I Should Be Writing

'Reformed Pantser' is one of the most difficult things to be. -Seth Haddon In this episode, we welcome Seth Haddon, the talented Australian author behind  Volatile Memory . We cover hybrid publishing, writing routines, and pursuing nuns. Volatile Memory explores themes of transhumanism and identity within a corporate-dominated future. Also  haunted masks. And love. (This post went live for support...

"Nothing's easy, man; being an adult sucks." -Mur Lafferty In this episode, we dive deep into Bully #5: The Nap. We discuss the sneaky ways the Nap can derail our writing plans. Rest is vital, but The Nap isn't rest. It's escape. We also discusses the importance of sleep hygiene and how to combat the allure of a cozy nap when creativity calls.  We touch on the other bullies we've encountered along...

"Despair is the overprotective parent going, 'oh, it's okay that you lost that game. We'll protect you by never letting you play again.'" -Mur Lafferty In this episode, we talk about Bully #4, Despair. Despair wants to hug you and join you when it's raining. It's nice to feel sorry for yourself for a moment, but you can't listen to it. Mur is candid about feeling overwhelmed and the challenges of...

"If you feel you have something to say, just put the time into saying it." -K.M. Huber In this episode, we welcome K.M. Huber, the author of  Call of the Owl Woman , about her journey from writer to published author. K.M. talks about how her years in Peru, including extensive exploration and research into local mythology, affected her writing and her new book. Call of the Owl Woman is heavily infl...

"Get [your book] all the way to the end. You learn so much that way that you will not learn in any other way."- S.A. Barnes (This post went live for supporters on  May 23, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon! ) In this episode, we talk about the creative process with guest author S.A. Barnes. We discuss her latest release, Cold Eternity, a space h...

"We contain multitudes; you can be happy and jealous at the same time." -Mur Lafferty (This post went live for supporters on  May 21, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) We're back! In this episode, we talk about the bullies that can sap our confidence and creativity again, today's bully is the Blade, a stern knife that can cut dee...

"The bully loves pantsers because it can insult your outline." -Mur Lafferty (This post went live for supporters on  April 23, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) (Also, I had a microphone glitch near the end, which is why it ends abruptly. Apologies.) In this episode, we launch our series on the bullies that live in your head, ren...

S21 Ep6: From Medieval Fashion to Modern Writing with Natania Barron "Stories are how I make sense of the world." -Natania Barron (This post went live for supporters on March 27, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) In this episode, I talk a little about the JoCo Cruise and how it reminded me of the importance of community and creat...

S21 Ep5: Crafting Tales Through Holiday Themes "Engaging with the holidays definitely feels like a way to develop world and character." -Mur Lafferty (This post went live for supporters on March 24, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) In this episode, I dive into the significance of holidays in storytelling and how they can shape c...

S21 Ep4: Taking a Machete to Creative Blocks with Premee Mohamed "My characters would be wandering around the field with me going like, hey, I just found a rare orchid." -Premee Mohamed (This post went live for supporters on March 21, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) (recorded February) In this episode we welcome prolific, brill...

S21 Ep3: Rachel Howzell Hall on Balancing Thrillers and Fantasy "I will try this new thing and I will learn how to do it." -Rachel Howzell Hall (This post went live for supporters on March 18, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) (recorded February) In this episode of I Should Be Writing, we dive into the chaotic world of creativity...

S21 Ep2: Mental Health and Creativity "Nothing is 100% original. It's what you do with it that counts." -Elaine M. Will (This post went live for supporters on February 13, 2025 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) Ever-looming existential dread, but we keep going. Then there's the challenge of navigating creativity amidst mental health s...

S21 Ep1: In Which Evil Mur Delivers a Message of Hope  "It's time to just... quit." -Evil Mur (Do not listen to Evil Mur) Welcome to a new season of I Should Be Writing, where the notorious Evil Mur takes the reins to deliver a unique message of hope for the new year. TL;DR, it's time to quit. In this episode, we explore the idea of quitting writing and the liberation that can come with making a d...

[NOTE- even though I remember editing, this is still an all over the place episode. And apparently I said I wasn't going to swear and then did it anyway. Pretty accurate ending to 2024, actually.] "You need to come up with terrible ideas. And once you come up with terrible ideas, you will start developing good ideas." -Mur In this episode, I talk about my writing journey, the challenges of ADHD, a...

S20 Ep34: In Which Mur Looks Into The Pit of Despair and Sees a Tiger [Explicit] "Don't talk yourself out of being creative, because that really is the biggest thing that stops us is ourselves." (This post went live for supporters on November 14, 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) NOTE: It occurs to me that I have three explicit e...

S20 Ep33: In Which Mur and Jen Udden Discuss World Fantasy Con, Fan Fiction, and the Ever-Changing Publishing Landscape [Explicit] "I think we're about 10 minutes away from reinventing urban fantasy and paranormal romance." - Jennifer Udden (This post went live for supporters on November 12, 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) (NOT...

S.20 Ep.32: In Which Mur and Valerie Discuss NaNoWriMo Alternatives, Writing Tools, and Community Building [Explicit]  "The spirit of NaNoWriMo was to do something big, bold, and show what you're capable of." - Valerie Valdes (This post went live for supporters on November 13, 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) (NOTE: It occurs to...

S.20 Ep.31: In Which Mur and Gwynne Garfinkle Discuss Short Stories, Anthologies, and the Joy of Fanfiction "I write about what I know, and what I know is family." - Gwynne Garfinkle (This post went live for supporters on November 12, 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon  or Substack !) Join me as I welcome back author Gwynne Garfinkle to discuss h...

S20 Ep30: In Which Mur and Stacy Sivinski Discuss Cozy Fantasy, Sensory Writing, and Sisterhood "The senses are actually connected, and the way we describe sensation and prioritize sight and sound is actually attached to social biases that need to be reconstructed." - Stacy Sivinski (This post went live for supporters on November 12, 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episod...

S20 Ep29:  In Which Mur and Cat Rambo Discuss Writing, Accountability, and Intelligent Spaceships "I think that right now there are so many very interesting and original voices that can never be replicated." - Cat Rambo Join me in welcoming author, community builder, former SFWA president, and all around awesome person Cat Rambo. We dive into Cat's writing journey, discussing their latest series f...

S20 Ep28 : In Which Mur and Sarah Pinsker Discuss Reality Shows, Workshops, and Writing Patience "I love the bingo card measure of success rather than the ladder of success." - Sarah Pinsker (This post went live for supporters on October 11 2024 . If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack !) In this episode, Mur welcomes the award-winning author Sa...

S20 Ep27:  In Which Mur and Anamely Salgado Reyes Discuss Magical Realism and Writing Journeys "I write about what I know, and what I know is family." - Anamely Salgado Reyes In this episode, I chat with Anamely Salgado Reyes about her debut novel, My Mother Cursed My Name , and the intricacies of writing magical realism. We explore the differences between magical realism and fantasy, the signific...

S20 Ep26:  In Which Mur and S.B. Divya Discuss Worldcon, Accessibility, and Future Worlds NOTE- I will be doing a giveaway for signed copies of Meru and  Loka  on October 31, 2024! Details on how to win are inside the podcast! I'm delighted to welcome welcome my longtime friend, S.B. Divya, to discuss Divya's new book, Loka . We dive into our experiences at Worldcon, the intricacies of accessibili...

S20 Ep25: In Which Mur Interviews Wole Talabi and Sung-Il Kim at Worldcon "Leave with more connections than you came with."  - Wole Talabi In this special episode, Mur Lafferty returns with interviews recorded at Worldcon, featuring Wole Talabi and Sung-Il Kim. Apologies for audio issues, but I really wanted to get these to you because interviews with these writers can't be missed. First, I chat w...

[Please note that this podcast is explicit with a few swear words and CW- parental death discussed.] S20 Ep24: In Which Mur and Tanya DePass Discuss Fanfic, Diversity Consulting, and Creative Journeys Recorded ON ISBW's birthday, in Glasgow, y'all. Nineteen years. I'd drop the mic, but it seems I'm committed now. I think people who turn up their nose at Fanfic are really A: missing out and B: bein...