Keystroke Medium

We get down and dirty with some seriously dark coffee

Great characters are what readers are looking for and without them, they're likely to skip your book. Damon Suede joins Josh and Scott to talk about his techniques to take your writing voice to the next level.

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Great characters are what readers are looking for and without them, they're likely to skip your book. Damon Suede joins Josh and Scott to talk about his techniques to take your writing voice to the next level.

Hosts: Josh Hayes, Scott Moon, Damon Suede

[00:00] Opening remarks—Dragon Award Nominations are open!

[04:18] Weekly update, “F*ck You Writing Is Hard” Edition

Scott: Launching Invasion Day with a new version and cover, but Amazon is slow. Scott got promoted to Lieutenant!

Damon: On Lockdown writing romance. Working on another nonfiction in the series, Characterize! Writing fiction and coming back into screenwriting. There are no people outside of Manhattan; feels like an apocalyptic movie. Surprised there are no bicycles, toilet paper, and exercise equipment. Damon Suede’s Verbalize: bring stories to life & life to stories

Josh: Enemy of Valor (Valor #3) is ready to publish! Starting a new trilogy called Tranquility with Devon Ford. Working to have the first two novels done by end of summer. No more Valor memes!

[15:18] Bring Your Story to Life!

-Introduction to Damon Suede’s experience.

-Adjectives are worthless in writing (its descriptive).

-Verbs are the word that speaks to the action of a story and character.

-No one thinks about action for writing.

-Don’t describe… give action!

-The characters are an action and have different tactics that are synonyms of what the character does.

Example: Severus Snape vexes.

-You want to build the moral ethos (action) of the character

-Antonyms are conflict.

Example: Hannibal Lector savors.

Example: Clarice Starling saves.

Example: Fisher (in Valor) proves.

-My verbs are transitive, not intransitive.

Example: Gollum covets. He strangles, he murders, he steals, etc. in order to covet.

Example: Jane Gum also covets, but it shown differently.

-Verbs don’t have gender or race or prejudice.

L.C. Knight’s How Many Children Had Lady MacBeth?

-Dolls vs. characters.

Example: Lady MacBeth schemes.

-It’s not dialogue conflict, that’s bickering, you’re looking for friction.

-Your audience is an emotional piñata.

-If you don’t have an action for a character, you can still figure it out in your writing.

-Making characters more character

-Fatal Flaw is what screws up a character and causes them to take action.

-Character = Plot and Plot = Character

-Twatwaffles in Pulp Fiction

[1:08:00] Closing remarks

Coffee and Concepts

Writer’s Journey

Storytelling

 

Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/

Don't forget to Like and Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium

If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium

For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/

Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com

Keystroke Medium Anthologies

     Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I 

     Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX

     Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium’s first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or wherever else you found us!

Many COVID-19 headlines are looking grim these days, but what are the actual sales numbers saying?

We invited small press publisher Steve Beaulieu on the show to cut through the doom and gloom and shed some light on what's actually happening in the book publishing world.

What happens when you mix stuff together... Sometimes it's GOOD!

Josh, Scott, and Chuck sit down to talk about fulfilling (hopefully) reader expectations and a whole lot more, on today's episode of LIVE!

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Hosts: Josh Hayes, Scott Moon, C. Steven Manley

[00:00] Opening remarks—Dragon Award Nominations are open!

[03:39] Weekly update, “Office Makeover” Edition

Josh: Valor #3 is complete and up for pre-order!

Chuck: Plugging away on Jack Dark Book 2 and Brace Cordova 3. The awesome name of Jamarian “Jam” Haygood.

Scott: Scott did NOT rearrange his office. Working on publishing Invasion Day and working on sequel Resistance Day. Adding in curveballs to the story and reacting to cascading changes throughout the story.

[19:15] Main Event: Fulfilling Reader Expectations!

-Genre, Series, and Character expectations

-Throwing in a new character and setting up expectations (ex. Cyborg)

-What are the reader expectations from the genre?

-For space opera, it’s a mech story, so expectation is cool mech battles and cool mech things, such as ‘leveling up’ older construction mechs with weaponry. So the focus is action and mech, but less focus on the pilot and characters.

-Geeking out about things that both the author and reader would love.

-Hot Tub Time Machine segue

-Starting with an overall expectation and feedback from readers can change writer expectation (or not if the expectation is too risky for the genre)

-Reader expectation comes from the reader. Can a writer affect that?

-You can develop expectations as a writer. Ex. When you pick up a Stephen King book, you have an expectation based on characters, plot, and storytelling.

-You pick up a book, thinking that a book is about one thing and it’s about something else (pleasantly and unpleasantly)

Example: Leviathan Wakes (Expanse #1)

-Reader expectations are set up at the beginning of the book and fulfilled at the end.

-If you pick up Epic Fantasy by book cover, you shouldn’t expect a Grimdark Fantasy.

-Setting up an expectation and then never delivering is terrible for the reader.

-Stryker’s War had an expectation that neither the writer nor the reader anticipated.

-Josh likes to make people cry.

-You can set up an emotional gut punch.

-Upping expectations as you become more experienced as a writer.

-If you make someone feel something, you’ve succeeded.

-The hate for Baldacci continues…

-Next week’s guest (no really): (Damon Suede’s Verbalize: bring stories to life & life to stories).

[54:48] Closing remarks

Coffee and Concepts

Writer’s Journey

Storytelling

 

Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/

Don't forget to Like and Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium

If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium

For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/

Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com

Keystroke Medium Anthologies

     Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I 

     Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX

     Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium’s first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or wherever else you found us!

In the middle of a global pandemic, the big question on everybody's mind right now is what does the future hold?

Well, maybe we don't have a crystal ball to ask, but we do have two literary agents from the acclaimed Tobias Agency.

In today's episode, we discuss current trends in the book publishing world and ask how COVID-19 might change the publishing landscape forever.

WHAT! Coffee... in BEER? Is that really a thing? Also, what's the best way to tie up a story? We're talking about it.

No script, no plan. Just coffee and getting psyched for an awesome week of writing! Come hangout!

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Hosts: Josh Hayes, Scott Moon, C. Steven Manley

[00:00] Opening remarks—Dragon Award Nominations are open!

[05:45] Weekly update, “Smooth Jazz and Air Force Beret” Edition

Josh: Developed an appreciation for instrumental jazz. Segue into discussing writing music (with and without lyrics, mood music, no music, etc.). Couldn’t stop writing with Tron: Legacy music. Finished the developmental edit of Valor #3. Working on resolution chapters for the story. Read-through on another author’s work and doing some story development beat work. Playing with dolls.

Scott: Scott listens to a lot of Pacific Rim, Call of Duty, and lots of Hans Zimmer. Did some dictation, so working on a new process with dictation following his beats. Publishing Invasion Day.

Chuck: Finished Galactic Murder Clowns 3. Back to working on Jack Dark Book 2 and Brace Cordova on the backburner. FBI trilogy concept in the works.

[26:00] Main Event: Motivation Monday!

-Starting off with jumping right into David Baldacci’s Memory Man

-Scott is staying positive because of this damn book.

-Getting back into a good headspace for writing.

-Listening to audiobooks getting you back into writing.

-Enthralled with Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

-Falling out the habit or groove that makes writing possible.

-Character POV jumping criticism in The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

-Getting inspiration from other works and reading as motivation.

-Scott and Chuck love Mr. Mercedes (The Bill Hodges Book 1) by Stephen King

-Reading old pulp novels for enjoyment and how stories were told decades ago because of the era they were written in—Conan, Gor, Doc Savage, etc.

-Waxing upon the difference between bad characters and bad authors

-The controversy over Amélie Wen Zhao’s Blood Heir

-Epistolary novels like World War Z by Max Brooks

-Wanting to read Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster

-Wanting to read The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher (The Witcher Saga Book 1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

-Looking forward to writing a different genre as a refreshing shift.

-The importance of reading cross genre reading for inspiration and breadth of experience.

-Avoiding romance?

-Slow burn romance of Han and Leia over three movies of OT vs. how to write it.

-Complaints of the Disney five-minute romance.

-Learning from Nicholas Sparks (ex. The Notebook)

-Chuck schools Josh on how to find novel breakdowns without doing it himself.

-Jamie Albright’s romance books.

-Lindsay Buroker’s science fiction romance books.

-Hallmark Romances are Fantasy?

-The importance of dialogue and next week’s guest (Damon Suede’s Verbalize: bring stories to life & life to stories).

[1:00:00] Closing remarks

Coffee and Concepts

Writer’s Journey

Storytelling

 

Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/

Don't forget to Like and Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium

If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium

For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/

Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com

Keystroke Medium Anthologies

     Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I 

     Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX

     Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium’s first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo

If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or wherever else you found us!

Options in the indie publishing world get wider everyday. Thinking about reaching more readers than just those on Amazon? Draft2Digital might be the platform for you. Not only do they make listing your ebooks on places like Kobo, Applebooks, and B&N a cinch, signing up doesn't cost you a thing.

But how do you use it, and how can they help? D2D's Mark Leslie Lefebvre answers those questions and more on this episode of The Writer's Journey.

Walt gets doused in coffee after a few minutes sleep.