Two Writers, No Hook

Recorded 2026-05-19

A shorter than usual episode this time, but unfortunately this is due to Michael not having much to report (for real this time). I've done most of the prep for a developmental edit and am applying changes from my last read-through.

Michael asks a question about using AI to generate covers for some stories he plans to give away for free and that takes us on an AI tangent. I advance the position that it's an individual decision, both as author and reader, but that the key is full disclosure of any tools used so that readers can make an informed decision.

When we get back on track I help Michael set a specific, achievable goal in hopes of helping him get out of "ADD lockup" mode.

Then we discuss this week's hook: where we get our ideas from, set up the question for next week, dealing with self-doubt. And that's a wrap!

Recorded 2026-05-05

This episode we discuss groups and websites that helped or hindered our progress as writers.

Bonus feature, now with less fan noise!

In this episode we cut back on the catch-up potion of our chat and move right into progress reporting. Michael starts with his "nothing" report which turns out to be a fair bit. I report record progress, including a first draft that I'm calling substantially complete (Michael calls it a holey draft) and the beginning of a developmental edit, wherein I will be filling in the holes.

Along the way we digress into writing, focus, distractions and deadlines.

Michael's goal: get back to editing. Continue with the train story. Do some prompts.

Mine: continue with a developmental edit, and a recap of how I got to an actual ending I like.

We slide into talking about groups and sites we've encountered: good, bad, and ugly. Everything we mention is listed below. We also talk a bit about where we find helpful information and feedback. We talk about how our podcast helps as well.

Michael forces me to tell a joke. Then he tells his. We discuss how the essence of a joke is the delivery.

Recorded 2026-04-22

We open as usual with weather, this time in Italy, then a discussion of all the travel he'll be doing visiting wineries in Italy (he's a wine writer, so that's actually work for him.) By next episode he'll be back in Canada (we hope) so we discuss whether or not he'll be able to catch a flight or be returning by cargo ship.

Progress reporting: I have a negative word count, but I have figured out how to write the ending of my novel. Hurrah! I describe how I got there after an embarrassing long period of time. We segue into writing with or without paper.

On Michael's end, his short story placed first in the first round of a NYC Midnight writing contest, so buoyed by that, in addition to writing a story for the second round, he entered another contest, requiring another 2,500 word story. This means editing his novel is on hold but before he shelved it, he cut 425 words. He is also in the write-a-thon run by Pocket MFA. We agree that he's insane. Including the counts for his short stories, he's at 42% of the way to his 50K goal for April. I noted that he's 2/3 through the month and 42% is less than 66%. He also joined another contest in May. His summary: "beware the rush that comes from placing first!" He hopes to return to editing next month.

On other writerly stuff I mention "On Being, (and becoming again) a Writer" by Ron Collins and recommend it (see my review on Storygraph), and the virtual Can*Con conference that was held last week. Michael talks about adding the fifth book ever to his DNF list. We talk about books we don't like even though they're by writers we love.

Goals: Michael corners me into writing three days a week over the next two weeks. I express how I can't fathom participating in these writing contests he's so keen on. He says it helps push him into the writing habit. His goals: the 500 word contest in May and trying to hit the 50K in April. He figures it's going to be a struggle.

This episode's hook: we talk about non-writing programs (and tools) that we use in our process. Next episode it will be writing-related groups that have helped or hindered our progress as authors.

Recorded 2026-04-06

I think when we started these conversations, we figured they would run about 30 minutes. We were wrong. 45 minutes seems like a more typical length, and this time we went way over, just about four minutes short of an hour. I don't think either of us are quite sure how this happens, although my digressions into Substack, marketing, and open source as a defence against enshittification certainly contributed.

As is typical, we open with weather, specifically a comparison of spring in Italy vs. Canada. We talk about the differences in Easter holidays between the two countries. Before we get to our actual topic, Michael asserts that haircuts in Italy are different (as in better) in Italy. I remain skeptical.

Progress reporting: Alan really struggled to make progress, Michael has too much going on, editing his previous story and setting a target of 50K for his April write-a-thon. He's Editing is coming along, tightening the story up. He's also having trouble writing at his desk but has found a place that works.

Goals: Michael keep writing new story. Keep editing, get edits done by end of April. Has a lot on his plate. figures edits will get pushed into May. He dislikes editing and we talk about that for a while.

My goals: finish the damn novel. We talk about giving up on a story, and how some stories seem to want to be told.

I discuss my decision to stop posting on Substack, which leads into a discussion of marketing.

Then this episode's topic: Programs we use for writing: novelWriter vs Scrivener. Michael's uses Dabble and we talk about limitations. We discuss open source vs. proprietary software.

Recorded 2026-03-23

This episode starts with us laughing about saying "on the air" with our tiny number of viewers (hi there, viewers, we appreciate you). We also had a little hiccup getting started because Michael was misled about when we start thanks to an AI assistant. He claims that he's talking more with his hands thanks to being in Italy and has found a book that describes what each of the gestures means.

My progress report: my read-through/edit is complete, I talk about being blocked by my neurodivergence and distracting myself with other things. This leads into a long discussion of coping with ADD, ADHD, and Autism, and that takes us into how we manage our to-do lists.

Michael reports on his editing process, he's submitted a story to a contest, and then he discovers that the "writerpalooza" we talked about last episode is really a "write-a-thon," which now sounds more like a NaNoWriMo sort of thing. He has the beginning of a story ready for the event. This sort of writing to a target takes into talking about group writing sprints. I find them unrewarding, Michael complains that they all happen in the evening, but he's a morning writer. He talks about how he's most creative in the morning, when he has more free flowing ideas. It's interesting that we both like writing when it's dark. Me late at night, him early in the morning.

I cycle the conversation back to neurodivergence as I ask Michael if he ever gets into a hyper-focus mode. He talks about how long he can focus on writing and how he leaves a note at the end of a session so he can pick up the thread in the next session. I relate I can hyper-focus on software development and wish I could do the same with writing. This leads into the work I put into my manuscript analysis tool to measure "clumpiness."

Moving on to our goals for the next two weeks, I give a long answer that amounts to "write the frigging ending," while Michael talks about editing his book, how many passes he's made through it, and his progress in getting the word count down. We discuss word count expectations in his genre. He has two goals: finish edits by end of April, getting it ready to re-pitch or self-publish, then to get a first draft of another story during April.

Then we talk about last week's hook: the things we can't we live without while writing.

Recorded 2026-03-10

Much like the previous episode, this episode arrives a tad late, as Michael had a scheduling issue on Monday, our usual recording day, and I took a little longer to get the edit done as well.

In this episode we run a little long again, largely because I accidentally restart the opening banter part of our conversation just after we thought we wrapped it up. Skip five minutes in for a banter bypass.

Much of Michael's progress update becomes a discussion of his use of the story analysis produced by Pro Writing Aid. I have completed my first round of edits and am mid-way though a read-through. This becomes a discussion on ending stories, with some focus on my work-in-progress. Then we set our goals for the next two weeks, Michael mentions that he's signed up for "Writerpalooza" despite having no idea what that entails. We wonder if it's yet another attempt to fill the gap left by the collapse of NaNoWriMo.

Then we get to this week's question: pens and other writing implements before coming up with next week's question and wrapping it up.

Recorded 2026-02-24

This episode arrives a tad late, as Michael had a scheduling issue on Monday, our usual recording day, and I took a little longer to get the edit done as well. We've also reversed our trend of ever-longer conversations, with this one clocking in at a svelte 30 minutes.

Other work has been a factor for both of us since our last update. Michael is currently in Northern Italy, tasting and writing about wine (which is a lot less glamorous than it sounds), so he gets to tease me about the differences in our weather. Regular work for me was complicated by the Great Spice Reorganization of 2026.

Then we get to progress. I continue to make progress on editing at the same frustratingly slow pace as the last update. Michael complicates his writing life by starting another story. Uncharacteristically, we pretty much stay on track with this, moving to setting goals for the next two weeks.

We move on to last week's hook: what we do when writing while travelling. Michael relates an interesting superstition. My mini-rant of the week is on pens, and this gives us the question for next week: What do we like to write with and why.

Recorded 2026-02-09

This podcast started as a simple way to be more accountable to our writing goals, but while our goals play a central role, our chats have expanded to a dive into our writing processes. In this episode, much of the discussion centres around editing. Also Michael has some major news to relate.

Recorded 2026-01-26

We always seem to open up talking about something that has little to do with writing, and this episode is no different. This time it's the big snowstorm that went through a wide swath of the continent over the weekend. Then we momentarily get on track as I report on how I'm doing with my round of editing. This leads us to what happens to the stuff we cut out of a story, and that leads to a discussion of note-taking applications, and some recent changes to GMail that are causing trouble for many.

Then we get back to updating each other on our progress (spoiler, I actually hit my target) before delving into AI and the creative arts.

Personally, I'm really tired of hearing about AI and I don't think we have a new take on it, but that doesn't mean we (okay, mostly I) don't have a lot to say on the topic. Hopefully it comes off as a fairly well reasoned, balance view of the subject, but that's for you to judge. Let me know how I did!

Recorded 2026-01-12

Michael and I have known each other for something like 18 years. During that period we've met over coffee a few times, but aside from that, all of our interactions—and the formation of our friendship—have been online. For reasons known only to him and his partner, they decided to take their winter break up here in Campbellford. As a result, last week we actually got together for a meal. That's the topic as we open this episode.

The progress part of our conversation takes on a relatively minor role as we focus more on process. I surprise Michael by producing a printed copy of my unfinished manuscript, something he would never consider doing! Last week's question was about when you kill a character off, and our answers also reflect on the huge differences between our approaches to writing.

The question for our next episode is on the use of AI in writing, and in creative pursuits in general. (Reluctantly, in my case. I'm just waiting for the hype bubble to burst so we can talk about something else instead.)