Writing rules, characters based on real people, and artificial intelligence

Four acclaimed authors discuss what "show don't tell" means and how to constructively use or disregard this writing "rule," how to manage relationships and keep your work real and honest when writing about characters based on people you know, and the effects artificial intelligence is having and may have on writing and writers. Oh, and there are a lot of cocktails.

Bios:
“Some people run from their demons; others sit down and have cocktails with theirs.” William R. Hincy is a man who does and writes about the latter. Having become a writer after deciding it was the only sensible thing for a problem drinker to do, Hincy aspires to connect with readers by eschewing stock plots and generic formulas in favor of exploring characters who no longer create messes but have instead become the mess. This unflinching but empathetic eye and devil-may-care attitude helped him earn an American Fiction Award and be named a finalist for multiple International Book Awards for his anthology of short fiction, Without Expiration. His other full-length works include But the Ripping Apart, a novel about hoarding from whence the opening quote of this bio originates, and A Fire for Christmas, a satirical collection of stories set during the coronavirus pandemic (winner of the International Book Award and two American Fiction Awards). William R. Hincy now hosts the popular podcast Writers Drinking Whiskey and lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and kids, having found solace in the notion that the only things sacred are self and whiskey-winged interludes.
WDW Intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lev5KHRpc5s
Website: https://williamrhincy.com/

Mathieu Cailler is the author of six books. His short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in numerous national and international publications, most notably in The Saturday Evening Post and the Los Angeles Times. He is the recipient of a Shakespeare Award, a Short Story America Prize, and a New England Book Festival Award. Heaven and Other Zip Codes, his debut novel and most recently published book, has been hailed “a postmodern masterpiece” by Midwest Book Review and was named the winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival.
Cailler’s episode of WDW: https://youtu.be/IurSNQmO0bg
Website: https://mathieucailler.com/

Daniel Cross Turner: Daniel Cross Turner’s creative writing has been published by Birmingham Poetry Review, Five Points, James Dickey Review, Literary Matters, Talking River, and Hub City Press, among other venues. In addition to dozens of critical essays, he has published three books: a scholarly monograph on contemporary Southern poetry, Southern Crossings: Poetry, Memory, and the Transcultural South; an anthology of Southern poetry, Hard Lines: Rough South Poetry; and an essay collection on the Southern Gothic, Undead Souths: The Gothic and Beyond in Southern Literature and Culture.

He earned his doctorate at Vanderbilt, and has published several interviews with contemporary writers, including Rebecca Gayle Howell, Patrick Phillips, Yusef Komunyakaa, Natasha Trethewey, Daniel Wallace, and Charles Wright. He serves as Head of Outreach & Programming for the Georgetown County Library and as Vice-Chair for the South Carolina Academy of Authors.
Turner’s episode of WDW: https://youtu.be/MHP515d7TpA

Dario Ciriello is a professional author and editor as well as the founder of Panverse Publishing. His fiction includes Sutherland's Rules, a crime caper/thriller with a shimmer of the fantastic; Black Easter, a supernatural suspense novel which pits love against black magic and demonic possession on a remote, idyllic Greek island; and Free Verse and Other Stories, a collection of Dario's short science fiction work.

Dario’s 2011 nonfiction book, Aegean Dream, the bittersweet memoir of a year spent on the small Greek island of Skópelos (the real Mamma Mia! island), was an Amazon UK travel bestseller. The Fiction Writing Handbook: The Rebel Author’s Guide to Writing Beyond the Rules (Panverse, 2017) is his second nonfiction work.

In addition to writing, Dario, who lives in the Great Lakes Area, offers professional editing, copyediting, proofreading, and coaching services to indie authors.
Dario’s episode of WDW: https://youtu.be/fpDdxz5ChLM
Dario’s blog: dariospeaks.wordpress.com
Dario’s editing service: exactlyediting.com

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:27 Introductions
00:12:17 Show don't tell
00:39:13 Writing about people close to you
00:57:49 Artificial Intelligence and writing

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