AndersPlease support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

The Mad Writers keep referring to building your community and this week they are putting their money where their mouth is. They are joined by Crystal Huff who has been involved in ALL THE CONS. She also fights the kyriarchy professionally through giving workshops and for example consulting companies on creating a welcoming environment as well as dealing with Impostor Syndrome. The panelists cover how to deal with horrible situations, how to get new people without losing all of the old ones and how to make sure the community doesn’t die because the people who started it are tired. The entire episode is full of amazing content, you may want to have a notepad handy! Notable Notes Readercon 2012 incident summary Crystal’s consultation and training Wiscon Readercon Arisia 4th Street Fantasy Worldcon 75 Crystal Huff is the Executive Director of Inclusion Through Innovation and former Executive Director of The Ada Initiative. She has a long history of professional and volunteer efforts in technology and geek culture, with a particular commitment to anti-harassment and impostor syndrome work. Crystal runs science fiction conventions in her spare time, most notably the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, Finland. She speaks fluent English, rusty American Sign Language, and beginner Finnish cussing.Crystal can be found online at crystalhuff.com and on Twitter as @arisiacrystal and @CrystalMHuff Recommended Reading Crystal’s recommendation: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu    Tim’s recommendation: Air Vol. 1: Letters from Lost Countries by G. Willow Wilson and M.K.Perker    Jay’s recommendation: The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design   Nina’s recommendation: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow WilsonPlease support Mad Writers Union by reviewing it on iTunes or Stitcher! You can subscribe to this show on iTunes or via RSS. Intro and outro music comes from “Cephalopod” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Story length can be confusing to some writers and none more so than Nina. The Mad Writers help Nina figure out what is going wrong and why her short stories keep accidentally turning into novels and novellas. They work through the Hugo definitions of the various story lengths as well as working through the things that make stories longer as you write. Notable Notes Orson Scott Card’s MICE method as explained by Karen Woodward Writing Excuses MICE episode Writing Excuses episode on Short Stories - in which Mary Robinette Kowal explains her calculations Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: Updraft (Bone Universe) by Fran Wilde Jay’s recommendation: Hawkmoon: The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock Nina’s recommendation: Archangel (The Chronicles of Ubastis) by Marguerite Reed

Every writer sometimes needs help with motivation. Inspired by Elizabeth Bear’s recent article, the Mad Writers discuss ways writers can reward themselves on a job well done. Especially because the lag times for writers tend to be long, in traditional publishing more so. The volcano lair is filled with speculation over how to create suitable rewards for various situations to keep the motivation up. Notable Notes Elizabeth Bear: Burnout, creativity, and the tyranny of production schedules Kevin J Anderson: Dictating, Writing, Hiking 750 Words Julia Cameron: The Artist’s Way Write or Die Written? Kitten! Recommended Reading Tim’s recommendation: Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal Jay’s recommendation: Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens Nina’s recommendation: Velveteen vs. The Multiverse by Seanan McGuire