Write Pack Radio

(Meet) the Write Pack Part 1

As Write Pack Radio brings its first season to a close, we explore who are all these people on our weekly panels? What are their backgrounds and where are they in their writing career? What have they over come? What have they learned as a writer about themselves, the craft of writing, and the publishing industry?

How did the Write Pack begin? What generated the idea of Write Pack Radio? This is part 1 of an in-depth look into the Write Pack.

In this episode we talk to Kathleen Kayembe, Fedora Amis, and Peter H. Green. 

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New episodes every Sunday

Gatekeepers—Now and Then

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores the Gatekeepers—Now and Then.

Before the internet became popular you had to get published in lit mags. But have the modern day gates been abandoned?

Do Gatekeepers still exist? Who are they? What do they do? Do you still need to get past them to get into the world of publishing?

Are gatekeepers needed?

What do the gatekeepers need and why won’t they publish your book?

What if the gatekeepers aren’t right?

Do you need a platform to get to the gatekeeper?

Should there always be a stream of fun, but bad, always sneak past the gatekeepers?

Why bother with trying to get through the traditional gatekeepers?

What are the differences between the Big Five, Small Presses, and Self-Publishing?

What about the rejections from gatekeepers? What do you do? What does it mean when you are rejected?

How do you promote yourself and your platforms to the gatekeepers?

All episodes available at:

   -  iTunes

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   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday

Tightening Tension

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores: How to tighten tension?

What is tension? What are the elements of tension?

How can authors tighten tension?

What is a McGuffin?

Is there a difference between the stakes of the story and the tension?

Is the tension built differently between each of the genres?

What is the role of tension in suspense? Are they the same thing or are they gears within each other?

What are the mechanics of building tension? How do you build it with your words, your pacing, your scenes, or your characters?

Must there be consequences to build the tension?

What makes it work?

All episodes available at:

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New episodes every Sunday

Punking the Punk

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores the punk subgenres of Science Fiction.

We discuss Clock Punk, Steam Punk, Diesel Punk, Cyber Punk, Atomic Punk, and a lot more!

What is all of these punk genres? How are they defined? How do you write them? Isn’t it just cos play?

Can’t you just add “punk” to anything? What makes it punk?

Can’t I just start writing or do I have to research?

Where in the bookstore can you find any of the punks?

What’s the difference between punking something and just being grim punk?

Note: This episode was recorded on a very important birthday—important to all genres of fiction. Who? Listen and discover. (January 4, 2015)

All episodes available at:

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   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday

The Elusive Voice

Writers are told to find their voice. But what is this voice? How do you find it? Is there a yellow brick road that leads you there? In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack seek how writers find that elusive voice.

Why is voice so important? Can the lack of a distinctive voice keep you from getting published or read?

How is narrative voice different from character voice?

Where does your voice appear in the story?

Does voice resonate in the plot, the dialogue, and every other part of your story?

Is it based on some kind of guidelines?

Is voice something intimately personal?

How do you develop your voice?

How do you know if you have found your voice? Can you lose or break your voice?

Writer Resolutions in the New Year

Happy New Year from the Write Pack Radio. In this episode the Write Pack explores (after we discuss a resolution of a special celebrating Pi day) what kind of resolutions writers might want to make and should avoid.

Do you have control over the end goal? How far do you plan ahead? What about micro-goals?

What is the difference between a resolution and a hope?

What are book ancillaries?

What are the resolutions of the members of the Write Pack?

What if you fail? What is failure—real failure? What about the rising bar of success?

Are there people who claim they are writers and don’t write? What are the realities of writing and how does failure play into it?

What are unrealistic resolutions writers tends to set (and set themselves up for failure)?

All episodes available at:

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New episodes every Sunday

Writing About Differently Abled Characters

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores about writing characters who have mental or have physical impairments in various stories.

What is the spectrum of impairment?

Should the impairment be the center of the story?

How can you use it as an element of plot?

How do you write about the character with the impairment and keep it real? How do you handle “normal society’s” reaction to the impairment?

When can you tell that the character with an impairment has been written wrong?

What are the cultural issues that you can dive into within or from outside of the community with the impairment?

What is the difference between “Real Characters” vs. “Message Characters.”

If there is “a cure” for the condition, how do you handle the down side of being “cured”?

The tropes in writing these types of characters: “It’s just any easy trick. It’s one of those areas where laziness meets up with ignorance.” 

All episodes available at:

   -  iTunes

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   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday

Write-ins and Writing Retreats

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores the power and allure of write-ins and writing retreats.

What is a write-In? What is a writing retreat? Do writers really get vacations?

Why are write-ins so important? How do they help keep you writing? Why is keeping an appointment to a write-in an important dedication? What do writers get out of them? What are the downsides of a write-in? How do you plan a write-in?

Why are writing retreats so important? How are they different from write-ins? What are the upsides and downsides of a writing retreats? Do you have to spend a lot of money? How do you plan a writing retreat? Does it have to be a group or can you do it alone?

You can find all of our episodes on iTunes and Blog Talk Radio. Also, please find us on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook.

All episodes available at:

   -  iTunes

   -  Blog Talk Radio

   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday

Guilty Pleasures of Writing

 

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores the various guilty pleasures that they have (or at least admit to the world) in writing. Do writers write their guilty pleasures? Are there books that writers read that they wouldn’t normally admit to in public?

What are some of the guilty pleasures writers indulge in while writing? Like—writing in the bathtub, like a famous French mystery writer claimed to do. Who? You will have to listen.

What about snacking as you write? Drinking and drinking what?

What about spending so much on social media instead of writing?

Is it a guilty pleasure if you are not guilty about it?

What about campy vampires? “Fakepires”? Bad Fic? Snarky fiction and fiction that doesn’t take itself serious?

Is it true David Alan Lucas was given the nick name “Castle” because of his guilty pleasure?

What about guilty writing rituals? What about guilty rewards for milestones you reach?

All episodes available at:

   -  iTunes

   -  Blog Talk Radio

   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday

Addiction and Writing

In this episode of Write Pack Radio, the Write Pack explores the addiction: the addiction to writing, the use of addiction in stories, and how there is an idea that you can’t write unless you are drunk or stoned first.

Can you be addicted to writing? Can you be addicted to something you have a passion for? After all, how can you be addicted to something that doesn’t have any chemical substance? Is it the high of disappearing into a different world?

Can readers be addicted to a series?

What is the difference between obsession, passion, and addiction?

Can you be addicted to food?

What are some of the stereotypical addictions of writers? Has it changed from alcohol to caffeine? Some poets and writers believe that you need to smoke marijuana to write. But what is the real reason why some writers have to drink or take drugs for them to write?  

Can you be addicted to social media?

Why are writers open to addiction?

How do you write about addiction, especially if you have never been addicted to anything? How do you avoid the tropes? 

All episodes available at:

   -  iTunes

   -  Blog Talk Radio

   -  TuneIn

   -  And other platforms

New episodes every Sunday