World Builders Anonymous

Let's just say we have a new and improved version of the theme song today. Then stick around for a discussion of the guys' progress, John's experience rereading Lord Of The Rings recently, and even a little about alternative story telling media like video games. 

The guys discuss their magic systems thus far, and how they're integrating them into their stories at this early stage. Sure, this podcast is all about avoiding excessive worldbuilding, but there inevitably comes a time in the story plotting process when you need magic to do its thing...which means you have to know what that thing is, at least in general terms. How do you integrate your magic system into your story without using it as a crutch to simply get characters out of bad situations without considering the wider implications of its use? And how do you keep yourself from getting bogged down in tweaking the finer details while your story languishes on your hard drive? Plus, what are the guys drawing creative inspiration from right now? John is reading The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding and Vito is diving back into the multimedia universe of The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski. 

The guys give an update on their work from the past week and then dive into a listener-submitted excerpt of writing, illustrating with practical examples many of the points from their top ten list last week. They point out some good things and some things to bear in mind in making revisions. If you'd like VIto and John to have a look at something you wrote, feel free to send it to us at their email address: wbapodcast@gmail.com! They'll of course ask permission if they want to use it on the show, but they're happy to give their thoughts privately as well. 

John dedicates his lunch break in a parking garage to your entertainment and delight once again today. Enjoy the soothing sounds of the rain and sirens in the background as he submits his list of the top ten writer tips for beginners for Vito's appraisal. They cover showing, not telling, using more sensory data than just sight, harnessing a reader's imagination rather than over-describing, and so much more! Seven more to be precise. Check out our website for the blog version of the list! www.worldbuildersanonymous.com is where you can find the article, as well as a few others we've posted.

The boys are back! Again! Babies and airplanes couldn't keep us away forever, and the guys are here once more to bring you their take on storytelling, fantasy, magic systems, world building, plotting, and so much more. Not even technical difficulties could prevent our intrepid heroes from ranting for 25 minutes about Mary Sue characters, internal vs external motivations, and plans for the next phase in their writing! 

The guys discuss their plans for getting back to their stories after some time away. Both of them intend to zoom out a bit and use their discovery-written chapters as a foundation to plot out the rest of the story in general terms. They plan to keep the outline pretty broad instead of ultra-specific in order to avoid paralyzing themselves with the urge to perfect their plots. They discuss how discovery writing from scratch actually leads to less paralyzation than plotting the story in great detail first. Plotting from a top-down, god-like perspective can lead to the temptation to try and perfect the story before a single word is written (which inevitably leads to do-over-itis) while discovery writing forces you to put words on the page and commit to something. 

The guys get back into the swing of things after knee surgeries, babies, and forest fires did their darndest to keep them from continuing their project. After a quick update, in which Vito discovers what ASMR is, they discuss a listener-submitted chapter and the proper use of exposition (or "telling") in writing, and when it might actually be ok.  

Despite knowing that one ought to start a story focused on the characters' status quo before dropping the plot on their heads, the guys discuss how difficult it is to do this in practice. How does one let the story breathe in the opening chapters, introducing the reader to the lives the characters lead before stuff starts blowing up? Vito has found that this may be the source of his constant stalling after only a few scenes. The characters need something other than the overarching plot to define who they are and what they care about as the story opens in order to lend depth to the story. Also, the guys answer some listener questions! Thanks for your emails and for sending in your chapters for us to look at!

In this episode, the guys introduce three simple life lessons. 1. Don't buy snacks in bulk 2. Everything is terrible and you shouldn't even try 3. Don't do bad things Can you tell which was John's?  The actual topic today was writing scenes that have more than one plot thread or story arc that they serve. If you often find yourself stuck after finishing a scene, floundering for what comes next, you might benefit from today's discussion.

Vito tries to surprise John with a fun intro but it goes horribly wrong and the guys have to settle for the dull doink of disappointment. Today, they discuss how to keep dialogue interesting and flowing without turning into a wall of indented dullness. To cap it off, they talk about how to give and take feedback on unfinished work. What's useful to point out and when should you take or ignore someone's feedback?  Speaking of feedback, someone made John's day by actually leaving an Itunes review saying nothing but "good job." If you don't get it...go back and listen to our last ten episodes...

The guys talk about Vito's new sci-fi generation ship idea for a book series. Where do you start in a series like this? How do you avoid getting stuck on researching planet masses, tidal locking, and the effects of microgravity while still writing a believable, compelling story? How do you write advanced technologies when you're a simple musician/pilot-in-training/author who knows very little about science or engineering? They also talk about how to write a romantic interest character without making them a flat foil to the protagonist. All that plus more t-shirt slogan ideas on this week's episode.

John's trucking away with his story with ten chapters in the bag. Discovery writing is really suiting his storytelling style so far, with the discovery-written first draft acting as the "outline" of sorts for future revision. Before, the guys both spent so much time agonizing over a point-by-point plot outline that they knew they were going to change when it came to writing the prose. But now that pressure is gone and the ideas are flowing. Vito finally made some progress as well in between studying for pilot tests and flying Pipers. What does any of this have to do with the title of today's episode? Nothing, but...eh, you'll see. 

Today's episode is a bit of a tangent factory as Vito was punch-drunk from studying airplane things all day/jet lagged from flying across the country yet again and John is baby crazy and getting the evil eye from his dog, but the guys had a good time getting back to the podcast today. They discussed their recent re-reading of The Name of The Wind, the Redwall series, a potential cliche John wants to use in his story, and Vito's idea for a world-ship sci-fi series he plans to develop during his week back in LA. Fun stuff!  

On this week's episode, Vito tries vainly to pull coherent thoughts from his sleep-deprived brain and John goes on a rage-fueled tirade before the guys answer a listener question about how to stay focused while world building. 

Today, John talks about a scene that spontaneously flew from his fingers, but had to trim a bit because it didn't quite fit the tone/focus of his story. When you're discovery writing in particular, sometimes, ideas burst upon you and it's important to both let the ideas flow and to harness them for the purposes of the story you're trying to tell rather than letting them sidetrack or distract you. Vito talks about some of the difficulties he's been facing because the idea he's been pursuing is one he's been nursing in one form or another for years. Perhaps he's in a rut and needs to carve out some new ground. How can you know when to simply press on and when to try another path? All that and more in today's episode!

The guys answer another listener question about writing combat scenes. Also, they get on a little bit of a tangent talking about the new Star Wars trailer, rhinoceroses that are actually star fighters, and the obvious advantages of projectile weapons...

The guys give a brief update on their progress (John's got 8 chapters in the bag!) and then delve into a fan email asking about dialogue. Specifically, how can you use your dialogue to distinguish your characters from one another? At the same time, how do you avoid being expository or too "talky" in your dialogue? They discuss useful tips like "casting" your characters, goal-based dialogue and much more! 

A technical difficulty ruined last week's episode but the guys go over some of the things they wanted talk about last week as well as some things John ran across in his writing this week. Topics include a listener question about time-hopping plots, how much emotional conflict is too much, and what tropes might the guys be unwittingly using in their stories?   

Vito recovers from his Jamison-and-Guinness-induced stupor following St. Patrick's Day and John talks about cool stuff like multiple point of view characters (including his super awesome torturer character), taking a step back to plan the next chunk of the story, and focusing the tone of your story. If you like the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, then I think you'll know what we're talking about. 

Vito's a little under the weather with half a voice, John's having a baby (well, his wife is), and the boys are interviewing a fellow homeschooler, musician, and writer as their first ever podcast guest! It's a topsy turvy, super fun time as they compare writing styles and processes. How do you get past the beginning of the story? When do you dig in and world build things like magic systems? How do you keep your momentum going through more than 115,000 words? All this and much more on the episode today! Big thanks to Joel Gauthier for joining us! 

Today is a bit of a grab bag of topics, but it's all great stuff. The guys eventually get to talking about protagonists and why they find theirs worth writing about. They also discuss things like changing the beginning of your story without going back and rewriting it, letting your characters misbehave, asking questions about your world and characters in order to discover more about them, and a lot more. 

The guys briefly summarize their progress this week and then dive into something that might present a challenge to discovery writers, particularly new ones like them: villains. It'd be easy to just tailor the bad guy to your hero, create them solely to oppose what the protagonists is trying to accomplish, but there is a lot more narrative traction you can get out of your antagonist if you're paying attention. 

Today, the guys talk about how to give helpful feedback on work that isn't done yet, especially when they're part of a discovery written story. What should you focus on when critiquing a friend's unpolished draft or chapter in order to help them move forward and without throwing a wrench in their creative flow? Discovery writing continues to be just what the doctor ordered in the journey toward a completed first draft. If you're following along with your own work, and would like a fresh set of eyes on it, feel free to send the guys your unfinished drafts at wbapodcast@gmail.com.    

The guys talk about how listening to audiobooks (The Witcher and The Name Of The Wind) this week has helped fuel their writing, particularly given their current emphasis on discovery writing. They also discuss how improvisational writing allows them to focus on pinpointing characters and relationships while plotting led them to simply using characters as pawns in the machinations of some malevolent, micromanaging deity (i.e. the author). 

They guys talk about how freeing it's been to write improvisationally this last week. Discovery writing is really letting them explore their worlds and characters without feeling like they're just robotically connecting pre-determined plot points. Discovery writing has allowed them to follow their impulses and ideas in-scene far more than before when they felt they had to stick to the structure they'd planned. So far, it's going really great, and they highly recommend trying it if you haven't before. 

The boys talk about the success they've had this week switching from plotting to improvising. They're finding that the discovery method is really helping foster more creativity and character-driven writing rather than filling in blanks between sterile and pre-packaged plot points. Some happy medium between the two will probably be where they end up but for now, improvisation is getting them results. Also, a special guest makes an appearance...for about thirty seconds. 

The guys are trying something new, something crazy, something scary: improvising. They did all that work on their plots in the first few episodes of the podcast, but it didn't really give them the flow they were looking for to complete their first drafts. The whole point of this podcast was to discover a way to actually finish a first draft, to not get caught up in world building, not starting over, not letting yourself stop. Well, the way they were doing things didn't seem to be doing the trick. Maybe it would for different stories, for different people, etc. But as for us, we're trying something new, just to see what happens. That's what we're talking about today. Do you look down on discovery writing? Do you consider plotting to be the only true writing method? We had some of those feelings at times, but we're trying to lay those aside and try different methods in our journey to actually complete a draft. 

Vito and John had some success in tweaking their outlines this week, but Vito in particular is finding that he's having more success discovering his story after combining his original idea (the Sicilian Vespers) with some other influences, most notably Irish Republican history. They guys also discuss the voice of the narrator in their stories, and how finding that voice can solve many other issues. Finally, they also discuss narrative distance, or how close your "camera" zooms in during your scenes. Also, John storms out after Vito makes a bad pun...

The boys got cut short by technical difficulties today. Not by much, but we lost the last couple minutes of the podcast. You didn't miss much. Just the fact that you can find us on facebook, instagram, reddit, and Twitter by searching our name: World Builders Anonymous.  It's been a hot second since the boys sat down to write, and they discuss coming back to their stories with fresh eyes this week. In their ongoing mission to find the best way to finish a novel and avoid world building stalls, they've decided to take the pieces they've put together so far and use them to go back and flesh out their outlines a bit more. How much tweaking is too much though? How do you keep yourself from the vicious circle of burnout, new start, burnout, new story, etc? 

Today Vito and John answer a listener question about how to stay focused on a story when the call of world building and trilogy-planning beacons you away from what matters most. Then talk about their writing thus far, the progress they've made, and how they plan to stay focused.

The boys weren't as productive as they'd like this week, but they have a fun discussion of melding religion with magic in your fantasy story while Vito pops a beer and John shakes his head at his mildly inebriated sibling. Too often, religion is treated as the whipping boy of a story, the cringeworthy obsession of the "idiot" character, or merely the source of a villain's bigotry and closed-mindedness. When integrated intelligently though, religion can enrich your magic system, culture, and characters instead of simply being "there" in the background of your fantasy story. This was a fun one for us, and we hope you guys enjoy!

They boys discuss aspects of swords and other bladed weapons that one should consider before writing a first draft. Should elves wield curved, single-edged weapons just because they're elves, or are there other factors to consider? Spoiler alert: there are. Is is realistic to have a quick, rapier-wielding character dancing around an armored knight? Spoiler alert: the results might be...somewhat gruesome... The then talk about discovering characters by jumping ahead chronologically. By "observing" a proposed character interacting with your main characters in a later scene, you might get some ideas for the scene in which they're introduced. 

Vito is a professional musician and John is quite talented in his own right. Today, they discuss music from a world building perspective. What does it feel like to play an instrument you know well? What does it feel like to play something that's unfamiliar? What are some interesting instruments you could incorporate, and what role does music itself play in your world's culture/religion? They then discuss coming up with new characters you never planned on while plotting your story. What can you discover about your main characters through their interactions with discovered characters?  

Vito and John discuss different types of bows and where/when they might be appropriate to use in your story. For example, is it realistic to use composite bows in a humid, rainy environment? Who could realistically use a bow powerful enough to do that much damage? It might not be the typer of person you're thinking. We can't all be naturally super strong like Legolas in Lord of the Rings; real people have to train long and hard in order to handle the heavy draw weight of powerful bows. What might be better ranged weapon options for weaker characters? The boys then talk about jumping around from chapter to chapter in your writing, perhaps to keep momentum going when you hit a rough spot in a certain chapter. 

Today, the boys explain everything you need to know about world building money in a fantasy setting...well, at least enough to write your first draft. Why don't things like gemstones make good money? Why is gold and silver always used instead of, say, iron? They also discuss the past week of writing, including adding scenes to your beginning and writing action scenes. 

The boys have now both encountered chapters that became a chore to write. What do you do when the words don't flow easily? How do you push through stalls while writing your first draft? Also, they intro a new segment they're working on, a segment that explains everything you need to know for your first draft about a variety of subjects. Today's is a fun test run for the idea; what do you need to know about penguins and sharks before writing them into your story? How might some of these creatures' real world abilities and attributes be incorporated into your world building? 

The sooner you accept the fact that your first draft is part of the chaotic brainstorming/worldbuilding process, the sooner you'll actually get to the meaty part of the writing process where it all comes together: revision/editing. This episode has it all; two theme songs, drunken sailor fetch quests, no long pauses at all, and a discussion about leaving space for additions later on, after you've solidified your story, characters, setting, etc. through the process of writing your first draft.

Vito and John recap their first week of writing their first drafts. They discuss pushing through discouragement, how to preserve your excitement for the story from plotting to drafting, and their complimentary differences in style as writers.  The meat and potatoes of this episode is this idea: when do you world build? It has to be done if one is writing fantasy. That's kind of the point of fantasy, after all. But how do you make sure you're tailoring your world to your story and not the other way around? How do you build your world without getting lost in Wikipedia? How do you avoid using world building as a crutch for your lack of motivation to actually write? All this and more in this week's episode. 

Vito and John start out talking about John's idea for a magical power in his story. One of his characters can control light itself. How does one make that interesting/balance it with other magical abilities in one's story? Also, this week marks the start of the actual writing process! How does one start writing the prose of a story? What obstacles can one expect? All this and more in this week's episode!

The boys kick things off with a World building brainstorm by asking how one might go about combining a magic system with religion. They go on to talk about the 27 chapter outline they've been following, and the different ways they have been utilizing it. They discuss when it's right to put "cool things" into your novel, and wrap things up with their plans for the final week of outlining.

The guys start things off by talking about the concepts they've come up with/refined in the past week, then follow that up by talking about the degree to which they're focusing on world building vs. story planning. Spoiler: it's mostly story planning. World building is the dessert they get when they've structured their stories. They also talk about the book they're currently reading as well as discussing John's recent book store escapade. They wrap it all up by talking about the role that magic might play in their novels. 

Your hosts Vito and John introduce themselves and talk about their history of habitually getting stuck in the initial phases of writing a book. They also discuss how they get ideas for potential novels, as well as the ways in which they're going to go about things differently this time around as they start fresh in an attempt to write and publish an entire novel. Join them as they embark on this fun and informative journey to push through writer's block, doggedly finish a first draft, and kick their world building addiction.