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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!