Think ChatGPT can finish your creative writing exercises? Let’s find out! In this episode we’re testing the cutting-edge artificial intelligence on some old school writing prompts. We dug out our copies of John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction and typed in two of the back-of-the-book exercises. Faster than you could say “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” out came … words. Listen to us workshop those word: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Then, having proved we’re still at bit away from having an AI write our novels, we returned to Scene and Structure and our own literary self-improvement. In the final chapters of the Jack Bickham’s book, we learn the secrets to ending chapters and take a dive deep into how a full novel is structured (especially that boggy middle).

We’re on our penultimate episode for our reading of Jack Bickham’s Scene & Structure. So, what does the bullet point Meister have to squeeze into an end of a book that 90% of its readers will probably never get to?

Well, first we give ourselves a little pep talk and then we see if we can make sense of all of these specialized scene situations. And, dear listener, there are a lot of them: interrupted scenes and sequels, non-viewpoint character scenes, flashback scenes, scenes with all-dialog, or all-action or unseen opponents or multiple agendas.

After all that high level specialization, we stepped back and take stock of the eminently practical lessons that we’ve learned from reading Bickham. Also in this episode we interview authors Val Neil, Lee Clark, and Nick Chiarkas about how they keep their readers engaged in their novels.

Every composition teacher will draw out a rising action graph on the board (yes, we’re old school). But how do you translate that diagram into the sentences and paragraphs that keep your readers engaged in your story?

In his book, Scene and Structure, Jack Bickham says to do it through structure (because of course he does), and gives seven different plot structures. Yes, dear listeners, we’re going through all of them, and, unlike Bickham, we give examples. Next we try to make sense of what is “backstory” and “hidden story” in a novel (or movie). And what about subplots? Everyone loves a good subplot, and we go over some tips on how to make them work in your novel.

But first up in the podcast, video game narratives! Find out what goes into the game that keeps you glued to the screen. We interview three professionals in the gaming industry on their approach to pacing.

Today we tackle Jack Bickham’s Common Scene Errors, and boy, are there a lot of them, 14 to be precise. According to Scene and Sequel, these simple problems will derail your scenes, rob them of their impact and drag down your novel. We go through each error, identifying if they’re a problem in our own writing and discuss Bickham’s solution.

What writer hasn’t dreamed of leaving behind the stress and obligations of their day-to-day lives for a quiet, secluded space where they can just write? This past October, we did just that, renting an Airbnb for five days and making real progress on our memoir and novel.   During those days we recorded several short conversations…

In this episode, Kim interviews award winning science fiction author, Charlie Jane Anders about her recently published craft book, Never Say You Can’t Survive!

After the interview, we take a break from our usual craft book analysis and writing exercise because…Kim and Renee went on a writing retreat! We abandoned our spouses, kids, and cats for five days to hole up in a secluded Airbnb. We discuss our expectations, preparations and what we managed to accomplish on our little adventure. Besides the entertainment value, we’re hoping our experiences will be useful and inspirational for when you plan your own get-this-damn-novel-written escape.