The Wordy Pair Podcast

Today we're talking about the crazies who see mirages of "coding" in fantasy races, only to recreate them with even more obvious "coding." Also, tamales are delicious. Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Rudy) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And follow us on Twitter at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Ru...

This week's episode starts with a discussion of impostor syndrome that many writers express--are they really insecure, or just fishing for sympathy? We then go into a bit of a potpourri episode, covering stuff from Signs (the movie) to the crumbling SFWA! Stuff mentioned in this episode: Our amazing April Fool's episode: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/0lU1nxYg9Nb My review of John A. Douglas...

The Sinister Shadow is a strange book... the original manuscript was mostly written in the 1930s, but it remained unpublished for a long time... until around 2015, when a new author whipped it into shape! The Shadow faces off against Doc Savage, and the action and intrigue are non-stop! Relax with us as we go in depth on this pulp masterpiece! Mentioned in episode: Justin's "The Rackon" ⁠https://a...

The list itself is old, but it found its way into my feed a few weeks ago, and Justin and I decided to do an episode on it. Wow, just... really narrow-minded and awful writing advice. Repetitive, too. Chill with us as we take the first third or so of these "tips" apart! Fun stuff mentioned: RedLetterMedia's hilarious video with "Ryan's Babe" review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcK4ioF8ODc&...

What starts as a discussion about readers who really dislike the denouement, eventually branches out into a talk on dos and don'ts for ending your own stories! We cover a variety of examples from media, including how to handle works that may (or may not!) end up with sequels! Also: Are Rudy and Justin one person? Maybe. Mentioned in passing: Justin's book The Rackon https://a.co/d/6cDrQSy Check ou...

Kind of a jabber episode this week, we start out talking about bookstores, specifically Books-a-Million, then talking about new trends in printing! Will the smartphone aspect ratio become the new shape of books? Then, we talk about book covers, including a bunch of talk about Terry Pratchett and Paul Kidby, who did a bunch of amazing covers and artwork for Pratchett's books. Check out some of Kidb...

Today we're talking about one of my favorite fantasy author's first novel: Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist. The early books by Feist are really great because they're actually low-magic fantasy for the most part, with a lot of cool politics (plus I really love the Kingdom's mix of honorable and dishonorable people--it's not too idealistic, but not too dark) and machinat...

Today we're starting out by covering the "advice" to not start your stories in the middle of an action scene. Some publishers give this advice, but others go 100% in the opposite direction! We talk about possible ways to edit a story to move that initial action scene inward a bit, if you need to. Then, we kind of evolve into a potpourri episode, covering a big variety of topics! Chec...

Today we're talking about the new Alien movie! Apparently it's not horrible! Check out our old Covenant review for some hilarity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBMC_KwNKE Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Rudy) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And follow us on Twitter at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠...

Today we're talking about the character and plot developments in the popular visual novel that spawned two animated series: Steins; Gate! There will be spoilers! Some fun links: Akihabara Radio Kaikan Building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_Radio_Kaikan John Titor on Art Bell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-viB_iEm0ms Read Justin's book The Good Guy: https://a.co/d/8j1qcxk Check...

We've got a great potpourri episode for you this week! We start by talking about characters turning from bad to good and the reasoning behind this trope, and then we expand into a variety of related topics, like overly worrying about including tropes and watching as new owners destroy old properties! Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Rudy) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rn...

Hoooo, boy... have we got something for you today. Imagine a blogpost that looks like a basic writing tip... Now imagine that the "tip" comes all the way at the end, and is preceded by a bunch of crazy, awful nonsense that makes you think it was written by AI. ... Bad AI. Maybe the internet really is dead. Behold! The Uncanny Valley of Blogs! https://medium.com/educreation/unpacking-enga...

This week, we're talking a bit more about common obstacles for the writer. Everything from tracking (or not tracking) word counts to worrying too much about reader reviews is covered! Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Rudy) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And follow us on Twitter at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t...

This week, we're talking about the problems that arise when "Achievement Culture" hits literature. There is a significant group of people who want writing simplified and dumbed down. They want this because it would make it easier for them to claim to have read certain "important" books. We oppose this, in the same way we oppose turning the first few beautiful paragraphs in...

This episode we're talking about magazines, both paper and electronic! Justin picked up a couple and spent some time perusing the racks, so he's got some up-to-date data for us! How long are the big paper magazines going to stick around? How many of them are actually profitable? We'll talk about this and more! Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Rud...

Today we're talking about how some people say you shouldn't read certain authors because of their opinions on some topic. Of course, this is nonsense. We cover several different authors and their opinions, and conclude that yes, you shouldn't let your distaste for some of their thoughts prevent you from reading their stuff. Also, to borrow a line from some indie creators: Monetize your...

This week, we're diving into the first book in the Slayers series, and discussing the positive and negative points of the animated adaptation! What we find is that the adaptation is, in general, pretty close, but the perspective of the book limits it in some ways, while the audience of the anime limits it in others! Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In contrast with our coverage of Fer-de-Lance last week, this time we're covering one of Rex Stout's later Wolfe books, Trio for Blunt Instruments . Rex Stout published about one Wolfe book per year, and most of them were full-sized novels, but a significant fraction of them were collections of two, three, or four shorter, self-contained novellas: Kill Now, Pay Later; Murder Is Corny; and...

The first Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout. The quintessential American murder mystery. Fer-de-lance (no, you aren't pronouncing it right) is a solid introduction to the characters that solved murders every year for forty years! We're big fans of Rex Stout, especially the Nero Wolfe series, and we thought it would be fun to cover this great book! Also, Saul Panzer is an exceptional man. He ca...

Who else is appalled at the slow death spiral into irrelevance of Doctor Who and Lucasfilms? Consistency is important in writing (obviously) because it creates stakes and characters who a reader can care about long-term. Doctor Who and Disney have chosen the path of inconsistency, leading to a loss of viewer investment. Plus, a series of unanswered mystery boxes is no way to create a story. Check...

We are back to moving pictures! Okay, today we're talking about Slayers. Yes, the animated series from the 1990s. However, Slayers is pretty darn good, especially the first 10-20 episodes, which establish a solid formula for the rest of the series. Slayers illustrates the proper mix between seriousness and comedy, the saturation point of snarky banter, and the unlimited fun of uncertain levels...

In this week's episode, we get cancelled by people who skip prologues or chapters of books, but that's okay because those people are CRAZY. But seriously, this time we're talking about getting ideas and honing your voice by reading, watching, and listening to other works! Don't just read. Read joyfully . Check out our fiction at: (Justin) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (R...

Today we're taking a little sideways look into the Dead Internet theory, as it pertains to writing, especially promoting your writing. We talk about how long this has been a trend and how "internet wandering" has been replaced (mostly) by scrolling three or four big sites. Also, we are cancelled by women, aliens, and... Hindi speakers? Check out the PAEAN Project short story: https:/...

It did take us a few weeks to remember, but we finally got around to our in-depth treatment of Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness." Here are some of our fun links: Read "At the Mountains of Madness:" https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mm.aspx Listen to Horrorbabble's great audio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTk0iROhSOc Look at Roerich&#...

We are talking about editing and redrafting in this episode--it's a vital part of the writing process that people are often willing to cut corners on. Polish your writing and make it as amazing as it can be! Then we somehow get off onto a tangent that has us looking up legacy English dictionaries. And check out our new "motto": "Write stuff, dammit." Welcome to The Wordy Pa...