We want to do a Scrivener show — we really do — but what a Valentine’s Day week we had. It was a week of politics and heated discussions on Facebook that ended up inspiring this week’s episode topic. With special guest Lisa-Anne Moore, authors take a look at those soapboxes we all have in a corner and ask the tough question — when do we as authors (of any standing in a career) voice our opinions, and when do we walk away from heated debates?
00:00 — Introduction
- Pip is trying to sing the lyrics to our theme song. One problem….
- Special guest via Skype — our Skylanders pimp, Lisa-Anne Moore
- What have we accomplished since the last Shared Desk?
- Lisa nears completion of the first draft of her novel.
- Tee released for the Kindle (and only for the Kindle) his first novella.
- Pip finishes Mechanical Wings and is asked to give a nip-tuck on it which she did…in between her deep dives into Ancestry.com.
- A quick thank you here in the show notes to Logan Waterman for the Big Bang Theory drop-in’s.
05:35 — Authors and Opinions: When to Sound Off and When to STFU
- Why we brought Lisa on board this episode
- What happened last week
- Virginia wants to make vaginal probing in abortion cases a law.
- Lawmakers debate new contraception health coverage. No women are present. (Washington Post)
- Now that you know the background, here’s what happened to Pip…
- …and here was Lisa’s reaction to what was going on in the news and in the State and Federal forums.
- Lisa’s (heart-felt and honest) blogpost from Life in a Nutshell. (This is a raw and honest reaction to the Virginia bill, so be ready for this.)
- How did the ladies feel not about the issues, but in voicing opinions and emotions that might be “unpopular” (in a broad sense) with readers, agents, and publishers?
- Tee draws a line in the sand on where authors damage their careers
- Tee breaks the Prime Directive and drops a few names of authors that go deep in their non-writing rants
- Harlan Ellison, the grumpy old man of Science Fiction
- Ringo, Drake, Flint, and Weber — The Baen Books Mafia
- When should authors step up and when should they let the argument go?
- And while authors face the issues, the cats make their own opinions know. (Tee recommends Bissell.)
- When Tee made the “delete a comment” call…all very personal.
- Can one comment or a single blogpost completely destroy a carrer or reputation?
- Lisa’s manages another heated debate (thank you, Indiana) concerning the Girl Scouts.
- Pip reflects on starting the following morning picking up where she left off.
- Tee calls Pip on the lost writing time over politics.
- Beware the Perfect Storm of PIP RAGE!!!
- Tee, Pip, and Lisa talk about the authors whose politics and philosophies affect their works.
- The three go deeper into the topic…
- When authors (and other artists) use their notoriety to push an agenda
- When artists and commentators use their notoriety to step into a different arena
- The big questions authors should ask before taking a stand on current events
48:45 — The Wrap-Up
- Pip comes up with a GREAT description of our special guest…
- Places where we are going to be this year:
- Lisa-Anne’s Tuesday Special — The Fox Mill Writing Group at the Fox Mill’s Starbucks
- A writing group of 14 where we pwn a Starbucks in Herndon
- Some spontaneous comedy from the FMWG
- Join us on Tuesday mornings between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
- Where to find all three of us online…
- …and Tee nails the Creative Commons tag! (He celebrates by cleaning up cat pee.)
Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.
