"We need to make books cool again. If you go home with someone and they don't have books, don't f*** them." ~John Waters
A podcast about writing and being a writer. Neil Christiansen and B.A. Durham discuss topics from tools and craft to contests and publishing.
Neil and Ben discuss Lucid Dreaming, Unreliable Narrators, and the problems with NaNoWriMo.
12 Dec 2022
11 - Spilling Ink
Neil and Ben discuss the pros and cons of handwriting your first draft vs. typing it. How handwriting connects to the creative side of the brain and our processing of information and why you should never delete your old work.
12 Sept 2022
10 - Validity v Empathy (Things you shouldn't talk about at parties)
Neil and Ben pick back up the idea of opinion validity and try like hell to tie it to writing.
Does empathy require accepting all opinions as valid?
What does validity even mean and is it even real?
Politics and Religion
4 Sept 2022
09 - What do you want me to do about it?
Stealing babies
Field sobriety tests
Remembering that the untold stories of your side characters are important too.
and
Why are some authors treated differently from others for their public statements?
4 Aug 2022
08 - Season Two
Ben had a baby
The world is ending
Sometimes you need a break
Don‘t be a sociopath
Embrace sensitivity readers
Go ahead and build a multiverse
31 May 2022
07 - It's Better to Feel Better
We're talking about mental health in writing for Mental Health Awareness Month.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
800-273-8255
BetterHelp (Not a sponsor)
Online Therapy
https://betterhelp.com
16 May 2022
06 - Better Late Than Never
We missed a week, but we're still here.
Today we talk about Genre. Genre trends, Genre myths, and Genre tropes.
Ben talks like William Shatner and Neil has a tendency to ramble and get off topic.
Twitter
Neil @writegavingayle (https://twitter.com/WriteGavinGayle)
Ben @B_A_Durham (https://twitter.com/B_A_Durham)
Podcast @make_books_cool (https://twitter.com/make_books_cool)
Website
GavinGayle.com (https://GavinGayle.com)
TikTok
Neil @AuthorNeilChristiansen (https://www.tiktok.com/@authorneilchristiansen)
3 May 2022
05 - Seth MacFarlane is a Genius
Ben is tired
Neil is apparently a renowned author
We talk about writing dialogue and come up with some audience participation ideas.
26 Apr 2022
04 - ...Don't F*** Them
We finally name the podcast and discuss it's slightly dubious origins and implications.
Then we tackle the atrocious descriptors "Plotter" and "Pantser" and discuss what they really mean. Neil speculates that there may not even be such a thing as a plotter.
The conversation goes off the rails when we get into giving character backstory, how it's applied to heroes vs. villains and when it's appropriate to discuss the humanity of truly evil people.
Oh, and we finally have an actual intro. About freaking time.
Links:
Article about John Waters:
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/john-waters-false-negative-interview-1234718802/
The Podcast T-Shirt:
https://noir-novels.creator-spring.com/listing/if-they-don-t-have-books
18 Apr 2022
03 - Metaphors Are LIES!
Neil and Ben go through common writing tips and discuss their merits and failures. Ben spills coffee all over his desk and Neil has his mind blown by Ben's observation.
8 Apr 2022
02 - The John Waters Prison Experiment
In this episode Neil and Ben talk about what it means to be "A Writer". Are there prerequisites to using that identification? Is being a writer more about the writing or is it about story telling, and why do we self identify with how we make money?
8 Apr 2022
01 - Syllabus
"We need to make books cool again. If you go home with someone and they don't have books, don't f*** them." ~John Waters
Neil and Ben introduce themselves and discus what the show will be about. There's a shallow dive into a few topics that will be addressed in future episodes and we tiptoe around some delicate topics.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Contact If They Don't Have Books
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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