PODCAST · arts
Method and Muse Podcast
by Paul A. Cagle
Welcome to Method and Muse podcast, a podcast for writers-in-process! join us for a clever and commiserating twist on topics related to writing from the POVs of our four writers in dogged pursuit of The Dream! Join Paul Cagle, Becky and Lance Bumgardner and Melody Wingfield as they share tips, tricks and tales from the road to help you find your method and follow your muse.
Episodes
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72 You Can Do Magic
EPISODE 72: You Can Do Magic – Writing Magic and the Occult On this episode, join Lance, Becky, Paul, and Mel as they discuss using magic and the occult in your writing. Does magic have to “play by the rules”? What are some ways to use magic as a plot device? What exactly does “occult” mean? To...
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71 Ghost Writer
EPISODE 71: Ghost Writer – Writing the Paranormal On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss writing paranormal fiction. What’s the difference between paranormal and supernatural? What elements make up a good paranormal story? What can a paranormal story get away with that...
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70 Serial Killer
EPISODE 70: Serial Killer – Writing Series On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss writing a series of books versus a stand-alone novel. What are the advantages of writing a series? How frequently should you produce a new book? What is “Second Book Syndrome”? Listen to…
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69 All By Myself
EPISODE 69: All By Myself: Stand-alone Novels On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss writing stand-alone novels versus writing a series. Do certain genres lend themselves to stand-alone novels better than others? Why would writing a single book be better than creating a...
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68 Now We're Cookin'
EPISODE 68: Now We’re Cookin’ On this episode, join Becky, Paul, Lance and Mel as they discuss what you’ll experience when you participate in NaNoWriMo. What are some of the pitfalls you might experience? What type of writers participate in this? What goals are expected? Listen to the show to…
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67 Writer's Secret Recipe
EPISODE 67: Writer’s Secret Recipe On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they talk about the forthcoming NaNoWriMo. In case you didn’t know, that stands for National Novel Writers Month. What is NaNoWriMo for? How can you participate? What can it do for you as a writer? Listen to…
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66 I'll Do It My Way, Again!
EPISODE 66: I’ll Do It My Way, Again! Self-Publishing Part Two On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss The “how” of self-publishing your book. What are you, as the author, responsible for in self-publishing? What things should you know or learn to do? How costly is this...
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65 I'll Do It My Way
EPISODE 65: I’ll Do It My Way On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss self-publishing. Why should you consider this route for getting your work published? What are the pros and cons of self-publishing? What are the author’s responsibilities for self-publishing? Listen to...
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64 Maker's Mark
EPISODE 64: Maker’s Mark On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss “branding” and what it means for an author. What exactly is a brand? What are important things to keep in mind when creating a brand? What can you do to help or hurt your brand? Listen to the show to hear...
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63 Look At Me! Look at Me!
EPISODE 63: Look At Me! Look At Me! On this episode, join Mel, Lance, Becky, and Paul as they discuss promoting your book. When should you start the promotion process? Who does most of the promotion work? What are some of the best methods for promoting your book? Listen to the show to hear their...
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62 Cover That Thing Up!
EPISODE 62: Cover That Thing Up! – Production and Bookcovers On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they delve into the production process of your book after you’ve signed that all-important contract. What is a “galley”? What are ARC’s and what do you do with them? How important are...
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61 Stop The Presses!
EPISODE 61: Stop the Presses! - Publishing On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss what to expect when your book is ready to be published. What are the main criteria that your work must meet for an editor to want it? What exactly is a “budget number”? How long does this...
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60 Mission Impossible Part Two
EPISODE 60: Mission Impossible Part Two On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss the querying process. What are the parts of a query letter? What are methods you can use to research agents? Can you send simultaneous submissions? Listen to the show to hear their ideas on…
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59 Mission Impossible Part One
EPISODE 59: Mission Impossible? Part One On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss the process of dealing with literary agents and what they do. What is an agent? How many types of agents are there? Do you really need one? Listen to the show to hear their ideas on this…
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58 The Cutting Room Floor
EPISODE 58: The Cutting Room Floor – Editing & Revisions On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss how to get your work ready for publication through editing. What are the main types of literary editing? Should you edit your own work or have someone else do it? What are…
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57 That's a Wrap
EPISODE 57: That’s a Wrap! – You Finished Your Book, Now What? On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss what to do immediately after finishing your book. Should you take a break from your book for awhile before doing anything else with it? Should you jump into editing...
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56 Shaken or Stirred = The Mixology of Plot
EPISODE 56: Shaken or Stirred? – The Mixology of Plot On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss different techniques to use in your writing to help with the plot. What is an unreliable narrator? How can dream sequences help to explain parts of your book? What are the…
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55 And Your Point Is
EPISODE 55: And Your Point Is… - Developing Theme On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss developing the theme or themes for your work. What are some of the most popular themes in books? When you’re writing, which comes first: Theme or Plot? Are some themes more suited to...
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54 A long Time Ago In A Place Far, Far Away
EPISODE 54: A Long Time Ago In A Place Far, Far Away – Setting Time and Place On this episode, join Becky, Lance, Mel, and Paul as they discuss setting the time and place for your story. Do you really need to set a time and place? If so, how specific do you need to be? What factors affect when…
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53 Ready, Set, Go!
EPISODE 53: Ready, Set, Go! – Pacing and Timing On this episode, join Becky, Lance, Mel, and Paul as they discuss the pacing and timing for your work. What’s the difference between pacing and timing? How important is pacing to your book? Can bad timing affect your writing? Listen to the show to...
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The Princess and the Werewolf - Short Story
When Earl, a werewolf, gets bitten by a spoiled rotten little Princess, he can’t wait until the next full moon. She’ll learn her lesson once and for all. But when things don’t go the way he thinks, he confronts her and gets the surprise of his life!
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52 Lights! Camera! Plot!
EPISODE 52: Lights! Camera! Plot! On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Paul, and Lance as we discuss setting the action for your story. How much of an idea of plot do you need to get started? Do you need subplots? If you use them, how many subplots is too many? Tune in to the show to hear their…
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51 Taste the Rainbow
EPISODE 51: Taste the Rainbow – Diversity in Character Casting On this episode, join Becky, Mel, Paul, and Lance as they discuss creating a diverse cast for your work. How important is diversity in creating your characters? How difficult is it to portray people with a different...
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Rembrandt Jones Artifact Retrieval Specialist - Short Story
Remy Jones is a self-proclaimed Artifact Retrieval Specialist for magikal artifacts. When he is hired for a simple pick up, things go wrong and he gets more than he bargained for. A free short story by author Paul A. Cagle
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50 A Very Special Podcast
EPISODE 50: A Very Special Podcast On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as we celebrate our 50th podcast episode! Listen to the show to hear us talk about the show’s origins and why we do it. We’ll also talk about what inspires each one of us. You’ll also gain a little insight into…
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49 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
EPISODE 49: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss love interests for your story. When is a love interest important? How do you handle the changing face of love interests? Is the introduction of a love interest a benefit or a hindrance in…
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48 Stand By Your Man, or Woman
EPISODE 48: Stand By Your Man, Or Woman - Sidekicks On this episode, join Lance, Mel, Becky, and Paul as we discuss sidekicks or support characters for your work. What is the purpose of a sidekick? Can you have more than one of them? What happens if your sidekick character becomes more popular…
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47 Bad To The Bone
EPISODE 47: Bad to the Bone On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Paul, and Lance as we discuss antagonists for your story. Are antagonists as important as protagonists? Does your antagonist have to be a villain? How can you create a realistic antagonist? Listen to the show to hear our ideas on this...
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46 I Need A Hero
EPISODE 46: I Need A Hero – Protagonists and the Hero’s Journey On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Paul, and Lance as they discuss creating a protagonist for your story. What exactly is a protagonist? What qualities should they have? Can you have more than one? Listen to the show to hear what we...
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45 It's Alive!
EPISODE 45: It’s Alive! – Creating Meaningful Characters On our latest episode, the gang discusses creating those all-important characters that fill our (and hopefully your) books. How can you create meaningful characters that readers will care about? Is it important to give them a backstory? Do...
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44 Rally The Tropes
EPISODE 44: Rally the Tropes – Common Themes in Genres On our latest episode, join Lance, Becky, “Air-quotes” Paul and “Beep” Mel as they relay common tropes. What tropes are associated with what genres? Are they necessary? Just what is a “trope”/ Listen to the show to hear what we have to say...
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43.5 Paul and Mel are sick
EPISODE 43 ½: Paul and Mel are sick On this episode, we don’t do much because Paul and Mel are sick. We’re pretty darned sure they don’t have the dreaded Corona virus that seems to be creating such a kerfuffle, but they weren’t able to record our podcast. Join us next week as we return to normal,...
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43 Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe
EPISODE 43: Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe! Figure out your genre, Ho! On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Paul and Lance as they discuss the importance of picking a genre for your book. Should you know what genre you’re going to write in when you start your book? Do you need to have a complete understanding...
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42 The Periodic Table of Writing-Defining Genres
EPISODE 42: The Periodic Table of Writing – Defining the Genres This week, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they reveal the most commonly agreed-upon genres in fictional literature. How important is it to get the genre correct for your book? What are the most common genres? What are the…
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41 So Many Ideas, So Little Time
EPISODE 41: So Many Ideas, So Little Time In this installment, we discuss project management for writers. Are you trying to deal with a single project or multiple works? What are the three main factors in project management? What are some useful tools to help you keep track of what you’re working...
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40 Profiling a Good Idea
EPISODE 40: Profiling a Good Idea On this episode, join Mel, Paul, Becky, and Lance as they discuss methods for finding out if your story idea is a good idea. What are some of the initial indicators that your idea is going to work? Does your story reveal itself to you? What are some of the...
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39 Wanted Alive-One Good Idea
EPISODE 39: Wanted Alive…One Good Idea On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss ways to come up with ideas for your writing. How can you find interesting topics to write about? What are some ways to find good story ideas. Should you discuss your ideas with other people?…
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38 Words Have Power Pt 2
EPISODE 38: Words Have Power Pt. 2 – Reshaping the World Through Writing On this episode, join Lance Becky, Mel, and Paul as they discuss how writing has affected our world. Is this a new phenomenon? How have writers gotten messages across to readers to shape their ideas without the reader being...
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37 Words HavePower-Commentary, Endorsements, and the Writer
EPISODE 37: Words Have Power – Commentary, Endorsements, and the Writer On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss an author’s right or responsibility to share their personal views on hot-button topics. Should writers use social media to express their own views on politics…
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36 2020 Vision-Setting Clear Goals for the Coming Year
EPISODE 36: 2020 Vision – Setting Clear Goals for the Coming Year On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Paul and Lance as they discuss setting clear goals for yourself as a writer for the next year. What’s the difference between a goal and an aspiration? What’s a good method for setting those goals?...
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35 Oh Really, You Shouldn't Have
EPISODE 35: Oh Really, You Shouldn’t Have – Gifts for and From Writers On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss gift ideas for and from writers during this holiday season. What are some inexpensive gifts that a writer may appreciate? What are some practical gift ideas for...
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34 Once Upon a Time
EPISODE 34: Once Upon A Time – Books That Inspired Us On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss The books that inspired them. What were there favorites as children? What works inspired them to be writers? What books did they not like so much? Listen to the show to hear…
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33 Please Patreonize Me
EPISODE 33: Please Patreonize Me! – Crowdfunding Creativity On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss crowdfunding your project. What is crowdfunding? What can you use it for? How difficult is it to set-up? Listen to the show to hear their ideas on this topic. They'll have...
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32 Be A MacGuyver, Not A MacUseless
EPISODE 32: Be A MacGuyver, Not A MacUseless On this episode, join Becky, Lance, Paul and Mel as they discuss writing hacks and tips to help you in your writing endeavors. What writing programs or apps are most helpful? What are some methods of support for you as a writer? How can you manage your...
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31 Shake Your Money-Maker
EPISODE 31: Shake Your Money-Maker – Self-Advertising On this episode, join Lance, Mel, Paul, and Becky as they discuss self-advertising to get your work noticed. Do you have to self-advertise? Where is the best place to do this? How much is it going to cost? Listen to the show to hear their…
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30 You Say Self Published Like It's A Bad Thing
EPISODE 30: You Say Self-Published Like It’s A Bad Thing – Self-Publishing Vs Traditional Publishing On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss The differences between the two main methods of publishing a book. Which method is more popular? Which way is easier? Is one…
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29 Who You Gonna Call - Writing Paranormal
EPISODE 29: Who You Gonna Call? – Writing Paranormal On this episode, join Mel, Becky, Lance, and Paul as they discuss writing paranormal stories. What exactly are the different types of paranormal stories? Does a paranormal book have to be scary? How many people are writing those paranormal...
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28 I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Written That Way
EPISODE 28: I’m Not Bad, I’m Just Written That Way – Creating Compelling Villains On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they talk about their favorite villains and how to use those baddies in your story. Is there a distinction between being evil and being a villain? Does your...
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27 What Was That Noise
EPISODE 27: What Was That Noise? – Building Tension On this episode, join Paul, Becky, Lance and Mel as they discuss creating tension in your work. What are the different types of tension? How can you create tension for your readers? Can you have too much tension? Listen to the show to hear their...
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26 Dr Frankenstein, I Presume
EPISODE 26: Dr. Frankenstein, I Presume – Creating Stories with Monsters On this episode, join Lance, Mel, Paul, and Becky as they discuss monsters and how to add them to a story. How do you go about creating a monster for your story? What types of motivation would a monster have? What are some...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Method and Muse podcast, a podcast for writers-in-process! join us for a clever and commiserating twist on topics related to writing from the POVs of our four writers in dogged pursuit of The Dream! Join Paul Cagle, Becky and Lance Bumgardner and Melody Wingfield as they share tips, tricks and tales from the road to help you find your method and follow your muse.
HOSTED BY
Paul A. Cagle
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Method and Muse Podcast have?
Method and Muse Podcast currently has 75 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Method and Muse Podcast about?
Welcome to Method and Muse podcast, a podcast for writers-in-process! join us for a clever and commiserating twist on topics related to writing from the POVs of our four writers in dogged pursuit of The Dream! Join Paul Cagle, Becky and Lance Bumgardner and Melody Wingfield as they share tips,...
How often does Method and Muse Podcast release new episodes?
Method and Muse Podcast has 75 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Method and Muse Podcast?
You can listen to Method and Muse Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Method and Muse Podcast?
Method and Muse Podcast is created and hosted by Paul A. Cagle.
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