Episode 115: When Not Writing Is Writing, ft. MUR LAFFERTY

Worldbuilding for Masochists

Everyone knows that writing is writing. And everyone knows that authors are super great at finding things to distract us from our writing. But under what circumstances is not-writing essential to writing? Guest Mur Lafferty joins us to explore the underpinnings of the writing process!

From research and concept-noodling to moodboards, playlists, and other creative expressions, what non-writing things feed into our writing? How do we know when we're doing something productive and when we're distracting ourselves? And how can worldbuilding, itself often a non-writing piece of writing, benefit from our other non-writing time and activities?

[Transcript TK]

Our Guest: Mur Lafferty is the author the Midsolar Murders series, Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Hugo and Nebula nominated novel Six Wakes, The Shambling Guides series, and several self pubbed novels and novellas, including the award winning Afterlife series. She is the host of the Hugo-winning podcast Ditch Diggers, and the long-running I Should Be Writing. She is the recipient of the John Campbell Award for best new writer, the Manly Wade Wellman Award, the Best Fancast Hugo Award, and joined the Podcast Hall of Fame in 2015, its inaugural year.