The NaNoWriMo Project (3 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!

Andrew Weston – author of “Hell Bound” from Perseid Press – returns to the big chair to workshop a story of survival amid the frozen wastes of a planet in the cold darkness of space.

The story is served up by Guest Writer Justin Tseng whose tale of a colony ship arriving at its destination only to spark a bitter war between the inhabitants of the planet is a fabulous feast for the brainstorming table. With John Mierau (of Serving Worlds fame… known to some as “El Writer Libre”) joining us on this epic quest of epicness, we launch into a brain maelstrom fraught with thunderbolts, epiphanies, and lots of “Oh YEAHs”. A jump start for your creative mojo awaits behind that “PLAY” button… El Writer Libre says “CLICK IT!”

John Mierau – whose literary endeavors span genres and media with intriguing tales that explore the boundaries of speculative fiction – returns to the Big Comfy Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a tale offered by writer and podcaster Jay Langejans. Jay’s dystopian aquatic scifi story generated a lot of excitement around the table and ​everybody​ dove in and splashed around. This is classic Roundtable goodness, friends… a fabulous story idea, a brilliant guests, and literary gold flying around at every turn.

Conventionally, “taking care of myself” entails “taking it easy”, “getting lots of rest”, “eating well”, and other sensible courses of action. And I’m doing all those things… really! But that kind of convalescent lifestyle includes a lot of “quiet time”, long tranquil hours where your brain is free to drift and ponder whatever errant thoughts may pique its interest.

You see the hazard that represents, right? Leaving me alone with my thoughts is like hiring an arsonist to watch over propane plant; something’s gonna blow.

Christof Laputka – creator, writer, and producer of the epic audio event that IS “The Leviathan Chronicles” – returns to the Big chair to help workshop an inspired story idea offered up by podcaster, writter, and nefarious super-villain, Christopher Morse. Chris brings an amazing tale of alternate history with Rome under the influence of a vile and cunning criminal from the future. Julius Caesar, time travel, ironpunk automatons, roman soldiers, brothels… I mean DANG! There’s SO much gold in this episode, you’re going to want to bring a wheelbarrow!

Jared Axelrod is the quintessential creator. Costuming, theater, art, literature, podcasting… each artistic challenge he sets before himself is met with passion, dedication, and an instinct for grand scope and epic presentation (and his latest triumph, “The Battle of Blood and Ink”, is a powerful testament to that craft). We were delighted to be able to enjoy 20(ish) minutes with this dynamic personality, discussing his own strengths as a creator, the ways and means of prioritizing creative endeavors, his own transition from uncertainty to boldness, and more! Your week’s supply of Writerly Goodness awaits!

Anne Lyle – who has released the first novel in her Night’s Masque trilogy, “The Alchemist of Souls”, with more wonders, delights, and thrills to come – rejoins us at the Roundtable (she gets the comfy chair) to workshop a marvelous tale offered by Veronica Giguere. Join us as we explore an intriguing world fraught with intrigue, seafarers, pirates, ancient religions, and just a dash of Steampunk. We had a blast with this one and we’re sure you will, too!

J. Robert King – author of Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny, the Mad Merlin series, and Hellmaw: Incubus Tweets – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend his considerable storytelling mojo to brainstorming a scifi tale of humanity on the brink of interstellar expansion and a tormented man who has the potential to save it from a dark conspiracy or bring it all crashing down.

Our Guest Writer, Terry Mixon is a repeat offender… er… has appeared in the Guest Writer chair before and this time he brings us a tale of extreme future sports in a solar system where warp drive is possible, but strictly controlled, and dark violent forces are arrayed to seize power for their own ends. With Serving World’s John Mierau returning to the co-host chair, we strap in for from the jump to Awesome Space and havest asteroids loaded with Literary Goal. It’s a heck of a haul… you can get some for yourself by clicking that play button! (and if you want even more writerly goodness, check out Rob’s fabulous 20 Minutes With… episode!)

Mur Lafferty returns to the Archivos virtual studios for yet another marvelous 20(ish) minutes of writerly discourse, exploring her discoveries in writing the “I Should Be Writing” book, her strategies and perspectives regarding NaNoWriMo, how she decides what to write, and more.

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! 🙂

The Roundtable Podcast, First Anniversary Episode pt II, with J. Daniel Sawyer, John Mierau, and Dave RobisonWe conclude our anniversary celebration with a remarkable workshop worthy of the first year of our quest for Literary Gold.

We have our returning Guest Host, J. Daniel Sawyer – author of sweeping sci-fi thrillers, rich and complex mysteries, comprehensive guides and resources for writers, and so many more artistic and literary explorations – lending his substantial vision and experience to the workshop. Add to that the articulate and insightful John Mierau, another veteran Guest Host of the Roundtable and crafter of exquisite tales with casts of nuanced and complex characters. With these two creative trailblazers as our guides we launch into a workshop… of my story!

My tale of a young woman’s shame in denying her child an honorable death in a culture that reveres their sacrificed innocents spawns a remarkable discussion, affirming once again our decision to bring seasoned and experienced authors to the table. Dan, John, and Brion all helped reveal layers of both the story AND my approach to it that gave a new appreciation of my own process and the depth of the story I had undertaken. In short, it was a smorgasbord of Literary Gold.

We asked thirteen authors, podcasters, and content creators if they thought talent was something we’re born with or something we acquire over time. In this episode, we cover the final. Their answers are as intriguing as the people themselves and Brion and Dave riff extensively off them.

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.

You get an idea for a story. Now what? What happens between the inspiration and perspiration? How do you prepare and develop a story idea so it’s ready to be written?

That’s what I asked seven gifted and articulate writers at this year’s Balticon 48 (sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society). The answers from Paul E. Cooley, Jared Axelrod, Maria V. Snyder, Starla Huchton, Pip Ballantine, Nobilis Reed, and Myke Cole are as diverse and inspired as the people we asked.

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.