Literary Alchemist: Nathan Lowell

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.

Wrecking the word-count curve for writers everywhere, Nathan Lowell joins Dave and Brion on this Showcase Episode.  The eternal writer…

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

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!

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!

The quest for literary gold continues, and this time we have the pleasure of sharing the mic with Guest Host…

I asked thirteen authors, podcasters, and content creators if they thought talent was something we’re born with or something we acquire over time. We cover the first six in this episode. Their answers are as intriguing as the authors themselves and Brion and Dave riff extensively off the gold they find there.