ISBW 22.20

I met Durham author Isaac Green at a local reading and loved his work, so I invited him on the show. Get ready for some talk about MFAs, writing energy, agent hunting, and writing consistency!

• Award-winning author and teacher Isaac Green
• NC State MFA program, and North Carolina Central University
• Small Worldcon report, and Covid report.

This post went live for supporters on September 18, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is August 20!

Evergreen Links

• Like podcasts? Check my Hugo-winning show with T. Kingfisher where we talk about the business of a writing career: Ditch Diggers.
• Check out Escape Pod if you want free audio and print science fiction stories, edited by myself and Valerie Valdes!
• I Should Be Writing merch
• If you're enjoying ISBW, get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon.

September 21, 2026 | ISBW 22.20 | murverse.com "Isaac Green says Start Before You're Ready" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow.

And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate them so very much. ABSOLUTELY NO AI scraping/learning of my content is permitted.If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.20

After a heartbreaking Q&A session at a recent convention, I felt the need to say something that's cold and honest. And that is about the magic bullet.

Shorter episode, the last one before worldcon. And since I'm posting it after worldcon, I cut out a lot of the "see me at worldcon" bits—also because no one saw me because I got covid.

We catch up in a few days with this week's interview with Isaac Green, then we're back on track with recording!

This post went live for supporters on September 14, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch!

Evergreen Links

• Like podcasts? Check my Hugo-winning show with T. Kingfisher where we talk about the business of a writing career: Ditch Diggers.

• Check out Escape Pod if you want free audio and print science fiction stories, edited by myself and Valerie Valdes!

• I Should Be Writing merch

• If you're enjoying ISBW, get the book! I Should Be Writing.

• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube

• Theme by John Anealio

• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!

• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon.

September 17, 2026 | ISBW 22.19 | murverse.com "The Magic Bullet Myth" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow.

And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate them so very much. ABSOLUTELY NO AI scraping/learning of my content is permitted. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.18

I had imposter syndrome so sneaky I didn't even realize it! (recorded before WorldCon).

• We all talk ourselves out of good ideas.

• Convention rules, updated for 2026! (But you still have to 3,2,1. That will never change.)

• We talk 2k-10k and Page One to Done.

• Regrettably, Roberts Rules of Order is discussed.

• All the other perks that come with a Worldcon membership.

• See you in Montreal in 2027!

I attended Worldcon and promptly got Covid (my first time!) and so I cut out a lot of talk of my plans and my panels because the episode is late and I had very little fun. Congrats to all the Hugo finalists!

This post went live for supporters on September 11, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is September 17!

Evergreen Links

• Like podcasts? Check my Hugo-winning show with T. Kingfisher where we talk about the business of a writing career: Ditch Diggers.
• Check out Escape Pod if you want free audio and print science fiction stories, edited by myself and Valerie Valdes!
• I Should Be Writing merch
• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon.

Sept 14, 2026 | ISBW 22.18 | murverse.com "Emotions are Stupid" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow.

And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate them so very much. ABSOLUTELY NO AI scraping/learning of my content is permitted.If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.17

So much to talk about! Worldcon is looming, and we take listener questions.

• How do you handle writing after a long break?

• What books do you recommend for writing fight scenes? Books by Alan Baxter and Marie Brennan are mentioned

• Mur is reading Page One to Done.

• Mur also has silly notebook problems that no one else seems to have.

• The HWA sent a ridiculous newsletter out and we are all seeing the fallout. See Chuck Wendig's take on it, and HWA's response is in the comments.

The lesson of this episode is the classic, if no one buys your thing, it is probably because THEY DO NOT WANT THE THING, not because they want to spite you. Authors have many reasons to hate AI that have nothing to do with "gatekeeping."

Other links of stuff I said: Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Covers, Grant Baciocco's Creativity Journal video, Hobonichi Planners.

This post went live for supporters on August 17, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is August 20!

Evergreen Links

• I Should Be Writing merch

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.

• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate

• Theme by John Anealio

• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!

• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon.

Aug 19, 2026 | ISBW 22.17 | murverse.com "AMA, Silly Notebook Problems" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow.

And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate them so very much.

If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.16

I finished the book, I started a short story, and I have been looking at the concept of confidence a bit lately. Also been enjoying Charisma on Command videos. So let's talk about confidence.

Don't forget the book giveaway from last time! You have a week to enter!

The Books (along with links if you want to just order right now!):

• The Good Girl Effect by Sara Cate
• Nemesis Mine by Ann Archer
• A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara
• To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast
• Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley (and Agatha Christie)

This post went live for supporters on August 7, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is August 13 with Ann Archer!

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. Aug 7, 2026 | ISBW 22.16 | murverse.com "Are you confident? What does "confident" actually mean?" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate it so very much. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.15

I want a lot of books.

I buy a lot of books.

I get sent a lot of books.

I can't with all these books. So you get to benefit! I'm discussing five new or upcoming books of several different genres and then doing a giveaway! All you have to do is email me (mightymur at gmail) and tell me which one you want to be in the drawing for!

I will draw the winners August 15!

This is open to anyone, Patreon supporter/follower or not!

The Books (along with links if you want to just order right now!):

• The Good Girl Effect by Sara Cate
• Nemesis Mine by Ann Archer
• A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara
• To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast
• Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley (and Agatha Christie)

This post went live for supporters on July 24, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is August 6!

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. Jul 29, 2026 | ISBW 22.15 | murverse.com "Let's Give Away Some Books! (#1)" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.14

The scammers are getting wilier, and we have to keep up, folks. They want you to pay to join book clubs, they catfish you to make you fire your agent and take theirs, and they are really into helping you promote a book you have forgotten about, and have zero control over because it was work for hire.

GLOSSARY: Work For Hire: It is an exception to the general (copyright) rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally-recognized author of that work.

Meaning when Marvel* hires you to write Superman, Marvel owns the rights to everything and you get a check.

The biggest thing we discuss is how to best battle these monsters.

The following help too:

• Writer Beware
• Preditors and Editors (They're moving to a new platform, so all that's there right now (July 2026) is a Facebook link…)
• Our own Discord server for Patreon supporters!

This post went live for supporters on July 22, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is July 30!

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

*Yes of course I know that DC owns and publishes Superman. But I bet someone out there is trying to scam people by inviting them to write Superman from a fake Marvel address. See, guys, I'm telling you, these scammers are WILEY.

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. July 24, 2026 | ISBW 22.14 | murverse.com "Scams scams scams!" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.13

Believe it or not, we got a feedback question to answer! We talk about how to get moving when you've stalled out on your writing routine, and a few of my secret anxieties. It boils down to:

Why are you doing this?

Notes:

• Escape Pod is a finalist for the Hugo and Ignyte awards! Amazing!
• I attended Viable Paradise once upon a time.
• Fix the News!
• Gail Carriger on Ditch Diggers
• JoCo's Thing a Week
• Beatnik Turtle's Song of the Day
• David Drake
• Elizabeth Bear on Ditch Diggers

This post went live for supporters on June 22, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is July 2!

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. June 26, 2026 | ISBW 22.13 | murverse.com "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.12

Happy Pride!

Recently we welcomed Isabel J. Kim to the show to talk about her debut novel, Sublimation!

We not only talk about her mind-bending Severence-like novel, but her use of point of view, second person, and about her award-winning story "WHY DON'T WE JUST KILL THE KID IN THE OMELAS HOLE".

This post went live for supporters on June 19, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is June 25!

Links:

• Isabel J. Kim
• "WHY DON'T WE JUST KILL THE KID IN THE OMELAS HOLE"

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review! CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. Jun 19, 2026 | ISBW 22.12 | murverse.com "Isabel J. Kim talks SUBLIMATION" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

ISBW 22.11

(There will be a giveaway of Ruinous Creatures! I'm taking entries until May 21! Email me with GIVEAWAY in the subject line! You do not need to be a paying supporter to enter.)

Recently we welcomed Jessi Cole Jackson to the show to talk about her debut novel, Ruinous Creatures!

We cover Jackson's unique bone-specific magic system and her inspirations, not to mention how to wrap your head around romance and spice when you've only written tame things before.

Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is May 16.

This post went live for supporters on May 11, 2026. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon!

Links:

• Jessi Cole Jackson
• Sarah Maclean
• T. Kingfisher
• Naomi Novik
• The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love
• Save the Cat
• The Heroine's Journey
• The Author Burnout Cure podcast
• 4 Act Structure

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing.
• Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate
• Theme by John Anealio
• Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more!
• OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon.

May 16, 2025 | ISBW 22.11 | murverse.com "Ruinous Creatures and Magic Systems" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.