World Builders Anonymous

Latest Episodes:

032 Sci-Fantasy and Romantic Interest Characters Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

The guys talk about Vito's new sci-fi generation ship idea for a book series. Where do you start in a series like this? How do you avoid getting stuck on researching planet masses, tidal locking, and the effects of microgravity while still writing a believable, compelling story? How do you write advanced technologies when you're a simple musician/pilot-in-training/author who knows very little about science or engineering? They also talk about how to write a romantic interest character without making them a flat foil to the protagonist. All that plus more t-shirt slogan ideas on this week's episode.

031 Hyperbole Abounds Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

John's trucking away with his story with ten chapters in the bag. Discovery writing is really suiting his storytelling style so far, with the discovery-written first draft acting as the "outline" of sorts for future revision. Before, the guys both spent so much time agonizing over a point-by-point plot outline that they knew they were going to change when it came to writing the prose. But now that pressure is gone and the ideas are flowing. Vito finally made some progress as well in between studying for pilot tests and flying Pipers. What does any of this have to do with the title of today's episode? Nothing, but...eh, you'll see.

030: Jet Lag, Babies, Rothfuss, Redwall Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

Today's episode is a bit of a tangent factory as Vito was punch-drunk from studying airplane things all day/jet lagged from flying across the country yet again and John is baby crazy and getting the evil eye from his dog, but the guys had a good time getting back to the podcast today. They discussed their recent re-reading of The Name of The Wind, the Redwall series, a potential cliche John wants to use in his story, and Vito's idea for a world-ship sci-fi series he plans to develop during his week back in LA. Fun stuff!

029 Worldbuilding Without A Story/Sleep Deprivation May 07, 2019

Show notes

On this week's episode, Vito tries vainly to pull coherent thoughts from his sleep-deprived brain and John goes on a rage-fueled tirade before the guys answer a listener question about how to stay focused while world building.

028 Exercising Restraint/When Ideas Calcify Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

Today, John talks about a scene that spontaneously flew from his fingers, but had to trim a bit because it didn't quite fit the tone/focus of his story. When you're discovery writing in particular, sometimes, ideas burst upon you and it's important to both let the ideas flow and to harness them for the purposes of the story you're trying to tell rather than letting them sidetrack or distract you. Vito talks about some of the difficulties he's been facing because the idea he's been pursuing is one he's been nursing in one form or another for years. Perhaps he's in a rut and needs to carve out some new ground. How can you know when to simply press on and when to try another path? All that and more in today's episode!

027 Battle Scenes/Star Wars Trailer Rant Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

The guys answer another listener question about writing combat scenes. Also, they get on a little bit of a tangent talking about the new Star Wars trailer, rhinoceroses that are actually star fighters, and the obvious advantages of projectile weapons...

026 Fan Email: Distinguishing Characters Using Dialogue Apr 17, 2019

Show notes

The guys give a brief update on their progress (John's got 8 chapters in the bag!) and then delve into a fan email asking about dialogue. Specifically, how can you use your dialogue to distinguish your characters from one another? At the same time, how do you avoid being expository or too "talky" in your dialogue? They discuss useful tips like "casting" your characters, goal-based dialogue and much more!

025 If At First You Don't Succeed... Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

A technical difficulty ruined last week's episode but the guys go over some of the things they wanted talk about last week as well as some things John ran across in his writing this week. Topics include a listener question about time-hopping plots, how much emotional conflict is too much, and what tropes might the guys be unwittingly using in their stories?

024 St. Paddy's Day Recovery/Tone, POV Characters, and Redwall. Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

Vito recovers from his Jamison-and-Guinness-induced stupor following St. Patrick's Day and John talks about cool stuff like multiple point of view characters (including his super awesome torturer character), taking a step back to plan the next chunk of the story, and focusing the tone of your story. If you like the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, then I think you'll know what we're talking about.

023 Interview With a Homeschooled, Post-Hardcore Singing Fantasy Writer Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

Vito's a little under the weather with half a voice, John's having a baby (well, his wife is), and the boys are interviewing a fellow homeschooler, musician, and writer as their first ever podcast guest! It's a topsy turvy, super fun time as they compare writing styles and processes. How do you get past the beginning of the story? When do you dig in and world build things like magic systems? How do you keep your momentum going through more than 115,000 words? All this and much more on the episode today! Big thanks to Joel Gauthier for joining us!

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