The podcast for wanna-be fiction writers.
S20 Ep13: In Which Mur Attends Wole Talabi's Creative Alchemy
"The primary driver of my sense of success is, 'do I feel happy with what I've done?'" - Wole Talabi
Mur chats with Wole Talabi, an engineer turned author (but still engineer). They discuss the Schrodinger's Cat of publishing, the thrill of rewriting old stories for new audiences, and the joy of challenging the norms of fiction.
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Namwali Serpell and her short story "Account"
Glasgow 2024 Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention)
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All books featured in Season 20
Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!
"From Patent Memos to Nebula Nods with Wole Talabi" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!
CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link)
"From Patent Memos to Nebula Nods with Wole Talabi" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
April 17, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 13 | murverse.com
S20 Ep 12: In Which Mur Plans to Turn Hurt Feelings into Finished Drafts
"I read over the notes and I got mad and I got my feelings hurt." - Mur (being fussy)
I've received my edit letter about Infinite Archive, so I'm handling all the emotions that carries with it. ADHD complicated my perception of time, so figuring out how long it will take me is a challenge.
Valerie Valdes joins the chat with some excellent advice, like adding extra time to your deadlines to account for the unexpected. Then we touch on the basic concept of "someone comes to town, someone leaves down" (also a Cory Doctorow book title.)
We also touch on the concept of love triangles in fiction, sparking a conversation about the trope's effectiveness and its alternatives.
Links:
Evergreen Links
(go here for all the books mentioned in 2024)
"Riding the Revision Rollercoaster" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!
Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!
CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 15, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 12 | murverse.com "The Revision Rollercoaster - From Hurt Feelings to Finished Drafts" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0S20 Ep11: In which we travel "The Other Valley" with Scott Alexander Howard
"I wrote it in a blissful who cares? Mentality, like, 'oh, well, genre will sort itself out.'" - Scott Alexander Howard
In this episode, we're joined by Scott Alexander Howard, author of The Other Valley, a novel where literary meets speculative. Scott delves into his journey from philosophy to fiction, sharing how his background influenced the emotional depth of his debut. We discuss the challenges of genre and the slow dance of publishing.
Links:
Evergreen Links
(go here for all the books mentioned in 2024)
"The Landscape of Grief with Scott Alexander Howard" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!
Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!
CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 12, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 11 | murverse.com "The Landscape of Grief with Scott Alexander Howard" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0"I felt like a cuckoo among very pretty birds." - Mur
Fresh off the JoCo cruise, we discusses the allure of nerd paradise and how navigating imposter syndrome is a frequent struggle. I share tabletop RPG antics, celebrity karaoke adventures, and the amazing feeling of having legitimately cool creators accept you. Self doubt did show up, and I'll talk about how I dealt with that.
Also, what should I do for my 20th year podcasting celebration?
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Evergreen Links
(go here for all the books mentioned in Season 20)
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April 18, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 10 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
"If you don't start out perfect, you're never going to be good." - Evil Mur
Evil Mur is back giving terrible advice and it's a wild ride through the looking glass of a writer's darker musings. We cover questioning the point of writing when perfection eludes us to the ruthless strategy of writing on the job. She gives some seriously excellent advice about emotions in horror, and offers an unorthodox method for trimming the fat from your prose. We touch on the Hugo Awards and reveal the cover of Mur's upcoming book, Infinite Archive.
Be warned: Evil Mur doesn't play by the rules, and neither does her advice.
Other links:
(go here for all the books in Season 20)
Support the show, if you dare, and remember: Evil Mur is watching. Write like it's your last act of defiance.
CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, site design by Clockpunk Studioand files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 5, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 9 | murverse.com "The Epiphany of Routine" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Transcript
I found myself looking for my own magic bullet and getting frustrated a the media who take the idea of a daily routine--something people with ADHD people need--and play it off as only done by stodgy, unfun dorks. I discuss Josh Zimmerman's videos, how creation is like jumping off a diving board for me, my solo RPG plans, and promote Premee Mohamed's books and bullying.
From the fear of preparation to the power of routines for neurodiverse individuals, we open up about the importance of finding what works for you—even if it means facing your own hypocrisy. Plus, hear about the anticipation of the JoCo cruise, the chaos of running Brindlewood Bay RPGs, and why sometimes, you just have to leap off the high dive.
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And remember, we can't do this without you. Thanks for your support.
March 12, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 8 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0In this episode, I discuss trusting yourself because sometimes no one else will. We also talk File 770, Genre Grapevine, I mispronounce "chutzpah," make a Wizard of Oz reference, and how should I celebrate 20 seasons of ISBW? Remember, advice is supplementary.
Evergreen LinksSee what books we've discussed this season here.
Some of the above links are affiliate, meaning I may receive a small amount of money for the purchase at no cost to you.
And remember, we can't do this without you. Thanks for your support.
March 9, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 7 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Author Gwenda Bond comes on the show to talk The Frame Up, heists, and point of view!
We also discuss being ballsy at Boskone, pen names, T. Kingfisher's "What Feasts At Night," writing retreats, and heist structure.
If you order The Frame Up from Bookshop.org, use the code FRAMEUP for 10% off!
Evergreen LinksSome of the above links are affiliate, meaning I may receive a small amount of money for the purchase at no cost to you.
March 7, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 6 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Debut author Avione Lee comes to tell us about the Odyssey Workshop and the various programs!
Odyssey Your Personal Workshop (deadline is soon!)
Evergreen LinksHugos are still messy, so check out Chris M. Barkley*, Paul Weimer, Alasdair Stuart, and Jason Sanford and the excellent fanwriting they do.
*Accidentally call him Charles in the recording. Sorry!We talk character depth, using Baldur's Gate 3 as an example. Lastly we get in to the hybrid outline thing I'm trying to do to help me write.
Show Links
February 12, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 4 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Debut author Eilish Quin joins us to talk about her retelling of Euripedes' classic story, Medea, with glorious descriptive prose and a feminist point of view. We talk about hurdles and wins and what to keep in mind when doing a retelling.
Evergreen Links(some book links are affiliate, go here if you can't see the widget)
And remember, we can't do this without you. Thanks for your support.
February 8, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 3 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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