Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

We start by discussing what a great show The Orville is. After that, we have a good conversation about what really makes a hero in fiction (or real life). We use examples from a bunch of superhero movies and comics, plus some other sources that exemplify what it truly means to be a hero.  Check out our work at www.drunkpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwr...

We start by discussing diversity in literary magazines and how the submission process can be unfair to some authors. After that, we talk about a poll we ran which showed that the majority of people (who follow us on Twitter) consider audiobooks to be the same as reading a book. We break things down further and give our definitive opinions on the matter, factoring in things like visual impairment t...

We start things off with a comic book review for the first volume of Crossover by Donny Cates (if you want to skip straight to the main topic, the episode begins at 12:35). For the main topic of the day, we discuss publishing trends until Caleb loses his voice.  Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like us on Face...

We kick things off with a wine tasting inspired by the Prosseco N Prose Podcast. And you know what? It was alright! After that, we get into the heart of things by discussing what goes into writing a good romance novel . Here's a hint, do the opposite of what we would do! Be sure to listen to the Prosseco N Prose podcast and check out all the fun things Wendy and Amy are up to. You can check out ou...

Oh, fudge. There's a lot to unpack in this episode. We start things off with Caleb reading an excerpt from his most recent story submission failure. Then we get into a discussion about writing and reading children's books and YA books.  After that, we really go into this weeds and spend the rest of the show ranting about fake woke people, cancel culture, bad conservative comedy, and the importance...

Caleb is alone in today's episode and uses the opportunity to ramble about aesthetics in literature. He talks about the romance period writers, the beauty in the language used by authors such as James Joyce and Professor Tolkien, and why he feels that contemporary writers should focus more on aesthetics in their work.  If you want to check out our work, head to www.drunkenpenwriting.com You can al...

We open things up by discussing how we dislike this new Hollywood trend of making villains likable or turning classic bad guys into anti-heroes. After that, we have a long conversation about the pitfalls of becoming a writer. The central ideas we discuss are the importance of effort, improving as a writer, and why it's more important to finish work as opposed to simply showing up and hoping for th...

Ever wonder how many different ways there are to write the exact same scene? How about a simple, two-sentence scene?  Today we do just that by giving examples of a simple scene written in the literal form, with similes, one using metaphor, and a lyrical style. Then we end things off by mimicking specific famous authors and how they would write that scene. We try David Foster Wallace, James Joyce,...

We're back with another Book of the Month! This time around, we're discussing the very first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. We have a lot of fun breaking down the origin of Holmes and Watson, as well as how unique this first story was written.   

We discuss different ways of using dialogue tags and Caleb gives some examples from his current work in progress.  Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com

This is the end of the Inebriated Reading Challenge for Oblivion: Stories by David Foster Wallace. In this episode, we discuss the final story, The Suffering Channel. This is by far the poopiest story of the bunch. And we mean that literally. The Story is all about poop!   We give our overall rating of the collection and talk about what we took away from it, including the things we disliked most....

We start things off by talking about the new season of Stranger Things. After that, we cover one of Caleb's articles on developing your personal author's voice to better stand out from other writers. We discuss the importance of being unique enough in your writing that the readers will be able to recognize your work even if they don't know it's your story. Caleb also gives tips on how to find and...

In today's episode, we cover the stories "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" and "Oblivion" by David Foster Wallace. We go into more detail about the things we dislike in DFW's writing style and why we feel that you shouldn't always have to dig deep into a story to find the true meaning.  

In this episode, we discuss the great books, or rather, the books that are considered to be the greatest ever written. We deliberate on some of them and their place on the list, as well as what books we think are important and should be there. Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like us on Facebook @drunkenpenwri...

Today we are discussing the short story "Good Old Neon" by David Foster Wallace. We take a deep dive into imposter syndrome, what it means to truly be a fraud, and the importance we put on how others view us.  We also correlate the story with the current state of social media and the constant need people have to be seen and heard, often through the sacrifice of their authentic selves. Finally, Cal...

We open things up by discussing the importance of subtext in your writing. After that, we talk about the benefits of reading, how the habit can make you a more virtuous person, and why reading is so important for kids. Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like us on Facebook @drunkenpenwriting

Today's episode discusses two more stories in Oblivion: Stories by David Foster Wallace. First, we read and discuss his deeply disturbing flash fiction story, Incarnation of Burned Children. This one comes with a trigger warning as the imagery and subject matter are incredibly traumatic.  The second story, Another Pioneer, offers a meditation on storytelling, knowledge, self-consciousness, societa...

We open things up with a clip of Alan Moore telling the three things that drive him to writer. After that, we have a discussion about the importance of being honest with yourself and your work.  Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com

We're back with more Oblivion: Stories by David Foster Wallace. In today's episode, we discuss his short story "The Soul is Not a Smithy" and go in-depth with his narration style, storytelling elements, and the deeper meaning of this unique story. 

We decided to have an upbeat episode and discuss DEATH! More specifically, we talk about how to kill off characters in your work and why some ways are worse than others. We end the episode by discussing the importance of finding your purpose in life and why we don't think everyone has a purpose. Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @dru...

What's the point? That's the question we ask ourselves a lot as we discuss Mr. Squishy, the first story in David Foster Wallace's short story collection, Oblivion: Stories.  We talk about corporate America, focus groups, analytics, information overload, and how all of it seems so pointless through the lens of David Foster Wallace. This isn't our favorite story in this collection, but it certainly...

We kick things off by answering a few questions from some of our listeners. After that, we talk about reboots and our opinions on reimagining established works. We also discuss the use of public domain works and if it's ethical to make money from other people's creations.  Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like...

We're back with another Inebriated Reading Challenge. This time around we're discussing Oblivion: Stories by David Foster Wallace. In this introductory episode, we briefly discuss David Foster Wallace and what we hope to get out of his collection of short stories. From what it looks like, we're in for a real wild ride!  

Caleb talks about writing his first-ever sex scene! After that, we discuss writing styles, processes, and why all writers should do their own thing instead of following advice from things such as creative writing classes.  Check out our work at www.drunkenpenwriting.com

We discuss imposter syndrome and the importance of being kind to yourself. Adding unneeded pressure to yourself will only hinder your writing output. We also talk about some unexpected obstacles of writing a novel. Check out our work @drunkenpenwriting.com Follow us on Twitter @drunkpenwriting On Instagram @drunkenpenwriting And like us on Facebook @drunkenpenwriting