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With only a couple weeks left, our four NaNoWriMo writers are applying every ounce of discipline and dedication to reach their goal.

And real life doesn't take a holiday for NaNoWriMo, and that includes day jobs, academic responsibilities (tests?!), professional responsibilities, extracurricular commitments, family duties, health issues, and technical difficulties! And don't forget holidays (Thanksgiving isn't canceled, after all) ! This is an epic journey for our writing team and we spoke to each of them (briefly) to see how they're doing, find out what they've learned so far, and hear their plans for these last two weeks.

Jerry Gordon is an author and editor of short and long fiction. As an editor, his work with Maurice Broaddus in the creation of the "Dark Faith" and "Dark Faith: Invocations" anthologies have informed his knowledge and perspective on the craft and qualities of good storytelling. Writing is own fiction - including the upcoming PRE-apocalyptic "Breaking the World" has further refined those sensibilities. This was an exceptional 20(ish) minutes where we explored the challenges of using known history in your stories, the weaving (not mashing) of genres, and the value of reviewing and critiquing other writer's works

Larry Santoro - author of "Just North of Nowhere" and "Drink for the Thirst to Come" and host of the splendid "Tales to Terrify" podcast - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help Paul E. Cooley and myself workshop the tale of a hero's journey through Hell offered up by Michael Bergonzi. Rogue angels, demon spawn, and the world after Revelations sends us all on a wild hunt for radical story lines and subverted reader expectations... and along the way we find some literary gold!

Larry Santoro is an explorer of expression. He has pursued and taught theater, written poetry and plays, produced films, hosted podcasts (like Tales to Terrify, part of the District of Wonders Network), and - of course - stories and novels. While much of his work has been classified as horror, Larry contends that he's not a horror writer... his stories just turn out that way. Paul E. Cooley joins me as co-host for this episode as we delve into the creative perspectives of this remarkable individual.

Lou Anders - Editorial Director at Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books Publishing - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a story idea by podcaster, writer, and former Guest Co-Host Doc Coleman. Doc's idea inspires a wealth of Literary Gold as Lou walks us through some exceptional insights into the storytelling craft (he even assigns homework!).

Lou Anders - editorial director at Pyr Books - has led a hero's journey through speculative fiction, from practically living on the sets of Star Trek and Babylon 5 to swinging Stormbringer in a parking lot with Michael Moorcock. We're delighted to share this 20(ish) minutes we had with Lou, discussing the reasons behind genre mashups, the nature of character in relation to plot, and more! So much writerly goodness awaits you behind that PLAY button...

And so we come to the conclusion, the final workshop/prep session with our four remarkable writers. NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow and they will be joining the thousands of bold and dedicated writers who will be burning up their keyboards to crank out the 1,667 words a day required to make the 50,000 word deadline in 30 days.

We hope these discussions have helped focus or inspire some of you to word-count greatness. Check back in a few weeks... Jared and I will be touching base with each of our writers to discover how they've been doing, celebrating their achievements as they go and exploring the challenges they didn't expect and how they've overcome them.

It's NaNoWriMo-Eve! Soon, thousands of bold and dedicated writers will be getting down to the business of crafting 50,000 words of fabulous story in 30 days. To support and celebrate those brave souls, The Roundtable Podcast invited four remarkable writers to gather at the table and share their own preparations for this epic annual event.

The discussion continues - as well as the brainstorming goodness - in this third chapter of the four-part podcast. The quest for writerly goodness, literary gold, and NaNoWriMo inspiration carries on!

Adam Christopher - an author who follows his amazing stories through whatever genre terrain they lead him (and we follow him cheerfully because... well.. he writes amazing stories) - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to workshop a tale of memory and madness offered by veteran game designer (and player) James Silverstein. James's story of lost memory, conspiracy, and deceit arrives with a substantial "Awesome" factor in its own right, which sends all of us off in search of even more Literary Gold (spoiler alert: We find it. A LOT of it). Classic Roundtable goodness awaits...

Continuing our discussion with four remarkable writers about their preparations (and stories) for the NaNoWriMo challenge: get 50,000 words on paper in a month.