Episode Zero

Each week (starting March 6, 2012), Roundtable hosts Dave Robison and Brion Humphrey – joined by authors, publishers and other literati – invite writers to present ideas for stories they’re developing. What follows is a no-holds-barred discussion of the story’s plot, character, pacing, and theme, in an attempt to transform rough concepts and unformed ideas into literary gold (i.e. a writable story).

In this second pre-episode Dave and Brion share some news about upcoming Guest Hosts, clarify misconceptions regarding copyright, and explore some of the discoveries made in the last few weeks.

-More than one of them cried out in pain, “This is impossible, my brain hurts!”-   Write what you know….

  Wow. It’s been a while, huh (for those of you new to the feed and are curious about the…

Besides being funkalicious, Zig Zag Claybourne is a storyteller whose vision comes from deep within the creative forge. He brings to life tales you’ve never heard before about people you know, characters you recognize in situations you could never imagine. I can’t think of a better definition for “speculative fiction” and Zig is building a whole new wing on that venerable estate.

As fabulous as any conversation with such a gentleman would be, this particular dialog is made even more fabulous by the return of Brion Humphrey, the man who started the RTP with me oh-so-many years ago. With these two visionaries at the Table we launch into a superb 20(ish) minutes of writerly discourse, exploring the creation of conflict, the nuances and practicalities of diversity, authentic character development and more. Buckle up, kids… this is an “E” ticket ride!

We’re crossing double digits in our episode count in a week. That and our recent Parsec Nomination (still reeling from that amazing bit of news) make it a good time – because time seems to fly so fast – to pull off the headphones, lift our hands from the keyboard for a moment and reflect. There are a lot of thoughts and emotions furiously sparking and catalyzing right now, but one shines brighter than all the rest…

“…though we often soliloquize about writing being a solitary existence with coveted ideas held closer to the chest than Bluebeard’s…

I’m currently 63,000 words into my second novel attempt. Sounds fairly impressive, but I’ve been at 63,000 words for the last six weeks. Sure, I’ve written two short stories, a couple blog entries, participated in recording ten-or-so Roundtable episodes(my favorite distraction besides my wife), taught, graded papers and lesson-planned for about 60 hours a week, etc., etc., and on, and on. A lot like you! But is all of that really keeping me from writing my book? Yes. Because I let it.

We all are experts at wasting time, and the successful few have learned to at least minimize the bastard! We’ve all heard and read countless papers and pamphlets and programs on how to beat down the maniacal villain known as Master Procrastination. That is not what this post is going to do.

The Roundtable Podcast is a writer’s podcast.

Now, there are a LOT of outstanding writer’s podcasts out there. Heck, we at RTP listen to a bunch of them and you’ll find links to many more here on the site.

We’re going to focus on a very specific aspect of the writing process… the ideas.

“Authentic characters are part of a continuum. They existed before the story and they will exist after it (if they…

So here we are, one year into our ongoing search for Literary Gold and we were wondering how we can celebrate. The answer came from long-time fan Peter Ellis… workshop our OWN stories (thanks, Peter)!

We have the remarkable Christopher Moore – author of exquisite tales of satirical humor – returning to the Big Chair, and we wheel in a second Big Chair for our Special Co-Guest Host and veteran RTP Host Alasdair Stuart! With this astonishing Duo of Awesomeness we are primed for some epic story workshopping… of Brion’s story idea!!

Brion’s tale of a dystopian post-apocalyptic horror serves as a marvelous opportunity not only to explore a very cool story idea, but also to observe how two masters of their craft approach the same story terrain. The end result is an intricate tapestry of concept and perception woven densely with threads of Literary Gold.

“We want to believe the best of who we are, and ignore and deny the worst.  The most intriguing moment…

  Throughout the course of this podcast, Dave and I have been like a couple of escaped mental patients, stalking…

Okay… the basic site framework is in place.  On the to-do list… Post some content (some articles on story and…

Zig Zag Claybourne – author of “The Brothers Jetstream: Leviathan”, “Historical Inaccuracies”, and so much more – electric boogaloos his way back to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend his unique and insightful writerly mojo to brainstorming a steampunk tale of divided societies, betrayal, and revolution.

The story is offered up by Guest Writer Gabriel Snell, a tale of kindred spirits separated by a cultural divide, enslaved populations, and airship pirates. With Brion Humphrey returning once more to the co-host’s chair, we dive in to Gabriel’s story, gender flipping protagonists, delving into true character motivations, and generally doing that voodoo that we do so well. Literary Gold? Check!