Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

Today, we are diving back in and discussing a second Q&A email we received from the editor of Story Magazine. We learn more about the story publishing process used by major literary magazines and your chances of acceptance.  You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We start today's episode with some excellent publication news, and then quickly digress into a best storyteller tier list.  After that, we attempt to finish discussing a list of the top 51 amazing lines of prose. Here's a bit of a spoiler, most of the lines are neither amazing nor worthy of being on such a list. Our disgruntled rebuttals are peppered throughout. You can follow us on Facebook, Inst...

We kick off today's episode with some excellent publishing news! After that, we discuss some of the "greatest" lines of prose. Despite the title of this episode, we do not take things seriously at all.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We begin today's episode with some publication updates. After that, we read a list of what are supposedly considered the best lines in fiction. Unsatisfied with said lines, we go ahead and read some of our favorite lines from our own stories.    You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We open today's episode with some decent writing updates. After that, we discuss an absolutely awful list of the "most awful authors" of all time. Do not expect a serious conversation from this one! Follow us @dpwpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We begin today's episode with some "what if" talk regarding famous writers. For instance, what if Robert E. Howard lived for another 30 or 40 years? How much would his writing style have evolved? What if Stephen King stopped writing in the 1980s? You get the idea. After that, we cover some defunct (dead) book genres. We discuss whether the mentioned genres are actually dead, why some deserve to be...

Caleb starts today's episode with some trouble he's having reading Ulysses by James Joyce. After that, we sit back, relax, and discuss the numerous obstacles we've encountered from editors when reviewing the edits for our works set for publication.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We begin today's episode with a quick review of "The Monkey, " adapted from the Stephen King short story of the same name. After that, we go into a deep and nuanced discussion about reading the works of authors who have done terrible things in their personal lives. The main culprit we discuss is Neil Gaiman who has recently come under fire for allegedly assaulting women in the worst ways. You can...

We kick things off with a rant about people who boycott art they were never going to purchase in the first place—especially the jerks who try to cancel books even though they don't read. After that, we settle into a fun discussion about writing good dialogue. This begins with David Foster Wallace's opinion on Stephen King's method for writing dialogue and why Wallace thought King wrote below his c...

Caleb opens today's episode with a mini (sarcastic) review of "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner. After that, we discuss our Book of the Month, "Native Son" by Richard Wright. We cover the topics of racism, social injustice, class status, and poverty.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We have an extra-long cold open as we discuss some good, bad, and worse news. But that's not what takes so long. Caleb dives into his recent read of Crime and Punishment and shares what he took away from the book. After that, we discuss the supposed downfall of contemporary fiction and the belief that nearly all modern writing is terrible (not our words). This takes us down an interesting road ful...

In today's cold open, we discuss the AI tool for plot development on Microsoft Word. Things get a bit heated! After that, we discuss Lester Dent's formula for writing easy-to-sell pulp stories. Things don't go quite as planned, but we do our best to relay the information provided.  You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.c...

We start with an extra "cold" cold open as Caleb talks about his recent illness and working in frigid temperatures. After that, we read an AMA from the Editor-In-Chief of Story Magazine and learn about their submission reading practices. We discuss how different publications handle submissions, what we think is fair, and what is absolute garbage. Overall, this is a really informative episode.  You...

In today's special Storycast episode, we read The Crimson Tower from L. Stephenson's upcoming short story collection, When Strange Things Bite. A mythical monster stalks a farming community -- A titan from the stars brings destruction to a small costal town -- A centuries old curse takes hold of a family -- A sea creature hunts a young group of trespassers -- A university professor receives a late...

We kick things off with some writing and submission news. After that, we discuss a controversial topic in the reading community. We also figure out a fun way to make Goodreads reviews more legitimate. Here's a hint, it deals with users getting assigned a difficulty score based on the books they read. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work a...

We spent New Year's Eve getting drunk and talking about the greatest 50 WWE wrestlers of all time. There's also some brief literary talk.    You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

Caleb starts the episode by announcing his new favorite book. After that, we talk about how 2024 treated us regarding our writing and what publications we got. We end by discussing our writing goals for 2025.  You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

Caleb opens the show with some writing woes. After that, we discuss all the books we've read in 2024, including our biggest disappointments and best reads of the year.  You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We open things off with some good publishing news! After that, we settle in for a discussion about some unexpected problems authors might encounter after getting their work accepted for publication. We also talk about getting paid as a writer and when you should stop submitting to publishers that don't pay for your work.  You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @dpwpodcast You can ch...

Caleb opens things up with a follow-up to an issue from last week's episode. After that, we discuss a list of Christmas horror books. But we do a terrible job! You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's publication history at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We begin the episode by discussing Cormac McCarthy and a specific scene in his novel Suttree that depicts a young man fornicating with watermelons.  After that, we have a much longer discussion about offending publishers and your audience. We start with what big comic book creators and movie studios have been doing wrong by alienating their core audience, how that correlates with authors on a much...

We kick off the episode with some publishing news, a quick discussion about putting your previously published stories into your own collection, and what changes we think are acceptable from a publisher's editors.  The actual episode begins around the 17:36 mark for those who want to jump straight to our review of Violent Advents: A Christmas Horror Anthology which features Caleb's story, Maggot Pa...

We open the episode with some publishing talk. After that, a very ill Caleb does his best to talk about conspiracy novels. Things do not go well. Follow us on X, Instagram, and Facebook @dpwpodcast Check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com . 

We start the episode with some BAD publishing news with a good outcome. At least for us.  After that, we attempt to discuss 20 of the best detective crime stories according to the good people at Forbes. Our train seems to have a bad track though, and we go off the rails every 30 seconds. Despite this, we have a great time. Also, make sure to get checked for HAUNTED BONES! It's a serious ailment. ...

We kick things off with some controversial Edgar Allan Poe news. Did he steal The Raven from another writer!? After that, we discuss some potentially bad publishing news, a newly found Bram Stoker book, and Caleb ends the episode by reading a scene from his story "Dead Men Don't Scream" which will be featured in Beautiful Darkness 3: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology released on October 30th.  You can...