Writing Off the Deep End: Recent Episodes
Geoffrey Edward and Mary Thaler
In this ongoing series Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler, two scientists turned authors, sit down to discuss everything writing-related: craft, process, and the importance of taking risks.
Hosts Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler talks about the challenges of writing really short fiction, called "flash fiction". What choices need to be made to get a coherent story in around 500 words? What kind of writing is required?
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards interview a writer of fantasy and speculative fiction from the LA area, who has published short fiction and is at work on a novel. L.P. began his professional life as a singer and songwriter, which gives his fiction a unique color. His work has been published in, among other venues, FIYAH, an online magazine dedicated to writers of color (http://www.fiyahlitmag.com). One of his stories was also read by Levar Burton on his channel (https://omny.fm/shows/levar-burton-re...). L.P. is also running a workshop this fall at Clarion West (http://www.clarionwest.org/workshops/...). His social media handles are @lpkindred (Instagram) and @LPKindred (Twitter).
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards discuss a subset of future-looking fiction they call "Prophetic Fiction". Drawing on different traditions around prophecy, including religious traditions and the writings of E.M. Forster, they explore different aspects of this kind of writing.
Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk with Marco Morelli, poet, editor and publisher, about the process of writing poetry and how this process led him to develop a publishing business and take on editorial responsibilities.
Marco V Morelli is the founder of Cosmos Cooperative and Infinite Conversations (infiniteconversations.com) as well as the cofounder and creative director of Metapsychosis Journal. He studied Philosophy and Comparative Literature at Binghamton University, and worked for Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute from 2003 to 2007, co-authoring the book Integral Life Practice, before leaving to follow the pathways of art. He is currently at work on a book of poems titled I AM THE SINGULARITY.
Authors Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about the benefits to doing a Writing Residency and present highlights from recent residencies in which they took part, including a residency on the Isle of Crete and another in upstate New York.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards dive into the murky study of historically motivated fiction from their contrasting perspectives, exploring issues of veracity and where there is scope for imagination, subjects that are sometimes neglected while others attract interest. Hope you will join us!
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards conduct an interview with writer Thea Boodhoo. Thea (pronounced "tay-ah") is a science fiction writer based in San Francisco, California. Her short stories 'Growing Swirling Clouds' and 'A Layer Thin As Breath' can be found at https://tersejournal.com/2019/02/22/g... and https://magazine.metaphorosis.com/sto... and she can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @tharkibo.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards finish up the episode on Endings by switching from talking about how to write endings, to how to end writings - often itself a tricky step.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about Endings across two related episodes. This first deals with Writing Endings. We talk about several contexts, single book endings or endings of series, stories with more or fewer subplots, and other aspects of handling endings.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about some of the challenges and issues that arise when one is writing about war and war situations.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about some of the different ways that issues of age and aging come into play in writing, with focus on our own diverse ways of dealing with the question.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about how the worldwide pandemic, as well as being in "lockdown", that is, confined to our homes, has affected our activities as writers. Maybe our experience will help you deal with your own!
Karin Murray-Bergquist is a PhD. candidate in Folklore at Memorial University, Newfoundland. She's the author of a poem in the upcoming issue of Augur Magazine, and numerous travel essays that can be found at the following links: https://www.travelade.com/iceland/stories/essentials-icelandic-winter-road-trip ; http://arcticjournal.ca/featured/subarctic-lichens/ ; https://thryve.world/everyday-adventures/ransome-notes .
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards finish reading excerpts from each other's work in this third instalment of our 19th Episode of "Writing Off The Deep End". These include a second excerpt from Geoffrey's novel "Goodness in Small Doses", and two excerpts from Mary's novel "The Shell Midden". Both are works-in-progress, and both are historical novels. "Goodness in Small Doses" deals with a family trying to escape the Nazis in wartime France, while "The Shell Midden" recounts a 19th century voyage of a vessel in the far north, based on historical documents. Enjoy!
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards continue reading from their work. In this episode, Geoffrey reads two excerpts from one of Mary's short stories called "The Island Lovers", which can be found online at Eclectica Magazine : http://www.eclectica.org/v18n3/thaler... This is fantasy. Mary then reads from Geoffrey's unpublished novel "Goodness in Small Doses".
Hosts Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler read from each others' work as a complement to the other episodes concerned with different aspects of writing. In this first part, Mary is reading from "Plenum : The First Book of Deo", Geoffrey's first novel which will be published in March 2021.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about how they undertake diverse worldbuilding activities, not just within SF and fantasy but also in historical and contemporary fiction. The claim is that worldbuilding tasks for SF and fantasy constitute a continuum with research tasks undertaken for any fiction exercise. If you disagree, let us know, by commenting!
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about the ins and outs of the relationships (some of them!) between writing and family. How does family inform one's writing? Whose family?
Hosts Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler venture off the deep end to talk about religion, faith, spirituality... and writing. Foolhardy, perhaps, but it makes for an interesting discussion.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about the challenges, and benefits of writing poetry, both for its own sake and as a support to other writing efforts.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards explore the process of dramatic writing. In this first of two parts, the focus in on writing for opera.
Hosts Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler discuss the strengths and weaknesses of writing short fiction.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards discuss the process of writing characters. Do you love them or hate them? How do you separate them from yourself as a writer? And other issues as they arise.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about drawing on larger communities of writers for various kinds of support, both online and offline.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards discuss some of the issues around writing when one lives in a city that speaks a different language than one's native tongue.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about (and show!) the development of visual story telling ideas in relation to writing fiction. Shown below are the illustrations referred to within the dialogue.
Hosts Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards continue their discussion of Dramatic Writing, this time focusing on writing for theatre. This is the second of two parts, the first dealt with writing for opera.
Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about how they choose names for characters, places and sci-fi concepts, whether they're writing about the distant past, the present day or the far future.
Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler discuss writing practices -- the habits, daily routines and techniques they use to get words down on page.
Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler discuss writing practices -- the habits, daily routines and techniques they use to get words down on page.
Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler talk about how their careers as scientists—working in fields like astrophysics, geomatics, microbiology, and ocean science—influenced the way they write fiction
Writers Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler talk about how their careers as scientists—working in fields like astrophysics, geomatics, microbiology, and ocean science—have influenced the way they write fiction
Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards talk about the need for risk-taking in writing. How can we push ourselves outside our comfort zones in terms of genre and subject-matter?
Writers Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards sit down to talk about writing, this time about craft. Probably none of us are born already skilled writers, so what can we do deliberately to improve our craft?
Mary Thaler and Geoffrey Edwards sit down to talk about writing, this time on the subject of voice. What are writers talking about when they talk about voice and why does it matter? What's the difference between the author's voice and the characters' voices?
Geoffrey Edwards and Mary Thaler sit down to talk about writing, including why they do it, and the risks and joys of tackling an ambitious project.