Two Hearts and One Braincell: Cassidy Carson & JT Hume Amateur Hour

Episode 131 is more free form than usual since we start with Labor Day, muddle around Burning Man, and end up talking at length about the Indiana Jones franchise.

Throughout this podcast was the sense and idea of nostalgia. The movie-going experience has changed much in our lifetimes, though we wouldn't say it necessarily has evolved. We also acknowledge that we are not the target audience we used to be. Even so, we feel the impact of entertainment was lost as movies were moved from a dark room with one bright screen to home-centric entertainment systems (streaming services and video games).

Dunno if we can be "right or wrong" in something that is unique to all of our personal experiences, but we do have opinions from our chairs on the porch as we watch over our lawn.

We spoil Indiana Jones and discuss the challenges of the home of Burning Man (CC used to live out there).

What do you think? Have a listen and check us at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!

The endless saga of our flooded basement gives us fodder for this week's podcast. Long story short: we're sore.

We talk about how the natural process of aging and Life takes a physical toll on our quality of life, and how we as writers can use these experiences to shape our characters. We also discuss how we can learn more about conditions where we have no firsthand experience. Notable examples would be the use of scooters in supermarkets and childbirth.

We also touch on how the quality of our physical health can be directly related to our ecomomic status. We cite Alice Walker's ⁠The Color Purple⁠, Frank McCourt's ⁠Angela's Ashes⁠, and John Steinbeck.

Yeah, this podcast was not much of a picker-upper, but these are important discussions for creators who write about real life versus those writing for escapism.

Have a listen and let us know what you think. Check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!

Episode 129 is about the authors who inspired and shaped us as adults and writers, and who happen to be women.

How's this for a murderer's row:

Agatha Christie (left)

Louisa May Alcott (right)

Jane Austen

Georgette Heyer

Carolyn Keene

Anne McCaffery

Ann Rice

JK Rowling

Alice Walker

Harper Lee

Margaret Mitchelle

Madeline L'Engle

Diana Gabaldon

Amy Tan

Audrey Niffenegger

So many more we could have mentioned.

We spoil "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Clue" (the movie).

We also discussed Hurricane Hillary, our feral cat, and the toxic wastedump known as our basement.

Lots of goodies for you. Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com. TIA LYL!

Episode 128 is about that great beast called "screenwriting" and how it is a different, yet similar craft to writing a book. There's the external visual representation versus the internal written word, but there's also the complex collaboration, visuals, and the outside influences (re: the studios) that change the original product into what you see on the big and small screen. It's a fascinating process.

We spoil:

Angels and Demons

Star Wars

Spider-Man

Batman

We update our EPA Superfund Site codenamed "our basement," talk about our WIPs, and discuss our deer for what is probably the last time.

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!

Is George Lucas good or lucky?

Episode 127 of our writers podcast is about writers who capture lightning in a bottle. They submit books and screenplays at just the right time which capture the imagination and take the country by storm. There’s lots of examples, starting with Mr. Lucas. Some folks would point to his pop cultural phenomenon of "Star Wars," but we go to the 1973 classic called "American Graffiti." This movie almost singlehandedly brought the 1950s nostalgia craze to the forefront of the Seventies and beyond. The movie also had a direct impact on CC's formative years.

We also include the usual updates about our WIPs, our basement (yuck) and the tenants, the deer.

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!

What's going on with Episode 126 of our writers' podcast? The better question is what isn't going on with this podcast.

We start off with the premise that an epiphany is part of the writer's toolchest, but it's an unreliable tool. Yes, the initial idea of a book can be classified as one, but what happens after you start writing and developing characters and plot? We have ideas on how to create and use epiphanies in your writing.

There's also a discussion on how long you should take to write a book. Spoiler: CC has been working on hers for over ten years and I started mine in 2022. They might appear in 2024.

Also the usual junk drawer updates:

Deer

Basement

Weather

WIPs

Killing characters

Free book giveaway

We go from Stephen King to George R.R. Martin in this one, so check us out at www.carsonhume.com and let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!

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Yeah, we joined mainstream and social media in debating Barbie in our podcast, but we went in a different direction with the history of gender-based books and roles.

We start in the mass market publishing in the beginning of the 20th Century ("dime store novels") through the "Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew" type books of the Fifties. We work our way into Women's Lib and ERA, and we talk about how the Barbie movie is portrayed in social media.

Also:

-Our WIPs

-Happy Birthday

-Deer Update

-WGA and the SAGAFTA strikes

As a bonus, three of our books will be free on Monday, July 24. Here's that link. If you miss the giveaway, send me proof that you bought them and we'll Venmo you the cost. We'd rather you read the books than worry about buying them.

As always, check us out at www.carsonhume.com

Have a listen and let us know what you think. TIA! LYL!

Episode 124 is about the writer's derivative use of other published works in their own works in progress. Where is the gray area of originality when using William Shakespeare's classic works, for example?

Modern literature is full of examples of those who boldly took it upon themselves to "copy" the Bard's great works or at least use them as inspiration for their books. Where do we writers draw the line? What is plagiarism?

Also:

-Updates on the weather, our basement and the baby deer.

-Nanowrimo

-How sausage, laws, and books are created.

-Using three senses in your writing (Das Boot).

As always, we go to a lot of places in less than an hour. If you're a writer or thinking about becoming one, this podcast is for you!

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!

Episode 123 is all about the our new furry friends. More specifically, we talk at length about how we can't help but assign human emotions and actions to those in the animal kingdom (the word I can't say or spell to save my life is "anthropomorphism").

Also:

- Our current WIPs & Boring Characters

- Nanowrimo & Camp Nano

- Setting writing goals and boundaries

- Run the dishwasher twice!

- Our maternity ward

We're packing a lot of good writing stuff in this one, not to mention a bit of risk. Are we right or wrong?

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!

Writers are always told to "write what they know," but what if you don't know? This week, CC got the opportunity to fill out her life experience by going to Las Vegas' famous male revue: "Magic Mike Live."

She takes our listeners through each step of the show: from hair-and-makeup to the dancing and athleticism of the show to the post-show meet-and-greet with some of the dancers. CC then spends some time outlining how she's going to apply this experience to her current work in progress.

Also discussed:

-Summer time!

-Coca Cola Store!

-Southwest Air

-Fourth of July!

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA! LYL!