Swiping Write

Many of us read for that gut wrenching moment when the big twist in the story takes our breath away. But coming up with something that resonates with the audience can be a challenge. So we're going to take our best short at figuring out why some twists work, and how we can make our more impactful. 

Tension is one of the critical tools that a writer has to keep an audience engaged. But its not without its own dangers. Not enough, and the reader gets bored. Too much, and the reader gets exhausted. And if not released properly, the audience feels unsatisfied.   

Austin and I both dreamed of being pilots growing up. Soaring through the sky, blasting bogeys and having cool call signs. Sadly, my eyesight and Austin's fear of getting a callsign like "Cupcake" kept us out of the air.  But this week we're joined by someone who did make it. Paul Clark, a retired F-15 pilot with over 20 years in the US Air Force and the author of The Phoenix Affair, joins us to talk about what it takes to be a pilot, and some of the ways you can make your writing more realistic. 

Too slow, and you lose your readers. Too fast, and you'll exhaust your audience. So how do we avoid the slow start, sagging middle or rushed ending? Austin and I dissect many of the common mistakes we see and talk about how to fix them. 

If you looked at your story as if it were a graph, where would the highs and lows be? Would you follow the greek three act structure? Or something more modern like the four act?  Austin and I talk through how we chart our stories and how to draw out your pacing to keep your readers and viewers engaged. 

"So whats your book about?"  Its a question that causes an author's mind to go blank at a moment's notice. We all have great stories to tell, but trying to summarize it all in one sentence can be daunting. Luckily, Austin and I are here to help talk about some of the larger categories of stories so you can start figuring out what yours is about.  Also, its Austin's birthday today so be sure to remind him that he's old now...

With the rise of cyber security in the real world, writers are quickly running out of excuses to use hacking as the latest magic system. Yvette Johnson joins us this week to help dispel some of the myths, and talk about some of the cool things are happening in the world of Hackers and Cyber.  Also, you'll learn why you shouldn't play poker with Austin...

This week, we're talking about the advantages and disadvantages of 1st or 3rd person, with a brief acknowledgement that neither of us know how to do 2nd person…

Readers and viewers want to be swept up in a flurry of emotion as they reach the story's climax, but whats the best way to get them there? Are we following along with a single character as they experience the story, or do we watch multiple characters from different times as they converge? This week, Austin and I talk about some of the more recent trends and the advantages and pitfalls of each. 

No matter how much you read about writing, practice writing, or listen to awesome podcasts about writing, at some point you hit a ceiling. Luckily, there are whole communities dedicated to helping writers develop and grow their craft. Brandon was fortunate to find one such community at the Broadleaf Writers conference here in Atlanta last September. So this week, we're going to be talking about the importance of those kinds of conventions with the conference's founder and executive director, Zach Steele.   If you'd like to learn more about Broadleaf and sign up to join us, visit them at www.broadleafwriters.com. 

How a character changes throughout a story is one of the things that keeps an audience hooked. This week, Austin and I are talking about some of the most common arcs and how you can leverage them in your own writing. 

This week, Austin and I are talking about a few cool things that we've seen that would make for a great story. And if you want to play along at home, join us for the Wikipedia scavenger hunt. See how many clicks it takes you to get from a Dyson Sphere to Cinncinatus. Post your path in the comments section. Winner gets 5 points. Don't ask me what the points are for though...

Now that we know our characters, how do we introduce them to our readers or viewers? Austin and I discuss how we avoid backstory dumps and make the audience care about the characters as much as we do. 

Compelling characters are the reason we love stories, and nothing takes your reader or viewer out of a story faster than an flat character. This week Austin and I talk about how we go about creating our the characters for our stories. 

Due to Russian Hacking efforts (or the fact that Brandon doesn't know how to use the scheduling tool), next week's episode is gonna come out a bit early... Oops... This week we have guest hosts Caroline and Mike to help Austin tear Brandon's short story "Out of the Garden" apart.  If you haven't already listened to the Bonus episode with the full narration of the story, you may want to do so before listening to this episode so you can fully understand what we're talking about. 

The last episode in our segments on World Building, this week we talk about how to put the world you've created on paper.  Notes:  How to make a map from scratch Austin's "Just start drawing squigglies" method Brandon's Order of Creation Historical cities Looking at "Planned" cities vs "Organic" cities Creating small towns Adapting real locations for settings Common Map Mistakes Books Mentioned:  Angels and Demons

So Brandon had a crazy idea that he didn't think through and decided to have Austin and two other co-hosts critique a short story he's been working on. So that you can fully enjoy the public humiliation that will occur in Episode 8 that airs on 1/22/2017, he's narrated the story so you can check it out ahead of time. Enjoy!

Everyone knows that rules are made to be broken, but as a writer, how do you break the rules of your world without losing your readers' trust?  Notes: What kinds of rules do you have Physical or Technology Rules Explanation vs "Handwavium" Giving a Reason Twisting tropes Avoiding the superman problem Magic systems Don't break a rule for the sake of plot Foreshadowing a break When to break your rules   Books/Films/TV Shows Referenced: Enders Game Eragon The 100 Vicious The Reckoners Wizard's First Rule

We're kicking off the new year by talking about how to build out a believable world for your story. In this episode, Austin and I will be talking about how to start building the societies and civilizations that your characters will be a part of.  Religions  Divinity centered  Philosophy based faith Caste systems Haves and have nots Demographics Geography Types of Governments Books/Films/TV Shows Referenced: Elantris Firefly Divergent Dune Game of Thrones Dualed If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a review and a rating on iTunes to help other people find us! 

This week, we're joined by New York Times Best Seller Patti Callahan Henry, who is not only a great friend, but has plenty of blackmail, er, baby pictures of Brandon. And if this episode gets 200 downloads, we'll even post a few... Episode 4: Interview with Patti Callahan Henry How Patti Started Writing Patti's Journey to Publication 3 Things Patti Wish She'd Known When She Started Reading: The Person Who Brought Her to the Dance A few of Patti's Works: The House at Water's End (Available in July 2017) Between the Tides Losing the Moon And then I found you Books/Movies Referenced: The Right to Write The War of Art