S20 Ep16: In Which Mur Tackles Short Fiction Submissions

"You're not gonna be Wiswell or Chambers. You're gonna be you."- Mur

In this episode, Mur delves into the intricacies of submitting short fiction, sharing invaluable tips and personal experiences. From the importance of understanding market guidelines to the emotional resilience required to handle rejections, this episode is packed with advice for both new and seasoned writers.

Mur also recounts her recent whirlwind trip to Buffalo, battling migraines, and the unexpected productivity boost from writing a Baldur's Gate fanfic for a friend. Plus, she answers listener questions on short story submissions, beta readers, and the pitfalls of "rejectomancy."

Links:

• Clarkesworld
• QueryTracker
• Duotrope
• Submission Grinder
• Escape Pod
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Neil Gaiman
• China Miéville
• Connie Willis
• John Scalzi
• Becky Chambers
• John Wiswell
• Ken Liu
• Hugo Awards
• GigaNotoSaurus
• Midsolar Murders
• Ditch Diggers

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book.
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!
• All books featured in Season 20

"Navigating Short Fiction Submissions" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. June 24, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 16 | murverse.com "Navigating Short Fiction Submissions" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

S20 Ep15: In Which Mur Muses on AI and the Writer's Journey

"I'm exaggerating a little bit, but if you look at the last 20 years, that's pretty much how I work."- Mur

Transcript

In this podcast we dive into the depths of editing my novel, Infinite Archive, and how I'm navigating the murky waters of murder mystery tweaks. We also explore the increasingly complex landscape of AI in writing and its implications for creatives.

Links:

• Infinite Archive
• Valerie Valdez
• Premee Mohammed
• Savage Mill Geek Fest
• NASFiC in Buffalo
• Glasgow WorldCon
• World Fantasy Con
• Query Shark
• Writer Beware
• Preditors and Editors
• Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds (Gwenda Bond's book)

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book.
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!
• All books featured in Season 20

"Murder Mystery Meltdown and the AI Assistant" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. May 2, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 15 | murverse.com "Murder Mystery Meltdown and the AI Assistant" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

S20 Ep14: In Which Mur Dives into Conventions and Confidence

"You can't stop caring about something... You stop what you do about it, but you can't really just turn that switch off." - Mur

From the thrill of networking to the trepidation of tax season, Mur navigates the maze of a writer's life with humor and honesty. In this episode, she shares her experiences and insights on convention attendance, from choosing the right ones to the art of mingling without the cringe. Plus, she tackles the ever-present concern of COVID safety in crowded spaces.

Whether you're a cosplayer or a casual attendee, Mur advises on how to present yourself professionally, connect with industry pros, and enjoy the con experience while staying true to your comfort level. And for those not ready to dive back into the physical con scene, she discusses the merits of virtual conventions and how they can be a great alternative.

Links:

• Escape Pod
• Omnihedral (game store)
• Boskone
• Worldcon
• Wiscon
• World Fantasy Con
• ConFusion
• Bubonicon
• FenCon
• ArmadilloCon
• San Antonio Book Festival
• John Scalzi
• Kameron Hurley
• Tobias Buckell
• Patreon
• Substack
• John Anealio (theme music)
• Numbersninja (art)
• Libsyn (podcast hosting)
• Valerie Valdes

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book.
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!
• All books featured in Season 20

"Conquering Conventions and Crafting Confidence" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 24, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 14 | murverse.com "Conquering Conventions and Crafting Confidence" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

S20 Ep13: In Which Mur Attends Wole Talabi's Creative Alchemy

Transcript

"The primary driver of my sense of success is, 'do I feel happy with what I've done?'" - Wole Talabi

Mur chats with Wole Talabi, an engineer turned author (but still engineer). They discuss the Schrodinger's Cat of publishing, the thrill of rewriting old stories for new audiences, and the joy of challenging the norms of fiction.

Links:

• Wole Talabi

• Nebula Awards

• Hugo Awards

• Locus Awards

• Sidewise Awards for Alternate History

• Lightspeed Magazine (with Wole's interview)

• Caine Prize

• Namwali Serpell and her short story "Account"

• 99 Fleeting Fantasies

• Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology

• Glasgow 2024 Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention)

Evergreen Links

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

• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.

• Theme by John Anealio

• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends

• 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!

• All books featured in Season 20

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

"From Patent Memos to Nebula Nods with Wole Talabi" is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link)

"From Patent Memos to Nebula Nods with Wole Talabi" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

April 17, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 13 | murverse.com

S20 Ep 12: In Which Mur Plans to Turn Hurt Feelings into Finished Drafts

Transcript

"I read over the notes and I got mad and I got my feelings hurt." - Mur (being fussy)

I've received my edit letter about Infinite Archive, so I'm handling all the emotions that carries with it.  ADHD complicated my perception of time, so figuring out how long it will take me is a challenge.

Valerie Valdes joins the chat with some excellent advice, like adding extra time to your deadlines to account for the unexpected. Then we touch on the basic concept of "someone comes to town, someone leaves down" (also a Cory Doctorow book title.)

We also touch on the concept of love triangles in fiction, sparking a conversation about the trope's effectiveness and its alternatives.

Links:

• Valerie Valdes (aka @thekidsareasleep) and her Locus-longlisted book Where Peace is Lost.
• Cory Doctorow
• Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
• Writing the Other (course)
• Neil Gaiman on "Entitlement Issues"
• Paul and Storm (Also ISBW fans will recognize the voice behind this other GRRM focused song, "George RR Martin Is Not Your Bitch")
• Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook
• James Patrick Kelly
• A Song of Ice and Fire

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book.
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!

(go here for all the books mentioned in 2024)

"Riding the Revision Rollercoaster"  is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 15, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 12 | murverse.com "The Revision Rollercoaster - From Hurt Feelings to Finished Drafts" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

S20 Ep11: In which we travel "The Other Valley" with Scott Alexander Howard

Transcript

"I wrote it in a blissful who cares? Mentality, like, 'oh, well, genre will sort itself out.'" - Scott Alexander Howard

In this episode, we're joined by Scott Alexander Howard, author of The Other Valley, a novel where literary meets speculative. Scott delves into his journey from philosophy to fiction, sharing how his background influenced the emotional depth of his debut. We discuss the challenges of genre and the slow dance of publishing.

Links:

• Scott Alexander Howard
• The Other Valley
• Elena Ferrante
• Ted Chiang
• Virginia Woolf
• Yoko Ogawa
• Marilynne Robinson
• Jenny Erpenbeck
• Martin McInnes

Evergreen Links

• Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing book.
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!

(go here for all the books mentioned in 2024)

"The Landscape of Grief with Scott Alexander Howard"  is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja,and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 12, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 11 | murverse.com "The Landscape of Grief with Scott Alexander Howard" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I Should Be Writing Season 20, Episode 10

"I felt like a cuckoo among very pretty birds." - Mur

Fresh off the JoCo cruise, we discusses the allure of nerd paradise and how navigating imposter syndrome is a frequent struggle. I share tabletop RPG antics, celebrity karaoke adventures, and the amazing feeling of having legitimately cool creators accept you. Self doubt did show up, and I'll talk about how I dealt with that.

Also, what should I do for my 20th year podcasting celebration?

Other links: 

• JoCo Cruise
• Jonathan Coulton
• Skullcrusher Mountain
• Chiron Beta Prime
• Portal (Video Game)
• Portal 2 (Video Game)
• NPR Ask Me Another
• That Bronze Girl (Twitch)
• Drunk History
• James S.A. Corey (Ty Franck)
• The Expanse
• Tochi Onyebuchi
• Mari Naomi
• Our Flag Means Death
• Oscar Nunez
• Vico Ortiz
• Scott Alexander Howard
• The Other Valley (Book by Scott Alexander Howard)

Evergreen Links

• I don't talk enough about the I Should Be Writing book. It exists. Go buy it!
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!

(go here for all the books mentioned in Season 20)

Your support keeps our ship afloat. Thank you for being part of the crew.

If you can't give monetarily, then consider leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts!

April 18, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 10 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I Should Be Writing Season 20, Episode 9

Transcript

"If you don't start out perfect, you're never going to be good." - Evil Mur

Evil Mur is back giving terrible advice and it's a wild ride through the looking glass of a writer's darker musings. We cover questioning the point of writing when perfection eludes us to the ruthless strategy of writing on the job. She gives some seriously excellent advice about emotions in horror, and offers an unorthodox method for trimming the fat from your prose. We touch on the Hugo Awards and reveal the cover of Mur's upcoming book, Infinite Archive.

Be warned: Evil Mur doesn't play by the rules, and neither does her advice.

Other links: 

• JoCo Cruise
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (game)
• The Secret (book)
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull (book)
• The Celestine Prophecy (book)
• Infinite Archive (book)
• How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method (book)
• Hugo Awards
• Save the Cat Writes a Novel (book)
• Penguin Random House (publisher)
• Twitch (MightyMur)

Evergreen Links

• I don't talk enough about the I Should Be Writing book. It exists. Go buy it!
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• Savor I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!

(go here for all the books in Season 20)

Support the show, if you dare, and remember: Evil Mur is watching. Write like it's your last act of defiance.

CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, site design by Clockpunk Studioand files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon. April 5, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 9 | murverse.com "The Epiphany of Routine" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I Should Be Writing Season 20, Episode 7

Transcript

I found myself looking for my own magic bullet and getting frustrated a the media who take the idea of a daily routine--something people with ADHD people need--and play it off as only done by stodgy, unfun dorks. I discuss Josh Zimmerman's videos, how creation is like jumping off a diving board for me, my solo RPG plans, and promote Premee Mohamed's books and bullying. 

From the fear of preparation to the power of routines for neurodiverse individuals, we open up about the importance of finding what works for you—even if it means facing your own hypocrisy. Plus, hear about the anticipation of the JoCo cruise, the chaos of running Brindlewood Bay RPGs, and why sometimes, you just have to leap off the high dive. 

Other links: 

• Apple Fitness Plus
• Ray Bradbury, Zen and the Art of Writing
• Stranger Than Fiction (movie)
• Publishers Weekly
• File 770
• JoCo Cruise
• Ursula Vernon
• Brindlewood Bay (RPG)

Evergreen Links

• I don't talk enough about the I Should Be Writing book. It exists. Go buy it!
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!
• Check out all the books we've featured this year!

And remember, we can't do this without you. Thanks for your support.

March 12, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 8 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I Should Be WritingSeason 20, Episode 7

In this episode, I discuss trusting yourself because sometimes no one else will. We also talk File 770, Genre Grapevine, I mispronounce "chutzpah," make a Wizard of Oz reference, and how should I celebrate 20 seasons of ISBW? Remember, advice is supplementary.

Evergreen Links

• I don't talk enough about the I Should Be Writing book. It exists. Go buy it!
• My newsletter, The Hot Mic, and my Patreon. Supporting either of those will get you perks like access to the discord, exclusive content, and early, ad-free episodes.
• Socials: Bluesky, Mastodon, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate.
• Theme by John Anealio
• I Should Be Writing tea blends
• 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!

See what books we've discussed this season here.

Some of the above links are affiliate, meaning I may receive a small amount of money for the purchase at no cost to you.

And remember, we can't do this without you. Thanks for your support.

March 9, 2024 | Season 20 Ep 7 | murverse.com | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0