Pub Crawl

Dan and Ezra discuss punctuation. Really! After a brief history of the evolution of commas, periods and more, the Pub Crawl hosts consider the uses and abuses of punctuation. Mentions of "The Great Gatsby" in this episode: One. Mentions of AI: None.

Disclaimer: No Oxcord commas were harmed in the making of this podcast.

With Dan at the point of doing final edits, proofreading and then book design, he wonders if it might be all right to use AI for his new novel. Dan and Ezra survey some of the dozens of AI tools that have sprung up to "help" writers, and wonder whether any use of AI at all is too much.

Dan and Ezra consider the merits of writing out detailed plot outlines vs. winging the first draft. Plus: Dan makes a shocking confession! It's evrything you would expect from Pub Crawl.

Do you have an idea that really pops? Really? Are you sure? In the latest episode of Pub Crawl, Dan and Ezra talk about ideas--the moment of inspiration--and how to judge if your idea is really enough to carry a full-length novel or screenplay. Plus, a discussion of originality and plagiarism--how confident are you that your idea is really your own?

Dan and Ezra discuss the art and science of rewriting. Is it really, as so many writers have claimed, all about chopping, trimming, and deleting extra words? Must every writerly flourish be uprooted? Or is there a gentler path?

Dan and Ezra dig into the hall-of-mirrors world of AI readers and reviewers. Ezra asks ChatGPT to create increasingly scathing reviews of his novels, and the bot obliges, even as it admits it hasn't actually read the work it's "reviewing."

Dan and Ezra discuss the concept of summer reading, beach reads and their own reading lists for this season. Somehow Dan brings Sean Connery into it, too. Plus: digressions about the disgusting products being advertised on Ezra's book pages on Amazon.

Dan and Ezra dig into the world's oldest and probably most popular topic: Sex. What restrictions do publishing platforms like KDP put on sexual content? (Hint: Bestiality is a no-no.) And what turns audiences on -- and off? Dan considers the outré limits of sexual content, including Lolita and Pepe le Pew. Trigger warning: Llama jokes are included in this podcast.

Dan and Ezra had planned for this episode to be about the complicated topic of sex and literature. But instead they end up gabbing about Ezra's new book, Handsome, which published on July 13 and is on sale everywhere.

Department of corrections: In honor of Dan being in London, he broke out his James Mason imitation, which led Ezra to mangle the name of his favorite James Mason movie. The title is "Odd Man Out," not "One Way Out." Great movie, though!

Dan and Ezra discuss the process of teaching--and learning--writing with University of Melbourne prof Liz Keyishian. Plus, book recommendations for Dan's summer travels.