Workshop Episode 72 (Guest Host: K. C. Wayland)

Patrick E. McLean – author of “Unkillable” and “How to Succeed in Evil” and founder of Good Words (Right Order) – returns to apply his unique insights and experience towards helping Ryan Stevenson and I workshop a delicious tale served up by writer, and vocal performer Patrick Lewis.

Patrick brings a SciFi tale of corporate corruption, betrayal, all centered around a really sweet caper. It’s Ocean’s Eleven set in the far future and you know we’re gonna have some fun exploring the intricacies of complex characters, crossed motivations, and making everything works out in the end… which is, or course, where everyone finds the huge stack of Literary Gold for the taking!

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!

Brion and I are joined by authors Colin F. Barnes, Alasdair Stuart, Starla Hutchton, and Stephen Godden to discuss the challenges of writing near-future scifi in a world where science fact keeps out pacing our imaginations. Along the way we manage to debunk the reported “death of cyberpunk” as well as explore the sources of the trend towards genre mash-ups.

E. C. Myers – author of the acclaimed “Fair Coin” and “Quantum Coin” – returns to the Big Chair to bring his superb insights and aesthetic to help Brion and I workshop a very cool YA SciFi tale offered up by podcaster and Gentleman Twitter-kin Richard Green.

Richard brings a delightful tale of an alien school field trip on Earth that goes horribly wrong that inspires a great discussion about the qualities of YA stories, defining character arcs and relationships, and a superb exploration of how to take a great idea and make it even better (which is kinda what we do, right?). Literary Gold is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Few people have impacted the world of audio theater in recent years like this week’s Guest Host, K.C. Wayland. Back in 2009, while the most of the world was just waking up to podcasting and the notion of audiobooks (and “Walking Dead” was still a year and a half from its debut), KC was writing and producing the award winning “We’re Alive” audio drama series, a tale of survival set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. The superior production, performance, and storytelling of “We’re Alive” raised the bar on audio entertainment and inspired a renaissance of tales told through the “theater of the mind”.

That alone would make this a spectacular 20(ish) minutes, but wait… there’s more. My co-host for this episode is none other than the creator of the remarkable “Leviathan Chronicles” audio drama, Christof Laputka! With these two storytelling maestros together in the virtual RTP studio, you KNOW this is going to be a fabulous discussion. Tune in as we explore the distinctions between literary and audio storytelling, crafting action scenes in audio drama, killing characters, sensory challenges in audio drama, and more.

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.

Showcase Episode: 20 Minutes with Bryan Lincoln Workshop Episode: Workshop Episode 10 (Guest Host: Bryan Lincoln) Website/Blog: hhttp://www.fullcastpodcast.com Facebook Page:…

Last week, Guest Host Peter Newman’s book “The Vagrant” was released on the world and we couldn’t be more delighted for him. So delighted in…

We must have been VERY good this year, ’cause Santa really came through and gave us James Sutter – author, musician, Managing Editor at Paizo Publishing, and co-creator of the fabulous Pathfinder role-playing game – as a Guest Host! We’re delighted to have James return to the Big Chair to lend his patented writerly mojo to our stock and trade here at the Roundtable… brainstorming stories. With author/editor Jennifer Melzer in the co-pilot’s chair, we buckle in for another adventure in awesomeness.

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.

Christof Laputka is a fascinating individual. He’s the creator and executive producer of “The Leviathan Chronicles” – a tour de force of podcast fiction production rich with original music, mind-blowing sound effects, exceptional performances, and a riveting storyline. That’s pretty awesome in and of itself, but what distinguishes him is his genuine delight and passion for what he does. For him, each episode is an exploration, a voyage of discovery in search of new ways to expand and enhance the storytelling experience. That delight is infectious and we enjoyed or 20(ish) minutes with him as he shared volumes about his experiences and insights into the craft.

Bryan Lincoln represents an remarkable synthesis of science and creative mojo, equally at ease in a bioengineering lab, behind (or in front of) the mic, or at the keyboard. The scope of his experiences is vast indeed and we delve into that pool of knowledge in this Showcase episode, exploring the distinctions between audiobooks, full-cast presentations, and audio drama, as well as discussing the parallels of rational science and irrational art. So sit back, grab a mass spectrometer, and enjoy this enlightening 20 minutes

[image credit: AlexWild on deviantART] We are delighted to welcome Peter Orullian – author of the Vault of Heaven series, including “The Unremembered”…

Dan Wells – author of “The Hollow City”, “Partials”, the John Cleaver series, and co-host of the Parsec-award winning “Writing Excuses” Podcast – returns to the Roundtable to add his experience and insights to this weeks workshop. Our Guest Writer is Dan Absalonson – an author with two tales on Amazon and his own podcast – who brings a marvelous zombie/robot scifi thriller tale to the table. The discussion is brisk, moving from one intriguing topic to the next, each stop revealing more literary gold. This is classic RTP goodness, friends… join us!

Hugo Award Winner Kameron Hurley – wordsmith of the epic Bel Dame Apocrypha series (featuring “God’s War”, “Infidel”, and “Rapture”) and the eagerly anticipated “Mirror Empire” (on shelves Aug 26) – returns to the Big Chair, wielding her potent storytelling mojo in the arena of the story brainstorm.

The catalyst for our workshopping-fu is provided by our Guest Writer, Shiri Sondheimer, who brings an epic scifi version of the Arthurian tales to the Table. With such a delightful weave of threads to draw upon, the ensemble entangles itself into the tale, emerging with a rich tapestry woven with Literary Gold.