This episode of more of a kite than a jet plane. I'm giving updates on Tomorrow City, talking about the Myth of the Rockstar Creative, How to Develop Your Process as Writer, and Breaking Down the Pantser vs. Plotter Dichotomy

Head Trip

#44 Honing Your Writing Process and the Pantsers vs Plotters Dichotomy

How to deal with self-doubt when creating? There's only two ways to do it, either you become the greatest in the world, above all possible reproach, OR you lean into your uniqueness. As Emerson says, you till the plot of land that only you can till.

#43 Emerson, Self-Reliance, and the Best Kind of Armor for Self-Doubt

I'm calling this "Part 2" of my "Ultimate Badass Story Theory". Part 1 was back on episode 12 where I talked about "self-aware stories", and today I'm talking about stories that use TIME as a narrative device. Breaking Bad. Name of the Wind. The Lies of Locke Lamora. And greatest time-hopper of them all, Billy Pilgrim from Slaughterhouse Five.

#42 Time as Narrative Device: Slaughterhouse Five, Name of the Wind, Scott Lynch and the Gentlemen Bastards Series

Happy Wednesday! I'm not talking about talking about the virus today - I'm taking around it. Quarantine has been good to me in terms of writing, and I'm happy to share that 15,000 words of my novel are finished and available to read on patreon. I'm also giving some life updates and sharing my most recent thoughts on the ever-important wide vs amazon debate.

#41 First Three Chapters of Tomorrow City, Quarantine Updates, Self-publishing Wide vs. Amazon?

When your computer breaks down and a virus threatens to grow into a global pandemic, how are you supposed to clear your head and focus on that fantasy story that you're writing? Is it responsible or even reasonable to waste energy on your hobbies during times like these? In this episode I'm giving advice to myself, and talking through the struggle of being creative during stressful times.

#40 How to Keep Writing Even When the Sky is Falling

This is an inbetweener episode, a good one for the new listener, or for those of you who are interested in Tomorrow City. This is the first of many "progress updates" that I'm going to do as I write and publish the Tomorrow City series.

#39 Tomorrow City Progress Report #1

Talking Dr. Seuss today! I'm braking down "Oh the Places You'll Go" by using the shape of stories technique as outlined by Kurt Vonnegut. Spoiler alert: This Dr. Seuss classic is actually just a traditional "boy falls in a pit" story, EXCEPT there are two pits! Also, Lion King, Aladdin, Cinderella and more...

#38 "Oh The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss and "The Shape of Stories" by Kurt Vonnegut

The powerful Gary Tandy joins us this week! If you love Murakami, or you just want to hear how a professor goes about analyzing an amazing literary classic, then this episode is for you. What is the Wind-up bird? Why is the cat missing? Is Murakami a lonely guy? How can the protagonist of a novel be so passive? And have you ever heard the story of the shitty monkeys on the shitty island?

#37 Gary Tandy - Breaking Down "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami

Today I make some outrageous comparisons between Phillip Pullman, C.S. Lewis and George R.R. Martin. And I share my theory that Phillip Pullman wrote the Book of Dust series as a prequel (instead of as a sequel) because of his love for Lyra. And really, who doesn't love "His Dark Materials"?

#36 Phillip Pullman's Career: Golden Compass and the Book of Dust

Have you seen the movie Parasite yet? I won't spoil anything. I'll just get you even more excited. Today I'm talking about truly original stories, the ones that really blow your mind, from the Odyssey to Coen Brothers' Movies, from Slaughterhouse 5 to Catch-22. Then at the end I'm breaking down my latest rough draft scene - Scene 4 of Ch1 of the Tomorrow City Rough Draft

#35 Parasite! Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Breaking Bad - Truly Unique Stories. Plus Scene 4 of Tomorrow City

Part 1 - How to automate your writing, How to tackle the overwhelming prospect of a novel, Genre expectations and the rabbit hole of niche genres, and the self-publishing debate of Wide vs. KDP. Part 2 - Scene 3 of Tomorrow City, Hero meets the Villain, and How long should a scene be?

#34 Banking Words is like Paying off Loans, Urban vs. Contemporary Fantasy, Going Wide vs. KDP

Part 1 - New Year's Goals, Health and Writing, Writing and Drinking, Getting your shit together enough to write consistently. Part 2 - Discussing the arc of my first chapter, what I've learned about scenes and hooks, and how I'm trying to hit all the right frequencies with my first chapter.

#33 Writing and Drinking, Setting Easy-to-Reach Goals, and How to Draft a Chapter 1 that Hooks Readers

Exciting news for 2020! The new Patreon page, the First 1,000 words of my novel's rough draft, and a breakdown of Michael J. Sullivan's "Theft of Swords."

#32 Scene 1 of Tomorrow City! Plus a breakdown of "Theft of Swords" by Michael J. Sullivan

New chapters every week, Patreon, Websites, and a new format for the show... Big Changes coming in 2020! I talk about my ideas for revamping the podcast, and John Truby's golden nuggets of wisdom regarding Narrative Drive, and how to write a fantasy series that readers will love.

#31 Big Changes in 2020, and John Truby's ideas on Narrative Drive

Today I'm doing a detailed breakdown of the first chapter of "The Call of the Wild." If you're trying to start your story with a bang, then this episode is for you. Here is the brilliant line that kicks off the adventure: "Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing..."

#30 Jack London's "A Call of the Wild" - Case Study on How to Start an Adventure

Head Trip is a free audio podcast hosted by Jackson Tandy every week.