Mur Lafferty's Blog, page 28

Notebooks: Do you have a problem?

"Notebooks: Do You Have a PROBLEM?" is brought to you in large part by by my patrons , who received this episode early, and expanded. You can join us with a pledge as low as $1  a month! 

Ohhhh... pretty notebooks.

Get the extended version of this podcast via Patreon!

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February 9, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 11 (Ep 562) | murverse.com | Copyright 2005-2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Why Do I Hate Editing?

I have three projects going on right now that need edits, and for the next two months I'm going to be doing this thing that I HATE. So let's go into why, and how. 

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Monday, 12:30, AMA/Hangout Tuesday, 3:00, I Should Be Writing Live Wednesday, 4:00, Gaming: Stardew Valley Thursday 12:30, I Should Be Writing Live

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February 9, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 10 (Ep 561) | murverse.com | Copyright 2005-2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Timeline of a Novel

I talk about my books from initial concept all the way through to the end, both Six Wakes and my current WiP.

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You Need A Budget FTL Apex Writers Cat Rambo's Writing Community I Should Be Writing Ink Stained Fabulists Community Catch the next LIVE show on Twitch or YouTube! February 2, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 9 (Ep 560) | murverse.com Copyright 2005-2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Language of Hope with Alasdair Stuart

I'm thrilled to welcome my good friend and Very Smart British Person Alasdair Stuart to the show to talk about, if we can weaponize language, how do we use it for hope?

Characters' Wants and Needs

"Your character must want something, even if it's a glass of water!"

Characters must always have wants, but it takes a bit more work to think about what they need, and more importantly, when in the story for them to address those needs.

(Get the extended episode here on Patreon!)

January 26, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 7 (Ep 558) | murverse.com | Copyright 2005-2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Productivity (OR Mommy and Daddy are Fighting!)

I look at two productivity methods and am entirely flummoxed by the two that seem at odds with each other: the 10X Rule that suggests if you shoot for 10X your goal you won't necessarily make 10X, but you'll very likely get much more than you would have had you, say, gone the compound method talked about in Atomic Habits and The Compound Effect where if you get just a little bit better every day then you will see real results.

January 21, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 6 (Ep 557) | murverse.com Copyright 2005-2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Dropping Truth Bombs

  I'm talking about truth bombs that a lot of beginning creative types don't want to hear, but I figure, I'm just telling you, "Hey, in the road up ahead there's a hole. Most everyone hits the hole and it jostles them. I wanted you to know it was there."   That was my hole metaphor. I thought it was good despite sleep dep.  

January 19, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 5 | murverse.com | Copyright 2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Real Talk, Get to Work

Had a talk with someone last week that didn't go the way I'd hoped, and I'm forced to start looking at my habits a little closer.

 

January 14, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 4 | murverse.com | Copyright 2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Weaponizing Language

I'm finally posting last week's episodes. I've been writing a lot and neglecting the podcast production, even though the streams are still on schedule. 

Ironically, I did want to talk about the power of language again this month, but I did not expect the president to whip his fans into a fury with some very amazing weaponized language, so this topic hit a little close to home on January 12. 

January 12, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 3 | murverse.com | Copyright 2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License

Turn It Off

I found it very hard to concentrate after the events of January 6, so I realized that in order to get work done, I had to do some self care and turn it off. News, social media, the whole world of distraction. I hope you can find some equilibrium.

January 7, 2021 | Season 17 Ep 2 (Episode 553) | murverse.com | Copyright 2021, Mur Lafferty | BY-NC-SA 3.5 License