Category: 2023

Posted in: 2023

187. The Joy and Stress of Writing and Change

A couple of short announcements before the episode. First is that I’m not doing my usual “A Few More Words” feature today. I’ve done a lot of interviews over the past month or so, and I want to get those posted. I still have well over 150,000 words to go in English, so that feature will be back in a week or so. Second is that I was interviewed on a podcast hosted by the guy—his name is Matt Balaker—I co-wrote a book with about 4 years ago now, a bio of a standup comedian. Our topic is, well, that book (and a few other things). If you want to listen to or watch it, check out the link in the show notes. So, on to today’s episode. My guest today is Diane Hatz. We talk about transitions in one’s writing career, not only psychologically but also technically, as in: should I have my own blog? should I be on YouTube? should I stick to Substack? It’s a great chat. This is “The Joy and Stress of Writing and Change,” episode 187 of the podcast.

Diane’s Blog
https://wholehealthygroup.com/blog/

Diane’s Substack
https://substack.com/@dianehatz

Diane on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weaf80bvfhM&ab_channel=DianeHatz

Wayne Being Interviewed by Matt Balaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZg19Z-IvI8&t=3s&ab_channel=TheMattBalakerPodcast

Posted in: 2023

186. This Is What I Mean by Literary Fiction

I’m solo today and this episode is a kind of prequel. I’m going to be interviewing the great American writer Lorrie Moore in a few weeks about her new novel, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home, due to be published later this month. I’ve been a lifelong fan of her work, and in this episode I will give an overview of her past works, and my views on what it is about her books and her style that makes her exceptional. The title of this episode is “This Is What I Mean by Literary Fiction,” number 186 of the podcast.

Loorie Moore’s Amazon Author Page
 https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lorrie-Moore/author/B000APWFEY

Lorrie Moore’s First Published Story in “Seventeen” Magazine (1977)
 https://archive.org/details/sim_seventeen_1977-01_36_1/mode/2up
(scroll to page 92) 

Posted in: 2023

184. A Few More Words: Deprecate

I talk about the two most known uses of this word in English, one the very common "self-deprecating," and the other, the less well-known sense in computing. Along the way, I discover that the two big dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged, don't include the latter meaning, and the definition in the OED hasn't been updated fully in a long time.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_character_property#Deprecated

Collins COBUILD Dictionary
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/deprecate (scroll down)

Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology (editor: Philip A. Laplante), Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2017

Posted in: 2023

183. Worse Writing Is Harder to Get Through

Before I get to today’s conversation, I have an announcement about swag. In the next few weeks I will publish my 200th episode and I wanted to celebrate a little by giving thanks to you, the listeners. I started the show in January last year, and both listenership and downloads have increased steadily, which makes me very happy. And I’ve been very grateful for the nice things some of you have said in reviews. I don’t have hard-to-find first editions for you, or cold hard cash, but a mousepad inside a small cotton totebag, both with the show’s logo. Small tokens, yes, but my thanks are big. Just go to the contact form at WritingEditing.ca and send me your mailing address, and I’ll send them to you (until they run out). Again: thank you.

So, for today’s episode …

My guest is Todd Brison, who describes himself as an “optimist who writes.” He's an Amazon best-selling author and award-winning ghostwriter. I met him on Substack, where he writes What Makes Great Writing? We had a great discussion about the importance and impact of the quality of writing in all sorts of media. This is “Worse Writing Is Harder to Get Through,” episode 183 of the podcast.

 

Todd’s Website
https://www.toddbrison.com/

 

Substack
https://www.whatmakesgreatwriting.com/

 

Twitter
https://twitter.com/ToddBrison

 

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddbrison/