Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!

Tananarive spent more than seven years working on her new novel, THE REFORMATORY, which was inspired by true-life family history about her great-uncle Robert Stephens and the Dozer School for Boys in Marianna, FL. In this podcast, she and Steve talk about why it took so long to write, the Lifewriting tools she used to complete it, and how she's fighting to stay centered in the whirlwind of her boo...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk about their favorite horror movies from 2023 - and a couple of misfires. Also, movies they didn't give enough love in 2022.  Here's their list: The Blackening, Talk to Me, When Evil Lurks, M3GAN, Evil Dead Rise, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, No One Will Save You, Knock at the Cabin, Wrath of Becky, Renfield, Last Voyage of the Demeter.  And a coup...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive let their horror nerd flags fly as they discuss the movies you must watch (or rewatch) for Spooky Season -- or all year long! The list includes (but is not limited to, and in no particular order):  STEVE'S LIST:  Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper)  Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero)  The Fly (David Cronenberg) The Thing (John Carpenter)  Martyrs (P...

Steve and Tananarive talk to debut novelist Zakiya Dalila Harris about her New York Times bestselling novel THE OTHER BLACK GIRL - now also a critically acclaimed series on Hulu! She reveals how a rare Black co-worker's refusal to return "The Nod" led her to write her satirical thriller about a Black woman working at a publishing house...and the secrets of her Black co-worker. She also talks about...

This week, Steve and Tananarive celebrate the end of the WGA strike! The power of unions, why the strike worked, and how the WGA's win affects not only other writers but all workers facing unfair working conditions. They also talk about going back to work: meeting with an executive overseeing an adaptation of one of Tananarive's most popular books!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Steve and Tananarive follow up their Secrets to Writing Great Horror episode with new tips on writing great science fiction! What's the difference between science fiction and fantasy? What are their tips for science fiction writers? They discuss their own work and science fiction greats like Ray Bradbury and Octavia E. Butler. Perfect for writers or fans!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to Bram Stoker Award winner Stephen Graham Jones about his new book, DON'T FEAR THE REAPER, with the first Indigenous Final Girl, Jade Daniels. He shares his writing process, his love for slashers, his exploration of father-son relationships in his stories, and how his own personal promise to an elk he hunted gave birth to his bestselling novel The Only G...

Hilliard Guess, host of the hit podcast "Screenwriters' Rant Room," joins Steve and Tananarive to talk about where things stand with the WGA strike after more than 100 days, power dynamics in Hollywood, and his stress-coping tools to overcome his insecurities to become a screenwriter, producer and director.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, pioneering science fiction author Steven Barnes and American Book Award winner Tananarive Due (your hosts!) break down the secrets to writing great horror: how to bring the scares and why strong characters matter so much in horror.  Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2023, horror writer Gabino Iglesias, who is Puerto Rican, became the first Latino writer to win a Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME. Steve and Tananarive talk to Gabino about how his struggles with unemployment and losing his health insurance during COVID inspired him to finish his award-winning, why he loves horror, and what he's doing next!  You can leave us a voic...

Steve and Tananarive talk to New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House, Hell Bent, Shadow and Bone) on her incredible career: from jobs she didn't like to publishing her first book at 37 to getting her work adapted for Netflix...and beyond! Also tips for writers and how she keeps herself balanced.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to their friend Nalo Hopkinson, the award-winning Afrofuturist author of novels like SKIN FOLK, MIDNIGHT ROBBER and BROWN GIRL IN THE RING, named a Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2020. She talks about overcoming homelessness, her journey in the arts, and transitioning to comics with Neil Gaiman. Also, how she copes...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive celebrate their 25th anniversary! They also break down how to make characters "pop" and how writers can use character-building tools to make themselves the heroes and heroines of their own stories to create better lives. (Also: a human wrote this, not Artificial Intelligence. So you know it's mostly accurate. Mostly.)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

In this episode from March 27, 2022, Steve and Tananarive talk to writer Rodney Barnes (Executive Producer of "Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty") about how Hollywood almost killed him and the steps he took to reclaim his joy and find his greatest voice as a writer. He also discusses his colorful history in Hollywood -- from being the stand-in for John Coffey in The Green Mile (when Stephen...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive expand their conversation about A.I. and writing to films and the future in general. Guest Robert Vamosi, a podcast host (The Hacker Mind), security analyst and science fiction writer, recalls his 1994 short story, "With or Without You," where he predicted a future of replacing actors digitally in filmmaking. A longtime friend of Tananarive's from college, Rob...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to actor, writer and producer Kevin Grevioux about his career: how Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing showed him he wanted to be a screenwriter, how he broke into the industry as an extra, and then ended up writing (and co-starring in) the vampire cult classic Underworld. From comics to screenplays, he shares his survival story.  Learn more about your ad choi...

From the WGA strike and screenwriters' concerns about A.I. infiltrating writers' rooms to the recent class action lawsuit including former podcast guest Paul Tremblay against OpenAI and ChatGPT, A.I. and writers are on a collision course. Steve and Tananarive talk about the good and bad uses of A.I. for writers and how to prepare for the future.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk about the dreaded Writer's Block: what they think it really is, when they have experienced it, and strategies for murdering it in its sleep so you can flow with joy no matter how high the stakes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to screenwriter Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class, Agent Cody Banks, Fringe, Sarah Connor Chronicles) about how he broke into screenwriting, the "feast or famine" nature of Hollywood, and how he bounces back and keeps his balance during tough times. Also his thoughts on the state of the WGA Strike!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive welcome Vanity Fair contributing editor Maureen Ryan, author of the book everyone in Hollywood is reading -- BURN IT DOWN: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood. They talk about why she wrote her book exposing Hollywood's ugly underbelly, the WGA strike, the sad demise of "Sleepy Hollow" and the racial overtones that helped doom the first horro...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk about bad behavior against picketers during the WGA strike and how much they both loved Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse! Not only is it a visual storytelling spectacle, but it's a testament to the power of inclusivity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the current WGA strike and new revelations about toxic behind-the-scenes practices on the hit series "Lost," some aspiring screenwriters might be wondering if Hollywood is worth the trouble. Steve and Tananarive talk about the mindset it takes to succeed in the arts and how you can avoid allowing external fires to dampen your creative fire.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

In this episode from May of 2022, Steve and Tananarive talk to author and editor Sheree Renée Thomas about her journey with Afrofuturism -- from editing the groundbreaking DARK MATTER in 2000 to writing a short story in Janelle Monáe's MEMORY LIBRARIAN and Thomas's Marvel novel, BLACK PANTHER: PANTHER'S RAGE. As the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, she also talks about do's a...

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to screenwriter and showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, who was the executive producer and showrunner for Marvel's groundbreaking Luke Cage series - and much more! He talks about how he broke into Hollywood, advice for writers, why he loves running marathons, and the WGA strike.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk about some of the reason for the WGA screenwriters' strike and the importance of community for writers -- and welcome guests Rashida Smith and Stephanie Malia Morris to talk about Clarion West. Find out more information at www.clarionwest.org.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices