Tag: podcasts

Authors K. Tempest Bradford and Aisha Matthews

I’m on the Science Friday Book Club talking about New Suns

By:  TempestScience Fiction & Fantasy

Last week I had the great pleasure of being on WNYC’s Science Friday as part of the #SciFriBookClub. All this month they’re reading and talking about stories from New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction By Writers of Color edited by Nisi Shawl. I got to talk to editor Aisha Matthews and producer Christie Taylor about the story “Dumb House” written by Andrea Hairston.

Any time I get to discuss Andrea’s work with people I’m happy, so I knew going in that this would be fantastic. We ended up having a truly wonderful conversation that went a little over time, so some had to be cut. Still, what’s there captures the essence of what we talked about. You should buy the book, read the story, and listen in.

If you want to listen to the first segment where they talked to Darcie Little Badger about their story, or find the upcoming segments, head to the Science Friday book club website.

Write Gear laptop Buying Guide

The Write Gear Laptop Buying Guide For Writers

By:  TempestPodcast

Episodes 10, 11 and 131 of The Write Gear podcast are all about laptops — the best laptop overall, great laptops for if you want something small and light, laptops for small budgets, etc. These episodes, plus the extensive links in the show notes, constitute my Laptop Buying Guide for folks who write.

As I say in the intro to episode 10, “Which laptop should I buy?” the #1 query from writers asking me for tech advice. My answer depends on a lot of factors, but I often end up recommending one of the laptops mentioned in the two podcasts.

Listen to TWG #10: The Best Laptop for Writers right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 10

Episode 10 Show Notes

Episode 11 is partly about recommending small, inexpensive laptops, though mainly a conversation with Brad Linder about the history of netbooks and the current state of things. We do talk about what you should look for in these netbook-like machines if you go out on the hunt for one.

Listen to TWG #11: Small And Light Laptops for Writers

      The Write Gear: Episode 11

Episode 11 Show Notes

Writers often ask me about Chromebooks because they’re inexpensive and seem like a good idea. My general advice is that you’re better off with an inexpensive PC or even an AlphaSmart over a Chromebook most of the time, though they do have uses as a secondary laptop.

Listen to TWG #13: Are Chromebooks Good For Writers?

      The Write Gear: Episode 13

Episode 13 Show Notes

Keep in mind, my anti-recommendation of Chromebooks is based solely on a writer’s needs. They are great machines for other folks and other purposes. So don’t come banging don my door in anger, Google. I just got it fixed from the last time!

Footnotes

  1. Post updated April 22nd [⇧]
From Farscape to Fountain Pens

The Write Gear #9: From Farscape to Fountain Pens

By:  TempestPodcast

When I was a wee Tempest, I read in some book by a fancy author that all real writers write with fountain pens. And being a dutiful person who wanted to be a real writer, I took this to heart and went out and bought a fountain pen. And for a few days it was The Best, and then it got ink everywhere and became The Worst.

Does this experience feel familiar to any of you? I bet it does. Fountain pens do seem a proper tool for those of us who still write by hand (more thoughts on that on an earlier post). They may also seem daunting. Are inexpensive fountain pens even any good? If you want something that will last, where do you even go to figure it out? Is dealing with ink as fraught as it seems?

I decided to put these and other newbie questions to Richard Manning, screenwriter, producer, and fountain pen geek. Richard was a producer on Farscape, and started down the long, twisty path to fountain pen love thanks to seeing a certain actor’s fancy Montblanc. Which actor? You’ll just have to listen to our nerdy pen conversation to find out.

Listen to TWG #9: From Farscape to Fountain Pens – A Conversation with Richard Manning right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 9

There are links to all the pens and inks and websites Richard mentions in the show notes.

So, where my fountain pen geeks at? Fly your flag in the comments or over on Twitter with the hashtag #FountainPenLove.

Alphasmart and Jennifer Stevenson

The Write Gear #8: All About AlphaSmart

By:  TempestPodcast

Alphasmart and Jennifer Stevenson

The last Write Gear podcast got a lot of positive attention–even more writers struggle with the distraction thing than I thought. This week’s episode keeps it going with a deep dive into the AlphaSmart. I learned about this wonder of distraction-free writing from a Clarion West classmate back in 2003, and bought one right away. A few years ago I met someone who loved it even more than I did: author Jennifer Stevenson. I knew she’d be the perfect person to talk to about it, and she is.

Check out the podcast for everything you need to know about the AlphaSmart and then click over to the episode page if you want to buy one. There are a few different models available, and I link to them all.

Listen to TWG #8: All About AlphaSmart right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 8
The Write Gear 7 Tools to Block Electronic Distractions While You Write

The Write Gear 7: Tools to Block Electronic Distractions While You Write

By:  TempestWriting Life

The Write Gear 7 Tools to Block Electronic Distractions While You Write

I used to feel a sense of shame around the fact that I am easily lured away from writing by the Internet shiny things such as notifications and new comments and tweets and whatever. To solve this problem, I would sometimes ask people for suggestions on minimizing or blocking distractions and there would always be one person—usually more—popping up to say that I should just have self discipline instead of looking for crutches.

This is some ol’ bullshit, I hope you know1.

Not only are there some people who can’t just have self discipline in the way those jerks mean, every person has to own up to their limits or needs and find ways to work with how your brain works. And that sometimes means employing outside help.

That’s what this episode is all about. I’ve found quite a few useful distraction blocking tools to help me, and I hope they’ll help other folks. If you use different tools and have found them useful, please say so in the comments!

Listen to TWG #7: Tools to Block Electronic Distractions While You Write right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 7

Footnotes

  1. Anytime someone says that “You should just” as if their ability to “Just” isn’t based on factors they never have to think about–i.e. privilege–and is the absolute correct way of being, you have my permission to tell them to go to hell. [⇧]
JEMcast - 3 new episodes

JEMcast Catchup: The Jazz Player, Danse Time, & Roxy Rumbles

By:  TempestJEMcast

JEMcast - 3 new episodes

I am behind on posting about new JEMcast episodes! My apologies. (Though if you subscribe to the podcast you don’t need me reminding you. Hint.)

The most recent three episodes have been okay, though none are among my favorites in season 2. I do have fond memories of Roxy leaving the Misfits after winning the lottery. That episode also taught me to never trust the IRS.

Subscribe to the JEMcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, via RSS, or listen below.

      JEMcast: Roxy Rumbles

The Jazz Player is one of those episodes that solidifies the fact that Jem exists in a parallel universe where the United States is about 500 miles wide at best and going between Los Angeles and Chicago is a matter of minutes on a plane.

Subscribe to the JEMcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, via RSS, or listen below.

      JEMcast: The Jazz Player

I like the songs in Danse Time, especially the Misfits one, but what is up with Danse being completely whiny throughout it?

Subscribe to the JEMcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, via RSS, or listen below.

      JEMcast: Danse Time

Alex, Aleen, and I explore all of this and far more, and you should listen and laugh along with us.

The-Write-Gear Conversations with Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick

The Write Gear Episode 6: Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick

By:  TempestPodcast

The-Write-Gear Conversations with Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick

A few years back at my first GeekGirlCon, I got the opportunity to interview Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick about their writing tools and process. Both conversations turned out to be enlightening and fun; and then I sat on them all this time because it took me a while to get this podcast thing going. Now they’re out and you should listen!

Listen to TWG #6: Conversations with Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 6
The Write Gear best pen episode

The Write Gear Episode 5: Is The uni-ball Jetstream Really The Best Pen?

By:  TempestMulti-Media

The Write Gear best pen episode

A couple of years ago a website called The Wirecutter published their recommendation for Best (non-fountain) Pen Ever. This post is over 6,000 words long, and not only gets into which pen they picked as the best and why, but also about types of pens and the differences between them and what qualities they were looking for in determining a Best Pen. Intrigued by all the gushing about their pick, the uni-ball Jetstream, I decided to try it and compare to my favorite pens. You can find out if I ditched by Pentel EnerGels for the Jetsteam in the podcast.

I also ask: is it really possible to determine a Best Pen for everyone? Plus, I wanna know what everyone else’s favorite pens are and why.

Listen to TWG #5: Is The uni-ball Jetstream Really The Best Pen? right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 5
write gear episode 4

The Write Gear Episode 4: Back Up Your Stuff!

By:  TempestMulti-Media

 

write gear episode 4

The number of writers I know that don’t back up their stuff is scary. Y’all, you need to do this. It’s not even hard. And if you’re willing to spend a bit of money, you don’t even have to actively deal with it. In this episode I detail all the different types of backups for computers and tell you how to make a set it and forget it backup system, even when using physical external drives.

I also talk about that new-ish kind of frightening virus–Ransomware–and which backups help protect you against them (and which don’t).

Listen to TWG #4: Back Up Your Stuff! right here or subscribe in iTunes

      The Write Gear: Episode 4
JemCas Aztec Enchantment

New JEMcasts: “Aztec Enchantement” and “Music Is Magic”

By:  TempestPodcast

Good news, bad news time. Good news: there’s a new JEMcast out! Bad news: I am not in this episode.

Cue weeping and rending of garments!

Never fear, Alex and Aleen did a great job. And even more good news for me: I didn’t have to watch “Music Is Magic” and suffer through all that bad animation. Wow, such terribad animation.

      The JEMcast: Music Is Magic

JemCas Aztec Enchantment

More good news: I was on last week’s episode where we talked about “Aztec Enchantment.” A decent episode that managed to not be as offensive as the china episode. This is the measure we use for these things on the podcast.

There are some facepalmy moments of WTFness balanced out by moments that show the writer truly meant well, even while still coming from a place of privilege.

Listen to the episode below or subscribe via  iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or RSS.

      The JEMcast: Aztec Enchantment