Dead Robots' Society

Politics, religion, and taboos are all parts of a good fictional world. What should authors drag into their world, and how should they highlight differences between cultures? The DRS Crew Discusses DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift...

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 Discusses DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dea...

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 control in the publishing industry. The DRS Crew discusses what to watch out for. DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com...

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 the smarter move. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help supp...

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 you feel like? Which is better for your career and sanity? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoff...

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 other assistive technologies? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free...

Protagonists are usually active participants in solving plot complications. But what if they aren't? What happens when the minor characters take over? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and...

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 and avoid burnout? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with you...

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? Terry and Paul discuss.   DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, an...

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, character voice inconsistencies, and all those pesky punctuation marks. How do you catch it all? What are some strategies to help get you from the rough draft to something presentable, let alone publishable? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with...

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 skillsets? How can you keep your characters feeling genuine while testing their limits of intellect or skill? DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter c...

The DRS Crew discusses in-depth branding for authors and their work. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dead Robots' Society. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com/paulecooley Paul's sit...

Readers leave comments. Readers send emails. Readers respond to your social media posts. But how should you interact with them? The DRS Crew discusses the ground rules.   DRS caffeinates with Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help...

When should a character or narrator use a quote? Does it have to be attributed? What about aping characters from an existing property? How do you do that? Most importantly, what kind of trouble can you get into? The DRS Crew discusses.   DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit Lar...

So-called "fairy tales" are some of the oldest tales. As writers, what tropes/plots/character archetypes can we steal to use in our speculative fiction stories? DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support...

Michael J Strazinski wrote an article called "Silence Where a Story Would Have Been" that argues that the current state of the art AIs are incapable of writing great, memorable stories. Is he right? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/d...

Does your future or fantasy world require a system of government? How about a social caste system? How in-depth do you need to be in constructing social norms, mores, and taboos? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free...

What effect, if any, would the discovery of aliens have on today's religions? Will those religions change if we become a truly space-faring race? Will new religions take their place? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a f...

Audible is literally stealing from content creators, Eleven Labs is accused of stealing voices, and the DRS Crew is at its wits' end.   DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dead Robots' Society....

Terry and Veronica wonder about timelines and whether or not Paul exists after his surgery. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dead Robots' Society. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com...

What are character arcs vs story arcs? Why do they matter? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dead Robots' Society. Our links: Paul's store: https://payhip.com/paulecoo...

You wrote and sweated over every word. You've revised, you've edited, you've done everything  to make this the best story of your life. You've even got a great cover. So what do you do to make that first sale and to keep it going? In other words, how do you "succeed?" The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that bre...

When should you distill an entire scene in a couple of sentences? Do you always have to write an entire scene to convey information? Also, how much foreshadowing is too much? The DRS Crew discusses. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift...

What's the best way to create a story bible? What about those little fragments you've written? How do you turn those into scenes or stories? Most importantly, however, how do you write yourself out a corner? The DRS Crew discusses.   DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysC...

Hachette pulls a book. Claude source code leaks. HarperCollins signs a deal with an AI animation studio.... The DRS Crew pontificates. DRS caffeinates with  Larry's Coffee . If you want to purchase fair-trade, organically grown beans that brew into smooth, balanced, never-bitter coffee, visit LarrysCoffee.com/drs , receive a free gift with your purchase, and help support The Dead Robots' Society....