Purple background with 100 Writers Drinking Coffee with a pencil in the 1, a fountain pen in the first 0, and a quill in the second 0

Episode 132 – Interview with Mark Shaiken

Mark Shaiken was an attorney for four decades before retiring to write books. He writes character-driven stories about bankruptcy, intrigue, and all the bad things that can happen once you start lying to your lawyer. Mark talks about his research and organization, and how he plans his plots out thoroughly so that (for a delightful change in the industry) even lawyers could love his books for their accuracy. … Continue…Episode 132 – Interview with Mark Shaiken

A pencil, a ball point pen, and a quill sitting in lounge chairs drinking coffee; Title: Writers Drinking Coffee

Episode 98 – Interview with David Drake

David Drake picked up writing, so he says, as a therapy for his time spent riding tanks around Vietnam and Cambodia. But what started as short stories ended up as a brilliant and far-reaching career that explored historic fantasy, horror, sci fi, and everything in between. Whether you love Roman legions, Byzantine politics, or Space Opera that combines the spirits of each, Drake has something for you – all his characters are exquisitely human and complex. … Continue…Episode 98 – Interview with David Drake

A pencil, a ball point pen, and a quill sitting in lounge chairs drinking coffee; Title: Writers Drinking Coffee

Episode 91 – A Psychological Model for Character Building

In this episode, Dave, Chaz, and John briefly discuss character development using the “Big Five” model of personality before haring off on a number of predictable tangents. Also in this episode: everything Dave knows about factor analysis and psychological modeling (tl;dr: psychology is squishy); what Chaz doesn’t know about “Aspects of the Novel:” by E.M. Forster (quite a bit, and seemingly proud of it); and John reminds Chaz to panic about being replaced by a computer. Also: MFAs are a dodgy proposition; the academic wing of the Tolkien industry; Freud sucks (Dave again); and how pantsing yourself into a corner is like failing to solve a Sudoku. Finally, a plea: “plotting” is fine, but can we please find an alternative to “pantsing”?! … Continue…Episode 91 – A Psychological Model for Character Building