Podcast Episodes

Time To Let This Mother Rip?

When do you start the action in your story?  How much introduction do the world and characters need before things go off the rails?

The DRS Crew Disc…

15 hours ago

Info Dumps and Scams

How do you best convey the background or history of your story's universe without lengthy exposition and info dumps? Also? The scams are out of contr…

1 week ago

Specificity and Vaguefulness

The DRS Crew discusses when it's appropriate to pontificate in extremis on a facet of your world, technology, science, etc and when being vague is th…

3 weeks ago

Plot Monogamy - Mindful or Menace?

Should you start a series and only write in that series until it's finished? Or should you "play the field"  and work on as many different books as y…

4 weeks ago

Human Prove Human Wrote

Accusations of using AI to write fiction are growing in number and severity. How can you prove you wrote the story without the assistance of LLMs and…

1 month ago

A Passive Protagonist?

Protagonists are usually active participants in solving plot complications. But what if they aren't? What happens when the minor characters take over…

1 month ago

Refill The Tank!

Writing a novel requires a lot of energy. Finishing one often leaves you depleted and struggling to write another word. What do you do to recharge an…

1 month, 1 week ago

I Am X So How Do I Write Y?

While V is at an undisclosed location, Terry asks the age-old question: how do you write believable characters when they're a different sex than you?…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Edit This!

Before you send it to the editor, before you let another person set eyes on the manuscript, you need to edit. There are plot holes to look out for, c…

1 month, 3 weeks ago

Challenging vs Challenged Characters

How smart is your protagonist? Can they realistically solve the dread puzzle you've laid before them? Or is the situation tailor-made for their skill…

1 month, 3 weeks ago