2012

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By Dave Robison

Gareth Powell – author of “Ack-Ack Macaque”, “The Recollection”, “Silversands” and many more novels, stories, and poems – continues to explore the diversity and nuance of creative expression. With experience ranging from advertising copy to music to beat poetry and (of course) speculative fiction, Gareth brings a rare aesthetic to any project with which he engages.

Ryan Stevenson and I discovered much writerly goodness in the 20(ish) minutes of conversation where Gareth explores his editing and revision process, his experiences with collaborative fiction, the genesis of “Ack-Ack Macaque”, and more!

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 43 (Guest Host: Alethea Kontis)

Alethea Kontis – author of the award-winning “Enchanted”, “The Wonderland Alphabet”, The “Alpha-Oops” series, and so much more – returns to the Big Chair to help workshop a rich luxurious story idea offered up by podcaster, voice actor, authoress (and so much more), Lauren “Scribe” Harris.

With Justin Macumber as guest co-host (founder and co-host of the Dead Robots’s Society podcast, and co-host on the Hollywood Outsiders podcast), we dive in to a delightful frothy discussion, inspirations bouncing around like pixies on egg nog, taking Lauren’s already fabulous idea and festooning it liberally in Literary Gold.

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Alethea Kontis

Alethea Kontis – author of “Enchanted” (recently listed on Kirkus Reviews among the “Best Teen Books of 2012”), the award-winning “Alpha-Oops” series, and so much more – is a passionate and informed storyteller. Her diverse background includes, among other things, a love and respect for the theater and of the rich heritage of folklore and fairy tales, both of which informs her work and infuses it with authenticity and magic.

Justin Macumber (co-host and founder of the Dead Robots’ Society podcast) joins me in a rousing 20(ish) minutes as Alethea waxes rhapsodic on the allure of fairy tales, who she writes for, her revision and editing process, and much more. The Fairy Queen is in the house people… woot!

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 42 (Guest Host: Michael Sullivan)

Michael Sullivan – erudite and eloquent author of the “Riyria Revelations” and the forthcoming “Riyria Chronicles” – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help us workshop a fantasy noire tale offered by Ben Love (co-host of the “First Million Words” podcast).

The synergy around the table is amazing as everyone weighs in, exploring, expanding, and rhapsodizing on Ben’s excellent idea, building on each others inspirations. It’s classic Roundtable goodness, friends, with the inevitable outcome… Literary Gold for everybody!

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Michael Sullivan

Michael Sullivan is incredibly dedicated to his craft. He studied and scrutinized the styles of the greatest writers in literature, taking the best of each to craft his authorial voice. The hard work shines through in his “Riyria Revelations” novels which have been lauded and recognized by literati and and reviewers since they hit the shelves.

In this intriguing 20(ish) minutes, Michael shares generously with me and Ryan Stevenson some of his insights into POV, the writing of prequels, using dialog to handle world-building and backstory, and more.

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 41 (Guest Host: Lauren Beukes)

Lauren Beukes – author, journalist, comic scribe, and storyteller extraordinaire – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to infuse this week’s workshop with the insight, experience, and vision that is the hallmark of her many works in the world.

She’s joined by Guest Writer Joshua Cordasco who brings a tale of a magical power play that sees 99% of the world dead and our heroes – including a disgraced devil – left to figure it all out. Between Josh’s fabulous story and Lauren’s keen sense of story, this is classic Roundtable goodness fraught with Literary Gold!

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Lauren Beukes

Lauren Beukes will do anything to avoid writing. In spite of her best efforts, however, her literary credits continue to find their way into the world (which is a very good thing indeed). She’s a journalist, a writer of animated TV series, producer of documentaries, author of novels (non-fiction fiction, and graphic), a shark swimmer, and Queen of Cape Town.

With such a broad canvas splashed with such startling and remarkable works, you KNOW our 20(ish) minutes I and Ryan Stevenson have with her is not only a pure delight, but also brimming with writerly goodness.

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 40 (Guest Host: Bryan Thomas Schmidt)

Bryan Thomas Schmidt – author of the Davi Rhii series, editor of and contributor to anthologies, and SpecFic explorer – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a very cool post-apocalyptic tale offered up by Guest Writer Jason Ramsey.

While this was – by far – the weirdest episode we’ve ever recorded (between the wrath of the Internet Gods and an inadvertent road-trip starting in the middle of the episode), Jason’s core framework serves as a launching point for some really stellar explorations and insights into character, genre and theme. Writerly goodness and LOTS of Literary Gold for all!

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project: The Wrap Up!

It has been a remarkable journey these last 30 days as we followed these writers through their unique challenges of NaNoWriMo. As each of them shared their strategies and experiences, we all gleaned a wealth of insight into what it takes to reach the 50K goal. And now, with NaNoWriMo complete, we reach out to them one more time to learn how they did and what comes next.

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Bryan Thomas Schmidt has lived life wide and tall and true. He has pursued so many forms of storytelling – from film to music to writing – that his combination of life experience and craft provide a unique and informed insight into the entire process.

His passion, enthusiasm, and witty repartee made is 20(ish) minutes fly by as we explored his transition into writing, his process, and his perspective on SpecFic, and more!

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 39 (Guest Host: Cecilia Tan)

Cecilia Tan – author, visionary, and activist who’s passions are as diverse as the literary works they inspire – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to infuse this Workshop episode with he unique and eloquent brand of literary awesomeness.

We are joined by Guest Writer Nobilis Reed, a veteran author in his own right with a wealth of stories, podcasts, and audio adventures to his name. His erotic noire steampunk fantasy (yeah, that’s right… a four-genre mash-up. One might say a veritable orgy of genres *rimshot*) inspires a vigorous discussion from all sides of the table, which leads – as always – to a mighty hoard of Literay Gold.

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Cecilia Tan

Cecilia Tan is a visionary author whose interests, passions, and achievements span a broad spectrum of experience. To say “she is best known for [something]” is a difficult sentence to complete for exactly that reason, but that is also what makes this 20(ish) minutes with her such a remarkable and inspiring conversation.

Join us as Ceclia discusses the application of spiritual divination to modern writing techniques, the value of fantasy and scifi to our culture, and the processes of engaging activity with your creative mojo.

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 38 (Guest Host: Jerry Gordon)

Jerry Gordon – editor of anthologies and author of tales (check his “Coming Up” section below for all his awesomeness) – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable for an epic story workshop. Guest Writer, Dan Scholes, brings a scifi tale of a distant culture dominated by nanites that infect every aspect of society.

Dan’s story becomes the foundation of one our most intriguing and in-depth workshops ever. You’ll be raking in the literary gold like autumn leaves, friends… just hit that “play” button.

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project – Halfway There

With only a couple weeks left, our four NaNoWriMo writers are applying every ounce of discipline and dedication to reach their goal.

And real life doesn’t take a holiday for NaNoWriMo, and that includes day jobs, academic responsibilities (tests?!), professional responsibilities, extracurricular commitments, family duties, health issues, and technical difficulties! And don’t forget holidays (Thanksgiving isn’t canceled, after all) ! This is an epic journey for our writing team and we spoke to each of them (briefly) to see how they’re doing, find out what they’ve learned so far, and hear their plans for these last two weeks.

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Jerry Gordon

Jerry Gordon is an author and editor of short and long fiction. As an editor, his work with Maurice Broaddus in the creation of the “Dark Faith” and “Dark Faith: Invocations” anthologies have informed his knowledge and perspective on the craft and qualities of good storytelling. Writing is own fiction – including the upcoming PRE-apocalyptic “Breaking the World” has further refined those sensibilities.

This was an exceptional 20(ish) minutes where we explored the challenges of using known history in your stories, the weaving (not mashing) of genres, and the value of reviewing and critiquing other writer’s works

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 37 (Guest Host: Larry Santoro)

Larry Santoro – author of “Just North of Nowhere” and “Drink for the Thirst to Come” and host of the splendid “Tales to Terrify” podcast – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help Paul E. Cooley and myself workshop the tale of a hero’s journey through Hell offered up by Michael Bergonzi.

Rogue angels, demon spawn, and the world after Revelations sends us all on a wild hunt for radical story lines and subverted reader expectations… and along the way we find some literary gold!

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Larry Santoro

Larry Santoro is an explorer of expression. He has pursued and taught theater, written poetry and plays, produced films, hosted podcasts (like Tales to Terrify, part of the District of Wonders Network), and – of course – stories and novels.

While much of his work has been classified as horror, Larry contends that he’s not a horror writer… his stories just turn out that way. Paul E. Cooley joins me as co-host for this episode as we delve into the creative perspectives of this remarkable individual.

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 36 (Guest Host: Lou Anders)

Lou Anders – Editorial Director at Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books Publishing – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a story idea by podcaster, writer, and former Guest Co-Host Doc Coleman. Doc’s idea inspires a wealth of Literary Gold as Lou walks us through some exceptional insights into the storytelling craft (he even assigns homework!).

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Lou Anders

Lou Anders – editorial director at Pyr Books – has led a hero’s journey through speculative fiction, from practically living on the sets of Star Trek and Babylon 5 to swinging Stormbringer in a parking lot with Michael Moorcock. We’re delighted to share this 20(ish) minutes we had with Lou, discussing the reasons behind genre mashups, the nature of character in relation to plot, and more! So much writerly goodness awaits you behind that PLAY button…

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project (4 of 4)

And so we come to the conclusion, the final workshop/prep session with our four remarkable writers. NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow and they will be joining the thousands of bold and dedicated writers who will be burning up their keyboards to crank out the 1,667 words a day required to make the 50,000 word deadline in 30 days. This is only the beginning! The prep is done… now everyone gets to GO WRITE! 🙂

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project (3 of 4)

It’s NaNoWriMo-Eve! Soon, thousands of bold and dedicated writers will be getting down to the business of crafting 50,000 words of fabulous story in 30 days. To support and celebrate those brave souls, The Roundtable Podcast invited four remarkable writers to gather at the table and share their own preparations for this epic annual event.

The discussion continues – as well as the brainstorming goodness – in this third chapter of the four-part podcast. The quest for writerly goodness, literary gold, and NaNoWriMo inspiration carries on!

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 35 (Guest Host: Adam Christopher)

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…

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project (2 of 4)

In support of the thousands of bold and dedicated writers accepting the 2012 NaNoWriMo challenge (to get 50,000 words on paper in a month), The Roundtable Podcast invited four remarkable writers to gather at the table and share their own preparations for the NaNoWriMo event.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be the Roundtable without some brainstorming, so everyone dives in and helps workshop each other’s stories. This is writerly goodness, literary gold, and a NaNoWriMo preparation all rolled into one!

By Dave Robison

The NaNoWriMo Project (1 of 4)

Each year, thousands of bold and dedicated writers accept the NaNoWriMo challenge: get 50,000 words on paper in a month. At The Roundtable Podcast, we support this worthy ambition wholeheartedly, and we wanted to help… so we invited four remarkable writers to gather at the table and share their own preparations for the NaNoWriMo event.

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Adam Christopher

Adam Christopher – author of “Empire State” and “Seven Wonders” – is one of the few debut authors whose work already has “fan fiction”. Granted, that’s because of the visionary “WorldBuilder” initiative greenlighted by Angry Robot Books and produced by Mighty Mur Lafferty but still… you gotta respect the fact that Adam crafted a story world that has the scope and nuance to support a robust and active collaborative community.

Our 20(ish) minutes with Adam was a delight and fraught with talk of shared worlds, superhero literature (what a shock) and an exploration into Adam’s writing process. Writerly goodness dressed in spandex awaits!

By kt_bryski

Mind the Gap: From “My bad” to “I totally meant to do that” (Guest Post by K.T. Bryski)

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

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 34 (Guest Host: Maurice Broaddus)

Maurice Broaddus – author of the “Knights of Breton Court” series, editor of the “Dark Faith” anthologies (with Jerry Gordon), crafter of worlds and tales of wonder – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to workshop an alt history fantasy by podcaster and Guest Writer Zach Ricks.

Zach’s tale – described as “James Bond in Harry Potter’s world during the time of Downton Abby” – launches us into a frothing brainstorming session, dealing with alternate global politics, romantic triangles, nefarious plots, and a huge dragon slumbering under Yellowstone Park. Literary gold abounds!

By Dave Robison

Literary Alchemist: Jerry Gordon

Jerry Gordon is leading at least one life too many. As a full-time author, editor, college instructor, grad student, web programmer and new dad, he lacks the time to write a witty bio but assures you that if you keep drinking, he’ll get funnier.

Read his entire Literary Alchemist Profile here…

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Maurice Broaddus

Maurice Broaddus – author of the “Knights of Breton Court” series, editor (with Jerry Gordon) of the newly released “Dark Faith: Invocations” anthology, speaker of the pompetis of love – joins me and guest co-host Ryan Stevenson for an remarkable Showcase interview. During our 20(ish) minutes with him, Maurice discusses the writer’s lifestyle, explores theme and genre, and presents an amazing personal insight into the power of genre fiction. There’s so much writerly goodness here, we can barely contain… so take some for yourself!

By Dave Robison

“One Question: Your Ideal Protagonist” from WorldCon 2012

Ben Delano, The Roundtable’s Wandering Alchemist, strolled the halls of WorldCon asking some truly remarkable individuals this question: Describe your ideal protagonist. We know what you’re thinking (’cause it’s the same thing we were thinking), “These are all going to be the same answer.” Oh no, dear friends… the diversity of response that we got affirms the depth of these writer’s perceptions within their craft. Literary Gold abounds… get yours!

By Dave Robison

(Our First) Knighting Ceremony: John Walker

Many episodes ago we started making a promise to all our Guest Writers: Write the story… put it out in the world and we will make you a Knight of the Roundtable Podcast. We knew it would happen. It had to… with all this Literary Gold being flung about, somebody was going to write their story. And then it did. John Walker, who workshopped his story back in Episode 15 with the articulate and insightful Myke Cole, took the ideas from the workshop, applied them to his story and has released it as an e-book!

By Dave Robison

John Walker: Knight of the Roundtable Podcast

John Walker’s Profile as a Knight of the Roundtable Podcast

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 33 (Guest Host: Nathan Lowell)

Nathan Lowell – author, podcaster, scholar, and Asker of Interesting Questions – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help Brion and I workshop a tale offered up by Guest Writer Michael Brundenell. Mike brings a very cool contemporary martial arts story to the table fraught with ancient societies, secret government projects, with the future of humanity in the balance. This is, of course, a veritable buffet of awesomeness and we all fill our plates high with ideas, suggestions, and “what if’s”. Literary gold ensues… get some for yourself by clicking that PLAY button!

By Dave Robison

20 (more) Minutes with Nathan Lowell

Nathan Lowell was the first Guest Host to ask us if he could be on the show. He’s also the first Guest Host to write us and ask “When are we doing it again?”. I’m not sure what that says about us, but it speaks volumes of Nathan. He has distinguished himself in many ways – as an author, podcaster, educator, and business man – but he’s also an adventurer, a seeker, and an artist who deeply enjoys exploring his craft. This second 20(ish) minutes with him leads down the road of discovering authorial voice, the editing process, and an exploration of what makes a “strong story”. There is a surfeit of writerly goodness for everyone here, so dive in an get yours!

By Dave Robison

Roundtable Sightings in the Podosphere

I looked up from mixing, narrating, interviewing, and workshopping recently and realized that we have a lot of generous friends in the podosphere.

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 32 (Guest Host: Brand Gamblin)

Brand Gamblin – channeler of Cthonic Deities and crafter of marvelous tales of all genres – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help us workshop a story of biblical proportions… a superhero powered by God. The tale is offered up by veteran podcaster and audio fictioneer Clay Dugger and proved to be a marvelous springboard into a discussion about presenting faith in fiction, working or avoiding tropes, and developing suspense and pacing in your story. Everyone had a blast exploring the delightful terrain of this intriguing tale… and, of course, there’s an abundance of Literary Gold to be had!

By Dave Robison

20 Minutes with Brand Gamblin

Brand Gamblin is a storyteller who aggressively pursues the evolution of his craft, striving always to push the limits of his ability and expand his comfort zone. His works to date include Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternate Future (see? He’s making this stuff up, people!) and Science Fantasy (see?). He’s also possessed of a dark humor as evidenced by his wildly successful “Calls for Cthulu” video series. We spent a fabulous 20(ish) minutes with this marvelous weaver of tales discussing his transition from programmer to writer, and from outliner to pantser… we even dig into what Spec Fic really means. There’s writerly goodness behind that PLAY button, friends… click it!

By Dave Robison

“One Question: Why Comics?” from FanExpo2012

Brion and I so wanted to make the scene at FanExpo 2012 but couldn’t… and then Ben Delano volunteered to be our “Wandering Alchemist” and record some interviews there on our behalf. He did an amazing job and we’re delighted to share the fruits of his labors with you!

By Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 31 (Guest Host: Jared Axelrod)

Jared Axelrod – crafter of wonders, creator of epic fables, and and storyteller extraordinaire – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to workshop a tale set in the aftermath of a super-power cataclysm created by Guest Writer Justin Hall. Justin’s tale is fraught with possibilities and – in the face of staggering technical challenges – we managed to explore most of them in one way or another. Marvelous discoveries are made, insights shared, and (spoiler alert) everyone leaves with some Literary Gold in their pocket.

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