20 Minutes with Zig Zag Claybourne

Author, educator, and articulate advocate of comics (and so much more), Karen Healey brings an astonishing voice and perspective to the writer’s craft. Her passion for storytelling is deeply rooted in the connections it forges between people, cultures, and histories. Her work has been lauded many times, including the 2011 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent and includes “Guardian of the Dead”, “The Shattering”, “When We Wake”, and its sequel “While We Run”. In addition to her delicious prose and richly-drawn characters, Karen brings a fierce integrity and commitment to the truth that underlies each of her stories.

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.

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

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.

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

Shanna Germain is an astonishing creator. In addition to her work as Lead Editor for Monte Cook Games (including Numenra…

Andrew Weston has been busy since the last time he appeared on the Roundtable. His creations in the world have expanded to…

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!

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.

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.

This pre-episode is much more informal with Dave and Brion introducing themselves to listeners, sharing backgrounds and experiences, and then expounding on the podcast itself. Show formats, legal stuff, and a general overview of the episodes to come is discussed.

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

Antonio del Drago brings SO much awesomeness to the table. He is, of course an author (and wait ’til you hear what he’s writing now), but he’s also a skilled fencer and has a PhD in Philosophy and Religious Studies. He’s ALSO the founder and editor of the fabulous MythicScribes.com on-line fantasy writing community. This broad spectrum of experience gives him a rich perspective on… well… everything, but specifically on the craft and process of writing. We explore those perspectives with great delight in this episode, so by all means, join us!

Myke Cole – author of The Shadow Ops Series returns to the ARCHIVOS virtual Studio to discuss Shadow Ops (trilogy one AND two), his grim dark medieval fantasy series coming from Tor.com, his negotiations for a non-fiction book on ancient military history, and more!

Showcase Episode: Brion and Dave sit down with J. Daniel Sawyer and discuss character development, beta readers, genre, audience and more. We think you’ll agree, the twenty minutes is over too quickly, but listeners will find a wealth of writing insights.

Tim Waggoner’s writing spans genres, demographics, and even licensed properties. His experience both as a writer and as a professor of popular literature and creative writing give him a deep understanding of the craft… and yet his vision of that craft and it’s execution is elegantly simple.

Joined by Samantha Murphy as my co-host, we engage in 20-ish minutes of writerly discourse exploring tactics for developing your craft, writing short and long fiction, character development, and more. It’s a facinating exploration of the writerly arts (as always), and it’s all yours… just click that “PLAY” button!