Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

#185: Should You Still Read Neil Gaiman And Other Problematic Authors?

We begin today's episode with a quick review of "The Monkey, " adapted from the Stephen King short story of the same name.

After that, we go into a deep and nuanced discussion about reading the works of authors who have done terrible things in their personal lives. The main culprit we discuss is Neil Gaiman who has recently come under fire for allegedly assaulting women in the worst ways.

You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

#184: Solid Tips For Writing Dialogue Better Than Stephen King

We kick things off with a rant about people who boycott art they were never going to purchase in the first place—especially the jerks who try to cancel books even though they don't read.

After that, we settle into a fun discussion about writing good dialogue. This begins with David Foster Wallace's opinion on Stephen King's method for writing dialogue and why Wallace thought King wrote below his capabilities for the sake of quantity over quality. 

This leads us to the meat of the matter in how we write dialogue in our work. We give a bunch of great tips and examples from great writers and how they go about crafting realistic dialogue. 

You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

BOTM #18: Native Son By Richard Wright

Caleb opens today's episode with a mini (sarcastic) review of "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner.

After that, we discuss our Book of the Month, "Native Son" by Richard Wright. We cover the topics of racism, social injustice, class status, and poverty. 

You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

DBS #118: Crime And Punishment And Terrible Writing

We have an extra-long cold open as we discuss some good, bad, and worse news. But that's not what takes so long. Caleb dives into his recent read of Crime and Punishment and shares what he took away from the book.

After that, we discuss the supposed downfall of contemporary fiction and the belief that nearly all modern writing is terrible (not our words). This takes us down an interesting road full of literary potholes made by snobs.

You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

#183: The Formula For Writing Pulp Stories

In today's cold open, we discuss the AI tool for plot development on Microsoft Word. Things get a bit heated!

After that, we discuss Lester Dent's formula for writing easy-to-sell pulp stories. Things don't go quite as planned, but we do our best to relay the information provided. 

You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

#182: What Really Happens When You Enter The Slush Pile

We start with an extra "cold" cold open as Caleb talks about his recent illness and working in frigid temperatures.

After that, we read an AMA from the Editor-In-Chief of Story Magazine and learn about their submission reading practices. We discuss how different publications handle submissions, what we think is fair, and what is absolute garbage. Overall, this is a really informative episode. 

You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

Storycast #4: The Crimson Tower

In today's special Storycast episode, we read The Crimson Tower from L. Stephenson's upcoming short story collection, When Strange Things Bite.

A mythical monster stalks a farming community -- A titan from the stars brings destruction to a small costal town -- A centuries old curse takes hold of a family -- A sea creature hunts a young group of trespassers -- A university professor receives a late-night visit from the dead -- A message board murder mystery is investigated -- An everyday morning takes a turn for the worse -- A sister becomes paranoid of her brother’s disease -- A young witch must gather a few risky ingredients -- A cannibal pays someone an unexpected visit -- A carpenter's daughter demands bloody satisfaction -- A psychopath fights to survive an alien invasion -- A boy is hunted by the devil -- A young boy faces his fear at the dentist.

You can preorder the collection now on Amazon. 

#181: We Try To Upset Goodreads Reviewers

We kick things off with some writing and submission news. After that, we discuss a controversial topic in the reading community. We also figure out a fun way to make Goodreads reviews more legitimate. Here's a hint, it deals with users getting assigned a difficulty score based on the books they read.

You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com

 

DBS #117: Getting Drunk And Ranking WWE Wrestlers

We spent New Year's Eve getting drunk and talking about the greatest 50 WWE wrestlers of all time. There's also some brief literary talk. 

 

You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

#180: 2024 Writing Recap

Caleb starts the episode by announcing his new favorite book. After that, we talk about how 2024 treated us regarding our writing and what publications we got. We end by discussing our writing goals for 2025. 

You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @dpwpodcast

You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com.