The Smarter Artist Show

  Remember when Brandon Sanderson revealed a bunch of books he'd written? Well, this is our version of that. We're revealing a podcast we recorded in 2021 or 2022 called Alternate Endings . A show that we recorded a year's worth of episodes!  It's a show where Sean, Johnny, and I (Dave) force each other to watch a different show or movie each week and then get together and talk, argue, and discuss...

In this episode Sean, Johnny, and Dave go back through four of their own series (Available Darkness, Karma Police, Cursed, and Robot Proletariat) and ask what they'd do differently now. Not with the stories themselves, but the surrounding architecture, to ensure that each series had a better shot at success.  SOMETHING COOL 9:00 — Johnny finally created an Instagram account (@johnnybtruant) 14:40...

In this week's episode of The Smarter Artist Show, Sean, Dave, and Johnny take turns answering Dave's latest batch of hypothetical questions.  Dave also talks about how one of the questions inspired a script idea.  Join the guys for an assortment of amusing, weird, and intriguing hypothetical questions which you can play along at home!  Note: In efforts to get to the nonsense sooner, we shortened...

In this episode, Sean, Dave, Johnny, and guest Matt Stone of 100 Covers talk about the number one thing successful books have in common. Spoiler: it has to do with the cover! Stay tuned to the end, or just go to the show notes, for a limited time offer from 100 Covers. **Special Promotion:** Special 50% offer at https://100covers.com using the coupon code ASS from Friday June 19, 2026 to 11:59 PM...

This week Sean, Dave, and Johnny dig into the indie horror moment happening right now in Hollywood, two breakout films, Obsession and Backrooms, both made by filmmakers who came up on YouTube with almost no budget. They trace the path from Curry Barker's $800 film to a theatrical release that's earned around $250 million (at press time), and talk about why horror rewards resourcefulness in a way m...

Dave opens by holding up five completely filled journals to the camera, all devoted to a fantasy novel he's been building in his head for at least five years. That kicks off an hour-long conversation about the creative project you haven't written yet: the idea that's too big, too personal, or too risky to touch until you're ready. Sean's version is the very first book he ever wrote in 2007, a 600-...

Saul Goodman was supposed to appear in four episodes of Breaking Bad. He was comic relief. Vince Gilligan read the room, changed his mind, and eventually built a six-season prequel around him.  Sean, Dave, and Johnny use that as the on-ramp for a longer conversation about what separates a character that can carry IP from one that can't, and whether a creator can engineer that kind of popularity or...

SUMMARY Sean, Dave, and Johnny open with Something Cool, including Sean's announcement that he's finished his first album and wants early listeners before it drops publicly next month. Then they get into the real subject: collaboration. How it starts, how it breaks, how it makes you better when it works, and what happens when you write with someone who can see your blind spots before you can. By t...

Dave spent twelve years writing bits and pieces of stories at a gas station. He never finished one. Sean spent three years nagging him to publish his first book. Now they've written more than 60 novels together. In this episode, Dave and Sean dig into the real reasons writers stall, why AI won't save you if your process is broken, and the one habit Sean says matters more than any tool or technique...

Sean, Dave, and Johnny dig into one of the most neglected pieces of real estate in any author's catalog: back matter. The highest-leverage moment you have with a reader is the thirty seconds after they finish your book, and most creators waste it with a generic thank-you and a mailing list link that goes nowhere.  This episode is a post-mortem on real mistakes from the Sterling & Stone catalog, in...

Sean Platt built a publishing company that shipped hundreds of titles over 14 years. And somewhere in the middle of all that output, he realized the model was broken. In this episode, Sean, Dave, and Johnny introduce The Smarter Artist Method : the idea that most working creators are stacking inventory when they should be building IP. One produces diminishing returns. The other compounds. They're...

This week we talk about writing science fiction in an age where sci-fi feels more like science fact. How do you write sci-fi while the world feels like it's falling apart? How do advances in AI and robots change our stories? We also talk about classic sci-fi, like Twilight Zone, and how it dealt with issues and questions of the day. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction to the Sci-Fi Discussion 11:47 Expl...

In this episode Sean and I decided to experiment and let the AI Claude ask us questions.  It was a surprisingly fun conversation, touching on writer's block, and the story we hated most that the other presented or worked on, how we collaborate on writing books, and (fittingly) whether AI will ever be at a point where it writes better than us? So, join us for another fun, expletive-filled episode. ...

Note: This isn't the show we'd planned. Our "useful" episodes will be here in two weeks as we take care of some behind-the-scenes website stuff, and put the finishing touches on something we'll show you in 2 weeks. For this week, we talk about how growing older has changed our writing, and what we want to write. And the things we won't write anymore. We also discuss content from our youth vs. toda...

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, we talk about making and breaking habits. Specifically making and breaking Dave's habits.  Dave has never kept a habit up for more than 30 days. So Sean challenges him to pick a habit and stick to it for that long. What habit will he choose?  Will he succeed a 30 day streak or will he fail miserably by Day 6?  Join Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David...

In this episode Sean and Dave go over a few pages of Sean's corrections on the rough draft of a movie script they're working on.  Dave was rusty having been away from scripts for a bit, as he's been working on other things and the podcast.  So tune in and hear some of the things he got wrong and how to fix them. Most of these lessons can be applied to any kind of writing.  

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show we're talking about reclaiming your 1,000 true fans.  Additionally, Sean talks about the best/worst story I've written with him!  Four words: "____  _____ on Christmas.*" *longtime listeners can fill in the blanks at home!  TIMESTAMPS 5:00  — Dave's Christmas story. SOMETHING COOL 7:50 — Johnny's writing revelation 13:24 — Dave's movie watch — Caddo Lake...

In this week's episode of The Smarter Artist Show we're answering hypothetical questions. Would we write in just one genre if we were guaranteed success? If we had to swap bodies with one of our co-hosts for just one day, who would we choose and what we do? What book or series would you like to be remembered for? So join us for a fun episode with zero useful information but lots of laughs.  0:00 —...

SMARTER ARTIST EPISODE 7: The Creative Mid-life Crisis This episode is about hitting your creative mid-life crisis. You've been at it, you've had success or are still working toward it, but something's missing. You don't feel the magic like you used to. What happened? In this episode we're going to look back to when we started in 2011 and take a look at some of the highs and lows and how we pushed...

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, we talk about killing your darlings. When do you decide enough is enough on a project? When do you call it quits on a series you're writing? The complexity of selling stories. Do creators owe their audience a proper ending?  And Dave horrifies us all with the movie he wants to make someday. Two words: Rom-com.  All this and more in this week's Smarter Ar...

THE SMARTER ARTIST SHOW #5 — Indies Growing Up In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, Sean, Johnny, and I (Dave) discuss the evolution of indie publishing and the importance of maturing as creators.  Johnny is back from Kevin J. Anderson's Superstars of Writing Seminars and joins us to discuss experiences at various conferences, highlighting the differences in community and approach between e...

In this week's episode of The Smarter Artist Show, Johnny is missing in action. Which leaves Sean and I to discuss the controversial topic of AI and how it is affecting creativity and creatives.  We explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of AI.  Listen or watch at our website: http://smarterartist.net SOMETHINGS COOL In our Something Cool segment Sean talks about the TV show Landman and I talk ab...

In this episode of the Smarter Artists Show, we talk about some of our favorite fictional worlds, the art of collaboration in writing, and we touch a bit on everyone's favorite controversial topic — AI. Some of the worlds we discuss are Dune, A Song of Ice and Fire, and The Matrix. The Smarter Artist Show is hosted by bestselling authors and screenwriters Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wr...

In this episode of  The Smarter Artist Show , we (hosts David Wright, Sean Platt, and Johnny B. Truant) discuss the evolving landscape of storytelling in the age of AI. We also talk about how the loss of cheap paperbacks and the lack of e-book adoption among kids and teens affects the market and is a troubling sign for future readers. We explore how AI is impacting creativity, the future of readin...

The original hosts of The Self-Publishing Podcast, Sean, Johnny, and Dave, are back! Join us every Friday in their new podcast,  The Smarter Artist Show , your invitation to a no-holds barred night out at the bar with your old writer friends. In the first episode we discuss where we've been for the past few years since the end of  The Story Studio Podcast , why Dave (?!?!?!?!) is the new host, and...