Dogs Are Smarter Than People: Writing Life, Marriage and Motivation

We have a bonus podcast this week and it has swears in it and some adult content, so we’re going to give it an explicit rating even though it’s not super explicit. We’re just chill like that.

The bonus podcast features:

Shaun lyingBanff Film Festival! Carrie talking about third grader writers. Note: They have their characters rip their own hearts out in stories. The fact that the word ‘fart’ is a terribly ugly word and Carrie never quote-unquote ‘rips one.’ Bud-Lite

We’re super psyched because this episode is sponsored by Ballsy.

Best sponsorship ever. 

And why is that? 

Because Ballsy is for fun couples like us who are not into lame gifts for Valentine’s Day and they have a cool gift set just for Valentine’s Day and people like us. 

You want this, don’t you?

There’s an I’m Nuts About You gift set and the You’re Incrediballs heart box set.

They are running a promo right now for LOVE DAY and all days, really. The retail price is $less than $50, and the coupon code is for 20% off.

Here is your code for you, our cool listener: DOGS20

It has the word DOG in the code. That’s so cool. Just like you’ll be cool if you give this to your special man for Valentine’s. So go check Ballsy out at ballwash.com

The link to our episode.

Our last regular episode.

We like to think that our lives have a point and that they matter. I think they do, but we’re not here to get all esoteric on you. We’re here to help you be better writers and humans and one of the biggest things we need to tell you is this.  You need to ban … Continue reading "DUDE, DON’T WHATEVER ME"

This week Carrie was in Georgia hanging out with her daughter who had just had an operation. Her daughter is fine! Anyways, on the way to the airport at 4 a.m., the taxi driver told her story after story, mostly about the drunk people from Fort Benning who had ridden in his cab.  He was … Continue reading "Don’t Vomit in the Taxi and How to Tell a Good Story in Three Quick Steps"

This week’s podcast is about something really important. It’s about remembering to have fun. For a lot of us, life has a ton of stressors and responsibilities. We have to make enough money to survive. We have to take care of our family and ourselves. We have to deal with a world and not succumb … Continue reading "How to Be A HAPPY writer, Big Foot, Statues that Pee"

How do you write (or live) when you’re surrounded by distractions? Recently, a great teacher was talking to me about me being his writing coach, but he was hesitant to start right now because of his new class load.  I’m a seize the moment kind of human because I always expect to die tomorrow. That … Continue reading "Dealing With Distractions and Trolls and Panting Dogs"

New Year? New You? This week on the podcast we talk about:Mr. Taco, Attacking Seagulls, Doing the Raccoons, and Goals. Also, Shaun sings. So it’s the New Year and as we all know it’s all about goals and looking back and creating our lives in a new way. People are spending money on exercise equipment … Continue reading "Mr. Taco and New Year New You? Maybe. If you’re feeling it."

Subordinate Me, Santa Claus Subordinate clauses are baby clauses that can’t stand all by themselves as complete thoughts and they demand a certain kind of punctuation – or lack of punctuation. Here are examples: If I can find Santa, then we can go party.  We can go party if Santa ever freaking shows up.  So, … Continue reading "Subordinate My Clause, Santa"

The Magic of The Eyebrow and Telling Details What is this thing? This telling detail?  It’s a phrase or an image or a word that illustrates something about a character. It’s pretty exact. It’s a magical moment of showing rather than telling.  It’s usually pretty short.  And it’s the opposite of a telling description.  Here’s … Continue reading "Santa, What are Your Eyebrows doing? Telling Details and Taco Bell Smells."

At its most basic a story’s components are these – a beginning, a middle, an end.  The beginning is the situation or set up. The middle are the complications. The end is the resolution. Our lives are like this too. We begin in certain circumstances. We live and encounter complications and then we end.  But … Continue reading "Are You Drama or Melodrama, Baby?"

Stories are about people having emotions. Writers who write from their heads (outlining like crazy, etc,) are often missing out on the emotion because they are analyzing how to show emotion.  But it’s desire and yearning that makes stories stand out and makes writers into artists and truth tellers.  Robert Olen Butler says that yearning … Continue reading "Florida Man and the Queen of Kittens"