Writing in Progress

Well... life has been life-ing... mostly good things, but still time-consuming! We apologize for the long delay in posting this episode, but anytime Maggie and Charlie stop by, you know it will be a fun listen (even if its a bit late). The Tempest Raven competition has concluded, but we hope you'll still find value and joy in listening to our genre and prompt reactions! Maybe listening to thi...

(Soon-to-be Daredevil) Ryan Fleming and (previous-winner) Autumn Bettinger are back for another slightly unhinged episode...  ...Not Quite Hinged, one might say... In this episode, we pledged our allegiance to either Team Amanda or Team Ed--the lawful and lawless, respectively. In all seriousness, it was fun to revisit this comp, given the fun new rule changes and write-off format. Which of us pic...

It's always a fun time when Charlie and Maggie stop by the pod, but some sleep deprivation led to this one being the silliest, giggliest, most unhinged yet! Amidst all the fun, we gave our reactions and opinions to the new Writing Battle format: 9 new classes, 9 genres, and--of course--lots of button pressing! Buckle up, this episode is a wild ride. (Sadly, we lost Charlie for the last 10 min...

It's a new year, but WiP is back with more contests! We have at least 14 planned genre/prompt reaction episodes this year, and we're starting off with Writer's Playground! To honor traditions, but also keep things fresh, we're playing around with some new guest combinations. We're starting the year off with a bang: three guests at once! We're bringing back the origina...

Trey Dowell is back on Writing in Progress, and we're asking him questions from the Writing Battle forum to learn from his experience reading literally hundreds of stories as a professional judge this year. **SPONSOR INFO** This episode's sponser: Ryan Fleming! Check out his winning story--The Tragedy of Montague Bellot--on Writer's Playground "Storytime" podcast . (Thanks...

We got the band back together! Charlie and Maggie return to WiP (& Writing Battle) as we discuss the genres for the upcoming short story competition. Join us for all of the fun, excitement, insight, and predictions.  *SPOILER ALERT* (that’s not actually a spoiler alert at all) Charlie peeks at his cards early and Maggie presses all the buttons... some things never change… If you’re looking for...

It's Writing Battle time again, and with Spooky Season upon us, it's fitting that we get to talk about the first-ever FEAR pro-judged competition! Justin & Jon are joined by longtime friends of the pod, Ryan Fleming and Autumn Bettinger as we discuss the possible genres (Horror, Mystery, Dystopia, and Thriller/Suspense) and reveal/react to our prompts. Our hearts will pound as we dec...

We're bringing them back...It's time for the WiPpys! We're happy to share some joy and kudos with our fellow Battle Ravens and reflect on some of our favorite stories from the Summer Nanofiction Writing Battle. Justin and Jon each award a WiPpy in the following categories: Hook Ending Plot Voice Humor Theme Setting Character and in the following genres: Under the Bed Coming of Age K...

It's time for another Writing Battle! We've got 250 words on the agenda this time around, and show-regulars Ryan Fleming and Autumn Bettinger rejoin Writing in Progress to analyze the genres and react to our prompt draws. Our characters and objects must remain a secret, as we could end up judging each other! This episode was filled with lots of laughs, and we hope you enjoy listening! Th...

Justin and Jon welcome a new guest to the podcast this week! Former episode sponsor, Amber Byers from Tadpole Press, joined us for a delightful interview spotlighting the following topics: -crafting an  entire story in just 100 words -Building a supportive community -Finding your own path This interview is unique compared to many our guests, because Amber is on the opposite side of the Writer/Publ...

Our friends are back! Charlie and Maggie return to Writing in Progress as we reveal and react to Writer's Playground's 11th set of prompts. Not only did we enjoy some (read: a lot) banter and laughs for nearly an hour and a half... but in the most recent Writer's Playground challenge, MM placed 3rd and Charlie received an honorable mention, so they're insight is especially valu...

Justin and Jon are back and we're interviewing a new guest! Ben Daggers is an accomplished magician / escape room designer. He's even appeared on the hit show "Penn and Teller: Fool Us!". Having lived in several different countries throughout his life, he is fluent in five languages. We discussed how these unique fields of expertise influence him as a writer. We also talk about...

Justin & Jon are back! And even better... on summer vacation! Our goal is to bring you a new episode once a week over break, & we're starting off strong. We've done episodes about generating stories: live outlines, various competitions, even "how-to" episodes for elements of a story... but we haven't talked much about what comes after you've finished. In a rec...

Better late than never, right? A combination of some tricky editing and the craziest time of year put me about two weeks behind in getting this episode out. But we still made it happen before the Spring Battle started... if only just. ;) We hope to resume a more normal recording schedule again soon. Justin and Jon have about a month left of classes, and Justin's coaching responsibilities will...

With the Writing Battle Wonder competition rapidly approaching, what better way to prepare than to get a peak behind the curtain with one of the competition's professional judges? Long time friend of the pod, Trey Dowell, returns to field dozens of questions about his experience judging hundreds of stories during the Writing Battle Heart competition. We asked a lot of questions provided from...

Right back at it! There ain't no rest for the wicked, as they say. The Heart battle may still be raging, but the peer-judged Winter Flash Fiction Writing Battle is already underway. Justin and Jon are joined by friends of the pod MM and Charlie to give reactions to the new set of genres, and reveal (what we can) as we roll through our character and object cards. As expected, many buttons were...

Justin and Jon are trying a new competition! We were invited by Australia's Amanda and Ed to take part in their Not Quite Write Prize! As luck would have it, a former winner of the competition had previously reached out expressing interest in joining the pod as a guest. So we're excited to welcome Autumn Bettinger to Writing in Progress! Our Interview with Autumn begins at 23:22 We revea...

Trey has moved on to the world of professional judging, so we're bringing Charlie out of the bull pen to join us as we reveal and react to our prompts for the first ever Writing Battle Heart Competition! Listen along for a little strategy and advice... and a lot of laughs and fun conversation. * Episode Sponsor* This episode is brought to you thanks to episode sponsor Ryan Fleming. You can fo...

Former Writer's Playground winner Ryan Fleming joins WiP for the fourth time, and tonight we're discussing the 10th challenge with is officially underway! We start the conversation by diving into some data Ryan has collected from past winning stories, then we live-react to this round of prompts! We close things out by tipping our hand ever-so-slight in how we're planning to move for...

Friends of the pod--Maggie and Charlie--rejoin Justin and Jon for a live outline. This is a good one, folks. Great way to end 2024! We start from scratch: a giant spreadsheet of prompts and a random number generator. About an hour and a half later, we'd outlined a very interesting story! We hope you enjoy the journey with us, and maybe learn a few things about how experts like Maggie and Char...

Good friend of the pod, Trey Dowell, drops by to discuss his recent Writing Battle win and transition to professional judge. Topics include: -Behind-the-scenes hilarity of how Trey found out he won -Trey realizes a theme common in many of his recent/best stories -A super-secret insider tip (/maybe bug?) Justin discovered during submission this round. -Trey gives insight into his transition to prof...

Justin and Jon reunite for the first time in a few months, and do a little catching up. The episode begins with some exciting news about our new Patreon community and collaboration with Not Quite Write, a writing podcast from Australia. Link to the Patreon (ie. how you enter the giveaway) Link to Jon's published essay, "Grandma Ward" Link to Justin's published story and intervi...

After a few months away, why not just casually drop our longest episode ever with our highest profile guest just before midnight on a random Thursday? Shelby likely doesn't need any introduction from us. Her debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures (Yes, the octopus book that everyone you know who's read it seems to love) has sold over 2 million copies, has been on the New York Times Bes...

Jon and Justin speak with THE original recipient of the Writing Battle Debrief Panda--and author of Butcher the Doll--Charlie Rogers. Topics include: -marathon-writing sessions -how to plan for efficient drafting -using writing competitions to grow larger works -screenwriting advice -the importance of giving back to others in the writing community You can find the link to Charlie's Website he...

It's our favorite Writing Battle Tradition! 2 time champion, Maggie Schreier, and reigning co-MVW, Trey Dowell, join Justin & Jon to talk this season's Writing Battle. This episode was recorded live on the night it all started, with each author's genuine reaction to the genres and prompts they received. (Nothing identifiable was shared, of course!) If you feel like you need *mor...