Dispatches with Jonny Eberle

Tech giants are making billions of dollars from their A.I. chatbots, which are trained on content they scrape from websites across the internet—websites like mine. Are artificial intelligence companies violating writers' copyrights? Where do we go from here? Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewrite...

There are themes writers are drawn to over and over again. For me, one of those themes is the idea of nostalgia. In this three-part series, I'll unpack what nostalgia means and how it shapes the stories I tell. In this episode, we discuss retrofuturism—stories of the future as told through the lens of the past. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, W...

There are themes writers are drawn to over and over again. For me, one of those themes is the idea of nostalgia. In this three-part series, I'll unpack what nostalgia means and how it shapes the stories I tell. In this episode, we're going to focus on a type of nostalgia that transcends reality itself—anemoia. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA...

There are themes writers are drawn to over and over again. For me, one of those themes is the idea of nostalgia. In this three-part series, I'll unpack what nostalgia means and how it shapes the stories I tell. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloqu...

"His dreams were growing more vivid all the time. It was a side effect of the strain of time travel on the human mind." To kick off season three, Jonny reads his speculative short story, Firemaker, which was originally published in 2020 by All Worlds Wayfarer. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewri...

This is “Dispatches with Jonny Eberle,” a podcast about writing, travel, and the creative process. In each bite-sized episode, I take you inside the writing life. We’ll talk about everything from what it takes to write a novel to where inspiration comes from to how the places we call home influence the stories we tell. I’ll share excerpts from my fiction and travel writing, interview authors and f...

Jonny interviews fantasy author Thomas D. Lee about his debut novel, which is out now. Perilous Times is a contemporary fantasy that pits the Knights of the Round Table against the existential threats of the 21st century, like political polarization and climate change. We discuss the inspiration behind the book, the lasting appeal of King Arthur, diversity in fantasy, advice for aspiring writers,...

As a kid, the Star Trek franchise had a profound effect on me, but it wasn't until I was a teenager playing a text-based roleplay game that Star Trek began to influence my growth as a writer and storyteller. While I mostly write original sci-fi these days, I'd be happy to sit down with Alex Kurtzman and the folks at Paramount to discuss my pitch for a Lost Era show. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podca...

There are a lot of story structures out there—the Hero's Journey, Dan Harmon's Story Circle—but in this episode, Jonny introduces a far simpler alternative, a stranger rides into town, its history, and how to use it to drive your plot forward. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction...

Does ChatGPT have what it takes to compete with humans in the realm of creative writing? In this dispatch, Jonny investigates whether A.I. language models can write as well as he can—and comes to some startling conclusions about the future of the craft of writing. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typ...

"I want to swim in the canals on Mars," says the mysterious man in Jonny Eberle's 2014 short story, "The Observable Universe," a piece about life, death, and our place in the vast universe. The story originally appeared in Creative Colloquy Vol. 1, which you can find at creativecolloquy.com . Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family,...

It this dispatch, Jonny lays out his evolving thinking on how to revise fiction with a simple framework—chainsaw edits vs. scalpel edits—and how it took him so long to finally accept that editing is an integral part of the writing process. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has...

In today's dispatch, Jonny explains how he went from a concept to the first draft of a novel in four months with three simple ingredients: an unpredictable sleep schedule, Google Docs for iPhone, and a whole lot of determination. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared...

In today's dispatch, Jonny reads his short story "Bad Air and Bitter Herbs" published by Creative Colloquy in 2020. This piece of fiction asks us to imagine a world where the medieval plague doctor never entirely disappeared and the legacy of the Black Death lingers over a modern-day pandemic. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family,...

Happy Early Lunar New Year! In today's dispatch, Jonny shares his first experience of participating in monkeyshines, a quirky annual tradition where glass artists hide handcrafted floats and medallions around the city of Tacoma to create a massive annual scavenger hunt. Special thanks to my father-in-law for tipping me off to the event all those years ago. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, film...

In 1998, a mouse changed U.S. copyright law forever—and nearly destroyed the public domain in the process. In today's dispatch, Jonny talks about the importance of the public domain for artists and writers, how corporations have pushed for absurd extensions to copyright terms in order to profit off long-dead creators, and what we can do to fix it. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, an...

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? In today's dispatch, Jonny shares a piece he wrote on New Year's Eve 2019, just weeks before a global pandemic upended everyone's lives. In the before times, he reflects on the turning of a new decade and what we bring with us from the past. Learn more about the history of the poem Auld Lang Syne on John Green's podcast, The Anthropocen...

Sit back and pour yourself some hot cocoa because in today's dispatch, Jonny shares his holiday-themed short story, "The Evidence for Coal." Special thanks to William McDonald for his narration. You can learn more about William on his website . Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fictio...

New York, New York. In today's dispatch, a story about writing, creativity, and travel takes us all the way to the Big Apple. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy, Grit City Magazine, and All Worlds Wayfarer. You can find more of his work, follow...

Only in silence the word, only in dark the light. In today's dispatch, Jonny revisits Ursula K. LeGuin's groundbreaking fantasy novel "A Wizard of Earthsea" and how it influenced his development as a writer. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy,...

How does anyone write when life gets in the way? In today's dispatch/confession/pep talk, Jonny talks about when to push through creative roadblocks and when to rest, reset, and come back to your writing later. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloqu...

Happy Thanksgiving! In today's celebratory dispatch, Jonny reflects on a lifetime of Thanksgivings and his evolving understanding of the holiday's roots. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy, Grit City Magazine, and All Worlds Wayfarer. You can f...

Whose podcast is this, anyway? In today's dispatch, we back up a little and get to know our host, Jonny Eberle, by talking about his published fiction, film, and audio drama projects, discussing his love for storytelling, and teasing what you can expect in future episodes of the show. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, a...

In today's dispatch, Jonny reads his 2017 short story, "How to Steal Copper Wire" which was published by Creative Colloquy and later appeared in Grit City Magazine. He also talks about the inspiration behind the piece and cautions against actually committing this crime. CW: Violence. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, an...

In today's dispatch, Jonny reviews the novel Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel and discusses the difficulties of writing about a fictional pandemic while you're living through a real one. Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, and photographer. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy, Grit City...