Collaborcast

Editor and teacher Anita Mumm joins us on the podcast to talk about the importance of story and helping others find their voice. She discusses her work teaching creative writing to incarcerated populations. For more about Anita, please visit www.anitamumm.com #writingadvice #writingcommunity #inmateprograms #colorado

How would you like free feedback on 25 pages of your work in progress? Intern Maddy is back with us this summer and she is looking for more hands on editorial work. Jason and Ben will work with her to read your material and provide you with marked up pages, editorial notes, and maybe (situation dependent) a phone call to discuss. No tricks. No hooks. No gimmicks. We're just trying to help the next...

On this episode of Collaborcast Jason and Ben speak with author Madelyn Postman about writing memoir, understanding identity, and how short form can provide insight.  

Hi Collaborist -   Sorry we've been gone for a bit. It's been busier than a third shift at the pillow factory, but here we are! On this episode of Collaborcast, Jason tells us about his book deal for his new novel, we discuss understanding story and the distances it sometimes takes, Jason gets a tsunami alert on air, and Ben makes an offer to YOU about volunteering in your community in exchange fo...

Hey Collaborist! On this week's episode of Collaborcast, Maddy and Ben dive in to the publishing world, and how Ben entered the publishing world. We talk about Ben's story of hard-work, motivation, and luck. We also discuss the logistics and roles that are necessary in the publishing world. From Ben's eventful career, he has one major takeaway to share with Collaborist: No matter the path we all t...

Hi Collaborist! On this week's episode of Collaborcast we talk to literary agent, Joanna MacKenzie! We dive in to the publishing market today, and how it has changed since the pandemic. We also discuss self-publishing, and how this could be a wrong way to go for most authors. Make sure to stick around for Joanna's "Do's and Dont's" of query letters. Joanna also gives us insight in to how her love...

Hi Collaborist! This week on Collaborcast we interview Emily Krempholtz. Emily is an esteemed editor, book coach, and hopefully, soon-to-be-published author! We dive into her new book and what got her, and America, into the booming cozy fantasy genre. We also discuss how to query agents, BookTok, Romantasy, and how the woman author is the major voice behind the Romantasy genre. Emily talks us thro...

Hi Collaborist! On this episode of Collaborcast, we sit down with John Ritter! We dive in to how he navigated the cliches of the private investigator genre, while writing "Fatal Conceit". Ritter also fills us in on how he was able to have such a diverse amount of environments in his book, while making them all rich with detail. Finally, John Ritter gives us some recent updates on his new book! Fro...

Hi Collaborist! Thinking about writing a memoir? Have some things you really want to say, but worry you might get in trouble for it? Whose story is it anyway? We go over some things to keep in mind as you tell the story of your life and the people who have made guest appearances.

Hey Collaborist! On this episode of Collaborcast we're joined by journalist and author Meg Kissinger. She talks about what went into writing her memoir While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence. We discuss not only the craft of writing memoir, but also the profound mental work that is required of us when telling stories about our own lives and the lives...

Hey Collaborist - Have you ever read a memoir and wondered how much of it was true and how much of it was "true?" On this episode of Collaborcast we discuss reader expectations and author intentions in the matter of retelling the story of a lived life. Is truth important in memoir? Is it possible to be 100% accurate with an unreliable memory? Does it matter? ABOUT THE HOSTS: Jason Buchholz’s accla...

Hey Collaborist - Are you wanting to tell your life story, or, at the very least, part of it? Well, we have an episode for you. Jason has put on his fanciest college professor gear to explain the difference between a memoir and an autobiography!

Hey Collaborist, do you ever find yourself asking just exactly what is an MFA in Creative Writing and what can you do with it? You're not the only one. On this episode of Collaborcast, we talk with Jennifer Reimer, the Program Director of the Low Residency MFA program at Oregon State University Cascades Campus. What can you get out of an MFA for your education? For your writing community? What to...

We've all been handed the advice "Write What You Know" at one point or another on your writing journey. But what does that mean? How will people know if we're writing outside of that? Good questions. We'll address them and others like, "What does it mean in today's publishing environment?" Experience or research? Both? What are the pitfalls that might expose us? Does it matter? Are different genre...

Hey Collaborist – Ever find yourself wondering how to take criticism when people give you feedback on your work? In this episode of Collaborcast we talk about some of the emotional things that might pop up, how to process them, and how to get the most out of reader opinions. Whether you're meeting with your local writers’ group or knee deep in an MFA program, part of the process is handing over th...

Hey Collaborist - Ben's been hanging out on Reddit (r/writing) and noticed A LOT of young writers who have unrealistic expectations for their lives and their writing in the moment. What would young Jason and young Ben say to themselves when they started writing decades ago? Guess you'll have to tune in to find out. Big thanks to Katelyn for joining the Collaborcast crew as a producer. This podcast...

Hey Collaborist. Welcome to Season Two of Collaborcast. It's wonderful to see you, please excuse the dust. On this episode of the podcast we'll be talking about reading Cormac McCarthy, Barry Lopez, and Philip K. Dick. We'll also discuss what we do and don't do as coaches, editors, ghostwriters, and book doctors. #publishing #writing #writingadvice #editing #editingadvice #cormacmccarthy #barrylop...

Hey Collaborist! We've got a super brief episode to let you know that we've been collecting new equipment, recording techniques, and ideas for the podcast. However, if YOU didn't know that, you might think some terrible fate had befallen us because we have been quiet for a bit and the last time you listened to us, Ben was...under the weather. BUT! We're coming back in July with season two (arbitra...

Hey Collaborist - the good news is, by the time you start this episode, it'll almost be over. We talk about back cover descriptions and the importance of finding the sweetspot between book report and teaser. And then the Covid gets Ben and ... zzz.

Hey Collaborist - ever find yourself stuck in your book? Don't know how to get your character from Point A to Point B? Confused about your setting? Trying to figure out the emotional tone of where you are in the book? Sometimes we try to force ourselves over the hurdle, but it doesn't always work. We often say on the podcast that "Writing isn't simply typing." Is it possible that writing is...pain...

Hey Collaborist - You know how we've already discussed techniques for being disciplined about description in your work? Well, we had an idea for this episode that talks about it again and we also bring up the oft mentioned "Chekov's Rifle." Here is the intersection of description and foreshadowing and we are waiting on the corner to discuss it with you. Ben is in California for this episode at the...

Hello! Please pardon the absence, we're back (finally!) from AWP. Thank you to everybody we met and who agreed to join us on the podcast. As a heads up, because we were recording this on the fly in a venue with lots of people and no control of the environment, the audio quality is...not going to win a Grammy. Apologies in advance. What it may lack in clearness, it more than makes up in earnestness...

Hey Collaborist - on today's episode we take a look at some opening pages and why they work as an effective beginning ot a book.

Do you find yourself driving down the writing highway only to slam on the brakes to incorporate backstory? Hey Collaborist - are you unsure how to get critical details into your characters' pasts without slowing down the pace of your book? You're not alone. It's important to keep in mind that you--as the author--should know a lot more about the people populating your book than the reader, much of...

Pacing is a key component in how well a book holds a reader's attention. It doesn't always have to be a million miles an hour with big car chases and explosions. In fact, maybe the more you add, the less they mean. So maybe don't add so many. We also talk about dramatic tension--how to keep the reader's cortisol and dopamine invested in each page. Lastly, hey Moot--it's a murder car!