People Who Do Things
Join hosts John H. Matthews (Runt, Designated Survivor) and Laura Buchwald for conversations with creators, including authors, screenwriters, musicians, playwrights and more, as well as chats between the hosts about the basics of writing, inspiration, getting over writer's block, and more.
Episodes
37 episodes
37. The Coat Check Girl is Out Now!
John talks with Laura about her newly released debut novel, The Coat Check Girl.
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35:01
36. Inspiration from Steinbeck
Laura and John discuss Laura's upcoming debut novel, The Coat Check Girl, John's new middle grade novel Ace Adler and the Pendulum of Doom, and get inspiration from a quote by John Steinbeck.
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49:09
35. Traditional and Self Publishing
Laura and John talk about their two paths to publishing: Laura with her traditional contract, and John with his self publishing. Also, tips and tools for getting reviews for your book, whichever way it is published, from Kirkus Reviews to Net G...
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1:05:54
34. Photojournalist Richard Drew
Laura and John welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Richard Drew to the podcast. Richard has been an Associated Press photographer for more than fifty years and has been front row to many historic events, from the assassination of Rob...
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47:09
33. The Final Stretch and Next Beginnings
Laura and John catch up after a busy summer and talk about progress and next steps as they are both preparing books for publishing. Laura is in revisions for her publisher, and John is about to release his eighth book independently. They also d...
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46:04
32. Announcements and More
John welcomes special guest, PWDT's own Laura Buchwald to talk with her about some big announcements in her world. They also discuss progress in their WIPS (works in progress), and more!
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38:33
31. Self Doubt and Confidence
Laura and John contemplate self doubt in writing, how it ties to ego and confidence. They also go through a few 'best first lines' of book, according to The Guardian.
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49:50
30. Talking With Barbara Josselsohn
Laura and John welcome author Barbara Josselsohn into the PWDT virtual studio to talk about her book The Lilac House, being a prolific author, managing multiple points-of-view in a book, and her recipe for a great first chapter.
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52:15
29. On Revising and Editing
Laura and John talk about their WIPs (work in progress) and their processes for revising and editing. As usual, they get sidetracked talking about other things, such as Yellowstone, Marc Maron, and more.
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44:49
28. On Getting Motivated to Write
Laura and John distract themselves from writing by talking about what it takes them to get motivated to write.
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36:14
27. Banter about Characters
Laura and John discuss the importance of creating three-dimensional protagonists and antagonists, and how much detail to give supporting characters.
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31:22
26. Catching Up With Claudia
Laura and John welcome Claudia Zuluaga back to the podcast. We talk about writing tips and advice for new writers, when you are no longer an aspiring writer, and finding time and 'your place' to write.
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58:42
24. Season Two Premiere Banter
In what we'll call our Season Two premiere after a summer break, Laura and John catch up on what projects they are working on, the benefits of taking breaks, the excitement of new projects, and prove neither of them know how to pronounce Taiki ...
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25:32
23. Brian Niemietz
We talk to Brian Niemietz about writing for New York City tabloids The Daily News and the New York Post, covering nightlife in the city, and hanging out with James Brown.
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46:08
22. Deborah Way of The Keepthings
We talk to Deborah Way, founder of The Keepthings, an Instagram submission based memoir project. A hat your dad wore. Your grandmother's diamond ring. An artificial hip. People post a photo...
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36:38
21. Banter: AWP22 Conference
Laura and John talk about the Association for Writing Professionals conference they attended last week in Philadelphia, sessions they attended, the book fair, and share comments from others at the conference.
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32:04
20. Elena Perez
Laura and John talk with Elena Perez, poet, YA author, and current staff writer on the NBC series Chicago PD.
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47:03
19. Banter: Dialogue
Laura and John discuss the do's and don'ts of dialogue in writing, from proper punctuation to sounding natural. They also talk about tense and point-of-view, head-hopping, and the upcoming AWP22 writer's conference in Philadelphia.
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29:28
18. Elizabeth Prinvault
Laura talks to her good friend Elizabeth Prinvault about her work as a journalist in Paris and as an author/adaptor translating American TV and movies into French.
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27:32
17. Banter: Writing Through Current Events
With Laura on travel in Paris, we talk about creativity derived by where you are (like Paris), writing during global events, how to process new ideas that come at unexpected times, how we handle, and how different people have different versions...
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31:12
16. Author Kitty Zeldis
Today we talk to Kitty Zeldis, author of Not Our Kind, a look at 1940's New York City and the unexpected friendship between two women, one Jewish and one gentile. We discuss researching the era, everything from fashion to anti-semitism...
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48:09
15. Romance Author Alexx Andria
We speak with USA Today bestselling romance author Alexx Andria about getting her first manuscript bought by Harlequin, writing with pseudonyms, how romance novels have changed over the years, and her new suspense thriller trilogy under the nam...
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50:59
14. Brian Hutchison talks about creating his podcast "I Still Think About You"
We have a great chat with Brian Hutchison about the podcast he wrote and stars in, I Still Think About You, a psychological suspense based on real events from his life. Also on being in a Tony award winning play with Zachary Quinto, Ji...
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48:09