Writing violent scenes and dealing with criticism of your work | WDW Open Bar with William R. Hincy

Four acclaimed authors discuss the Do's and Don't's of writing violent scenes and how to handle criticism of your writing constructively (and when to disregard it). Oh, and there are a lot of cocktails.

“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/

T.D. Johnston won the 2017 International Book Award for Best Short Fiction for his debut collection, Friday Afternoon and Other Stories. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals. The editor of the Short Story America anthology series of contemporary short stories, he lives in Jacksonville, Florida and Beaufort, South Carolina with his wife, Stacey, daughters Brooke and Taylor, and son Nick.
WDW episode: https://youtu.be/NBo93gsAqS0
Website: https://tdjohnston.com/

Dana Ridenour is the award-winning author of Behind The Mask, Beyond The Cabin, and Below The Radar. She is a retired FBI agent who spent most of her career as an FBI undercover operative infiltrating criminal organizations including the Animal Liberation Front, the subject of her new book, Below The Radar.
WDW episode: https://youtu.be/OPtQR6seEMw
Website: https://danaridenour.net

Recovering newspaperman Dan Conover is the author of eight novels, including the first four books in the slipstream epic-fantasy series The Darbas Cycle, written under the name D.C. McElroy (Chene, Llyr and Gwynyr in the prequel trilogy The Goddess Daughter, plus Ta Nupa, the first book in the series' second trilogy, Season of Spies). The series' fifth installment, City of the Dead, will appear in 2023. Raised in North Carolina and a longtime resident of Charleston, SC, he now lives in the Appalachian foothills with his wife, visual artist Janet Edens. His former job titles include tank commander, reporter, city editor, web director, bicycle mechanic, technology consultant, and organic market gardener. These days he keeps up an old family farm and writes fiction. Two of his novels as Dan Conover -- the erotic paranormal thriller Bokur and the satiric sci-fi romp Another Goddamn Novel About the Collapsing Quantum Multiverse -- are available via Amazon via his Dan Conover author page. His current Darbas Cycle novels are available via his D.C. McElroy author page.
WDW episode: https://youtu.be/dg5QOfzo7zU
Website: https://www.dcmcelroy.com/

Chapters:
00:00:00 Start
00:00:34 Introductions
00:03:38 Torture
00:19:50 Criticism