The Writ Wit: Recent Episodes
Matthew Donald
The Writ Wit, where two twits talk about writting. (No, those aren't typos) Hosted by Matt Donald and Matt David, the Writ Wit is a podcast for writers, by writers. More accurately, it's for people who think two idiots who are barely professional at this hobby are worth taking advice from when it comes to writing. We talk about genres, characters, the writing process, and discuss other people's works we plan to rip off-uh, I mean...works we have read, watched, or played. So join us on this grand adventure of writing and the creative process! You won't regret it! I mean, probably.
In this episode, the two Matts read stories with special shades that alter the emotional context, get onto each other about broken YouTube promises, have more cheap-plug-ding-noises than ever, and do part three of four of our character alignment episodes by talking about writing Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, and Chaotic Evil. What are the best ways to convey these characters' alignment? What are their personalities or motives like? How rigid or fluid do the characters have to be when categorizing them into certain alignments? When did Matt David EVER call Matt Donald "Mr. Waffle-maker"? (Answer: never. He'd remember that) We discuss it all, with the most devious twirl in our mustaches, and talk about Batman villains, Disney villains, other non-villainous characters, and other works in general.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, or its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts do the second part of a four-episode series about character alignment, sell an incredible machine that replaces the Tolkien ripoffs from fantasy stories with more original elements, pick their noses in a riveting new segment of the show, and talk about writing characters from the Lawful Good to True Neutral Alignment. What's the difference in writing a Lawful Good character from Chaotic Good? What makes someone "good" and what makes them "neutral"? What words can describe the motivations of each alignment? How many listeners will come at our doors with torches and pitchforks due to not having either the "What We'll Rip Off" or "What We Have Writ" segments? We discuss it all, with distinguished professionalism that rivals the classiest businessmen, and talk about Superman, Iron Man, Robin Hood, and Noah.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, or its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts start the conversion of the show from monthly to weekly, literally fish for ideas in a creek, make a metaphor about crossing the street that goes off the rails VERY quickly, and do the first episode of four based on the character alignment system. What do Lawful Good, Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Evil even mean? What are the differences between the definitions? How different can characters be within a single alignment? How much of Matt David screaming in shock had to be edited out when he heard about Matt Donald reading a nonfiction history book that wasn't about dinosaurs? We discuss it all, with a jolly demeanor and a plucky attitude, and talk about Superman, Deadpool, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Ultraman again (seriously, David, watch new Japanese shows!)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, or its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Helpful links:
easydamus.com/alignment.html
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CharacterAlignment
In this episode, the two Matts comment on made-up previews before watching a made-up movie, reveal the title and premise for the final Megazoic book, reveal how cringe-y their contemporaries feel about the podcast, and talk about writing tear-jerking moments in stories. What's the difference between writing happy emotional moments and sad ones? What are effective ways to convey emotion? What are our personal favorite emotional moments in our own writing? Who will win the Character Who Nearly Turned Us Gay award in the nonexistent Witties ceremony this year? We discuss it all, with a box of tissues at the ready, and talk about Aquaman, October Sky, The Phantom of the Opera, and Fant4stic for some reason.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, or its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts invite another longtime friend Christina Franklin (not to be confused with Christina Eilert), parody another holiday song for the season, celebrate the release of Matt Donald's third Megazoic book, and talk about how to get around the issues of writing characters of different genders from your own. What are the easiest methods to getting yourself in the mindset of someone different? How do you get around awkward scenes? Is there anything you should actively avoid? Is the thing mentioned about the sleepovers Matt David and Matt Donald had accurate, and if so, will the listeners ever get the image out of their minds? We discuss it all, with the helpful aid of a woman to add a separate mindset to the topic than that of two straight white men, and talk about Cinderella, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Proposal, and Megazoic: The Hunted Ones (buy now on Amazon.com! ding!)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here, or its third installment "Megazoic: The Hunted Ones" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Christina Franklin for helping out with this episode.
In this episodes, the two Matts don't give a frick, discuss the value of certain countries' dances for fighting, keep going on about not giving a frick, and categorize the types of heroes like we did almost twenty episodes earlier about types of villains probably. What morality types define a heroic character? How many flaws can they have? Can they be perfect and still be interesting? How many different times can Matt Donald announce not giving a frick before it becomes clear he really DOES give a frick, and probably too much of one in fact? We discuss it all, without a single frick to give, and talk about Superman, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and VeggieTales for some reason.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts bring all their friends to a retreat in the woods before getting promptly picked off, reflect on each other's legal expertise, casually talk about how Matt Donald's third Megazoic book will be out soon like it's no big deal, and give advice on how to write darker stories. What themes and moods should darker stories go for? How much darkness is too much, if there is a limit? How much contrast should writers of dark stories strive for? What constitutes as a butt if it's on somebody's chin? We discuss it all, with our finest leather jackets and skull masks on while recording (it's audio format, so you can't tell) and talk about the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Don Bluth, the Princess Bride, and Deadpool.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts celebrate the show's momentous episode count of 25 by not even mentioning it, appreciate how hardcore salamanders are, play a fun on-air game of Mad Libs, and talk about how to spice up one's vocabulary for areas where writers might be more droll. How many different variants are there for "said"? What are some more vibrant descriptors for color? How many different ways can a writer describe movement? How did Matt Donald forget what microphone he was using when he bought his new computer and compromised his audio quality? We discuss it all, with such time-stretching detail and jokes to further inflate the episode's length, and talk about Monster Hunter, Power Rangers, Harry Potter, and The Music Man for some reason.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Helpful Links:
Speech verbs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lYA0nh5JV1ZJSj-5KPFMSYMZmqAkKrrZEPQIZdFMfFU/edit?usp=sharing (our list)
https://www.nownovel.com/blog/dialogue-words-other-words-for-said/
https://owlcation.com/humanities/400-Alternative-words-for-said
Groups of animals:
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/99-strange-collective-animal-names
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html
Colors:
https://louisem.com/29880/color-thesaurus-infographic
http://mentalfloss.com/article/53121/11-colors-youve-probably-never-heard
https://www.canva.com/learn/color-meanings-symbolism
Verbs:
https://jerryjenkins.com/powerful-verbs/
https://www.nownovel.com/blog/descriptive-verb-list/
https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/strong-verbs/
In this episode, the two Matts invite one of Matt Donald's longtime college friends Lexi to the show, note the number of times characters Sean Bean portrays have died, offend each other multiple times about not watching/knowing certain specific nerdy works or references, and talk about super-popular works like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and how to emulate them. What makes them special compared to other, smaller works? What makes them click with so many people, and how can one emulate that? Why do so many others who try to imitate this success fail? How god-dang long will it take before Matt David gets over Matt Donald sending ONE missile over to his place in Japan?! (seriously, get it over it already! It was just ONE missile!!!) We discuss it all, with 33% more laughs and funny-ish comments due to the extra guest-host, and talk about Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, and the aforementioned Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Lexi Ryan for helping out with this episode.
In this episode, the two Matts visit a writing-themed amusement park, argue about who the monster is in Frankenstein, consider getting back into programming games (or guilt-trip themselves into it later) and talk about writing villainous characters after a 14-episode break. What ways can you make the reader root against them? How can they be potentially sympathetic? How far can they go before they become irredeemable? Why do people think Kylo Ren can turn back to the good side after wearing such high-waisted pants in The Last Jedi, the WORST crime humanly possible?! We discuss it all, with the exact amount of charm and wit you expect from us (whatever that entails) and talk about Avengers: Infinity War, Wicked, Black Panther, and a sneak peek into the third Megazoic book!
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Christina Eilert for helping out with this episode.
In this episode, the two Matts discuss dropping themselves in the Serengeti to strengthen their friendship, translate hundreds of Japanese letters, laugh/groan at Matt David's awesome pun, and bring in co-worker of Matt Donald and actual poet Sydney Chapin to discuss poetry. What is the best mood to write poetry in? Is it better to write in small sessions, or bigger ones? How wide is the definition of poetry? How long does Sydney silently listen to the two Matts' prolonged banter while inwardly groaning at our craziness? (spoiler: a long time) We discuss it all, with such rhyme and emotion that it could only come from true poets, and talk about the works of Homer, Dante's Inferno, Young Justice, and Jurassic World (PSA: The latter two are not poems)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Sydney Chapin for helping out with this episode.
In this episode, the two Matts wonder about the concept of time, introduce a foghorn as a new sound effect for the show, groan at each other's jokes more than usual (if you can believe it) and talk about the different ways dialogue can work with the number of characters in a scene. How does one justify a character talking to himself? How much banter is too much? How do you make every character in a scene of over ten talk without forcing it? How will Matt David recover from seeing Matt Donald record this episode shirtless? We discuss it all, in our always-professional demeanor (David: "So professional...") and talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Icarus Agenda, Buddy Thunderstruck, and Star Wars. No one can escape Star Wars. NO ONNNNNNNE...
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts gush about tapestries and cat-shaped doorstoppers, wonder why certain co-hosts like Power Rangers more than others, spend way too long on an elaborate ruse that'll fool nobody, and talk about what it takes to write a good mystery. How rigid should your plot structure be in comparison to other genres? How many red herrings are too many? How elaborate can your mystery be without getting too complicated? How many references to Clue or Guess Who can we make in one episode? We discuss it all, with magnifying glasses zeroed in on all details, and talk about Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown, the Time Machine, and Big Hero 6 for some reason.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Heads up, "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" spoilers from 45:44 to 48:25.
In this episode, the two Matts use a more epic and serious intro song than usual, have the same work they want to rip off as each other, get incredibly eager and forced with their segues (even more so than usual) and talk about how to improve secondary characters as part of a writing workshop. What's the difference between a secondary character and a co-protagonist? What differences are there for improving one type of secondary character versus another? Does every individual character need to be fully three-dimensional to be useful? Will Matt David FINALLY get out of his damn writer's dry spell? (Seriously, Matt Donald is THIS close to firing him...totally serious...not joking...maybe) We discuss it all, flawlessly linking all our segments with a confident, non-forced "and SPEAKING of which..." and talk about Black Panther, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts wonder how undead trees would work, have a live and unedited reaction from pulling a muscle, celebrate Matt Donald's successful publication of Megazoic: The Primeval Power, and tie it into the month's subject matter as they discuss sequels. What are the different types of sequel or follow-up? What are the benefits and detriments of each? What are good and bad reasons for writing a follow-up to your story? How many emails will it take for Matt David to get off his kabuki and write some more? (Japanese play-on-words for ya) We discuss it all, with all our bad jokes and screechy voices that make babies cry, and talk about Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here, or its sequel "Megazoic: The Primeval Power" by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts celebrate Matt David's long-awaited return, advertise cerebral-stimulation beans, pitch a future story idea about kick-ass geologists, and host the annual awards show "The Witties" once again. What work will we rip off...I mean, did we enjoy the most? What works should others experience who might not have otherwise? Which shirtless scene, out of Chris Hemsworth's or Adam Driver's, will potentially cause the hosts to go gay from their, ahem, hotness? We discuss it all, with all the prestige expected from such an award show, and talk about Thor Ragnarok, The Last Jedi, Power Rangers, and Titanic for some reason.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
DISCLAIMER: This podcast was recorded a few weeks ago, but technical difficulties kept us from uploading it right away, because of course they did.
In this episode, Matt David is still lost in the woods, so Matt Donald has another helper and lovely all-around gal Christina Eilert to help co-host. They talk about German princes and dictators, marvel at stop-motion AA cannons, repeatedly ask Christina's husband in the background for facts and comments, and talk all about holiday stories in this joyous season of festivities. What entails a good Christmas story? What are some of our favorite holiday classics? What is the origin of some standard Christmas traditions? Why are men like waffles and women like spaghetti in terms of conversation? We discuss it all, going over the fields and laughing all the way, and talk about The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Grinch, Elf, and a Christmas Carol.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Christina Eilert and her husband Jake for helping out with this episode.
In this episode, Matt David has abandoned Matt Donald for the month, so Matt Donald calls in their mutual friend and true science geek Allen Brooks to fill in until next time. They talk about asteroids hitting the Earth, complain about the constant barking of Matt Donald's dogs (yet still love dogs, don't worry), roll their eyes at their fellow co-hosts' pathetic attempts at humor, and explain the concept of hard sci-fi, AKA "realistic" sci-fi. What is it compared to soft sci-fi? How much research should you do? What are some common misconceptions about space and physics you should avoid? Why do the two hosts rant about Star Wars for like five minutes despite that not being hard sci-fi in the slightest? We discuss it all, with such knowledge of the topic it puts Carl Sagan to shame, and talk about 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Martian, Star Trek, and Matt Donald's book MEGAZOIC, which is not hard sci-fi at all, but cheap plug! ding
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Allen Brooks for helping out with this episode.
In this episode, the two Matts talk about their mutual non-drinking of coffee, reveal that one of the hosts is a reincarnated Pharaoh, play a clip of one of Matt Donald's promotional events, and explain the concept of plot ninjas to get out of writer's block. When could one be so stuck to resort to this method? Do they have to be literal ninjas? Do you have to stick to them, or edit them later? What exactly is this Japanese Thanksgiving that Matt David claims to celebrate while in Japan? We discuss it all, with all the dignity of a pooping pigeon, and talk about Power Rangers, Titan AE, a bit of Star Wars, and Final Fantasy (for the third episode in a row for some reason)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts go camping while ensuring they have Wi-Fi, fear how unlucky this thirteenth episode could possibly get (spoiler alert: pretty unlucky), don't have enough experience in Halloween-esque topics to do a Halloween-esque episode, and instead reminisce about their embarrassing old stories to the listeners. What junk did we once write to get to where we were? Are we proud of any of it, or should it stay deep in the garbage disposals of our past? Will Matt Donald's cockatiel become the new co-host as Matt Donald hastily records an ending due to technical difficulties? We discuss it all, with our palms in our faces the whole time from all the horrifying memories, and talk about Arrow, Sunshine, BIONICLE, and way too many different versions of Megazoic (before the "good" one that got published)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Special thanks to Christina Eilert for her contributions to this episode.
In this episode, the two Matts dwell on their year's worth of podcasting, reflect on Matt David's statistically-generic face that also somehow looks like a dinosaur, shoot metaphorical missiles through each other's hearts, and discuss the concept of Mary Sues and how to avoid them. What exactly defines a Mary Sue? What's the difference between a Mary Sue and a normal escapist character? How powerful or special can your character be without falling into the Mary Sue trap? How can the two Matts decide on what color bow to put on their podcasts' forehead if they don't know the gender? We discuss it all, with the calm and reserved tone throughout you'd expect, and talk about Eragon, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman (who Matt Donald specifically states is NOT a Mary Sue, so don't grab your pitchforks, listeners! Save them for next time we inevitably screw up a Tolkien reference or something)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Also, click HERE for the Mary Sue test at springhole.net
In this episode, the two Matts reveal the title of Matt Donald's Megazoic sequel, dine on stories cooked by the great Gaston Crayon de Papier, take a stance against the bigotry and hatred in present-day America, and talk about what makes a bad origin story along with a little about what makes a good one. Does realism factor into what makes a bad origin story? Do you have to follow the classic Hero's Journey paradigm to the letter? Is it okay to follow cliches or totally subvert them? Will Matt David's pride ever recover from Matt Donald's interruption of his EPIC intro song? We discuss it all, with all the blatant immaturity our listeners expect from us at this point, and talk about Star Wars, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, and some hilarious new characters in Marvel's Inhumans. Seriously, they're amazingly terrible.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts sponsor a writers-only workout program to make writers' creative muscles burn, root for aliens to destroy the Earth as long as dogs are spared, get one of our hosts replaced by a robot for the last segment, and do some serious writing by the seat of their pants using a random-plot-element-generator. What kind of brainstorming can be done on the fly? What kind of ridiculous stories will be imagined? Will Matt Donald ever emotionally recover from his 50-second rant about his pathetic career at the very end of the episode? We discuss it all, with even more uhhs and ummms than usual due to having to be creative on the fly, and talk about Anonymous Rex, Wonder Woman, and some Kamen Rider-esque show about warriors with fruit. Because Japan.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
Also, in case you're curious, the words available in our random-plot-element generating program were Romance, Zombies, Robots, Comedy, Gritty, Western, Time Travel, Tragedy, Dogs, War, High School, Dragons, Workplace, Revenge, Holiday, Spy, Horror, Musical, Swashbuckling, Post-Apocalypse, Aliens, Sports, Thriller, Treasure Hunt, Wedding, Desert, Giant Monsters, Vampires, Superhero, and Steampunk.
In this episode, the two Matts advertise their special ink solution made from deadly squids, exploit young relatives to make a theme song, reveal Matt Donald as the 64th clone of Matt Donalds seeded throughout the world by our future alien overlords, and categorize the different types of antagonists present in a story. What ways can a character oppose another? Do they even have to be characters, or can they be abstract concepts? Can we all agree the ultimate antagonist of this episode are the construction workers hammering away at Matt David's end that Matt Donald tried in vain to edit out? We discuss it all, with clearly fake and half-witted enthusiasm, and talk about Narnia, the Mummy (both the Tom Cruise and Brendan Fraser ones), Jurassic Park, Armageddon, and a worryingly-large amount of romantic comedies.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book "Megazoic" on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts forget to do the usual "Welcome, fellow nerds" intro until the very end, celebrate Matt Donald's successful publication of his book, reflect on all the death threat jokes, and discuss their experiences with co-authoring and how it works. Who does what part of writing a collaborative story? What happens if one author quits? How can perimeters be set for each co-author? When will Matt David's voice be back up to snuff after being a bit sick for the last week? We discuss it all, with wondrous grandeur and reverence, and talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ultraman, Injustice 2, and a new book called Megazoic that you all should totally check out! Up to you, of course. We can't make you do anything. Live your lives, dudez.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Also you can purchase Matt Donald's book on Amazon by clicking here. If you'd like, of course.
In this episode, the two Matts open with a dumb game show instead of a theme song, perform flawless edits of mistakes during recording, have difficulty naming segments of their own show, and info-dump their thoughts about world-building. What defines "world-building" for a story? How much overwhelms or bores the reader? What ways can you make it easier for you as a writer to world-build? What weapon will listeners use when storming the houses of the hosts when they bash beloved stories or make blatant errors when talking about them? We discuss it all, with our trademark super-annoying voices and stutters, and talk about Tolkien's the Silmarillion, Harry Potter, Kong: Skull Island, and the best and most beloved franchise in human history, LEGO's BIONICLE. Deny it all you want, you know we're right.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. Please email us! We have no friends! :(
In this episode, the two Matts gush about the Backspace key, read a bunch of fake reviews, tell stories about trains that are also Power Rangers, and inform the listeners on how to deal with criticism. What are the different types of criticism? How can you accept feedback without feeling attacked? How can you keep blatant, biased hatred from bringing you down, or rapid, fanatical love from going to your head? How can Matt Donald ever forgive himself for crushing a fellow college student's work with brutal criticism that was merely a deflection from his own dumb issues? We discuss it all, in a calm, collected, and mature fashion like always, and talk about Moana, Ferngully, ToQGer or whatever it's called, and simultaneously the best and worst book ever, The Kerfuffle of Blah (listen to episode for context...wink)
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email us at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. We remembered to mention it this time!
In this Valentine's Month episode, the two Matts wallow in self-pity for Singles' Awareness Month, accidentally spoil everything to kingdom come, plan to shoot one another across the Pacific, and discuss what constitutes a lighthearted story. Are they always kid-friendly? Do they have to have happy endings? Can they go dark later? Will Matt David live to see the next episode? We discuss it all, with our upbeat and cheerful demeanor others should definitely try to emulate, and talk about (and accidentally spoil) Harry Potter, Ratchet and Clank, The Amazing Spider-Man series, and some Pixar movie about balloons.
Have any feedback or questions for our hosts? Email me (Matt Donald) at mattd@matthewdonaldcreator.com. I said I would discuss it later in the episode, but I forgot because I'm a goldfish.
In this episode, the two Matts celebrate the new year, potentially offend multiple demographics of the show, try and one-up each other in a singing contest (spoiler alert: Matt David wins), and host the annual award show "The Witties," celebrating all the great and not-so-great works of the previous year with an odd amount of overlap. What works are we gonna rip off-uh, I mean...did we ENJOY the most last year? What was we gonna try and read/watch/play more of? Whose butt is the best out of Deadpool, Scarlett Johansson (either as a snake or a movie that came out five years ago), or Chris Evans's bulging biceps that aren't butts but are legendary anyways? We discuss it all, with true awards-level reverence, and talk about Percy Jackson, Overwatch, Warcraft, and Hidden Figures for some reason (it's a great movie, but we can't write anything like that, so it's in "Works we won't rip-off," obviously)
In this episode, the two Matts take an almost nine-month break for some reason, brag about finished writing projects, gush/face-palm about super-cheesy disaster movies, and give out tips for starting, continuing, and finishing writing projects. What makes a good hook? How can writers motivate themselves to keep going? How can you naturally build to a climactic finale? How did Matt David not collapse with exhaustion getting here in the States from Japan in a rowboat? We discuss it all, as formally and professionally as you would expect, and talk about Star Wars, Captain America: Civil War, the Core with Hilary Swank for some reason, and more of Matt Donald's old works in more shameless self-plugs.
In this episode, the two Matts sing a mercifully-censored theme song, go on tirades about old roommates, accidentally give out spoilers for Harry Potter (don't worry, I edited in a warning ahead of time) and discuss the different relationships characters can have with one another. What's the difference in writing friends and enemies? What about characters that dislike one another but must work together for the greater good? How can one write convincing chemistry? What was Matt Donald thinking saying that joke about jobs/friends with benefits? We discuss it all, with our signature charm and musical voices, and talk about Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, and Matt Donald's own book in a shameless self-plug.
In this first episode of The Writ Wit, the two Matts introduce themselves, sing a garbage theme song on the spot, talk way too much about superheroes, and do their best to talk about fantasy and such. What is fantasy? How does one write fantasy compared to other genres? What are the different sub-genres of fantasy? Why does Matt David bash Groundhog Day even though he hasn't seen it? We discuss it all, in the great and intricate detail expected from this show, and talk about everything from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Twilight for some reason, and the ultimate fantasy book, the BIBLE!!! (Just kidding...or AM I?!)