Meet
Our Hosts

Caleb James K.

Caleb James K. is the former Editor-in-Chief of the literary journal, Drunken Pen Writing, and the host of the DPW Podcast. He’s also a fiction writer, poet, and aspiring novelist.

Spencer Church

A former aspiring comic book artist, Spencer is the cohost of the DPW Podcast as well as a short story writer and avid reader.

We kick off the episode with some bad news. Poet Joy Sullivan was scheduled for today’s episode, and she did join us on the podcast via computer, but unfortunately, we had some tech issues and couldn’t record the episode.

Since we couldn’t talk with Joy, we decided to discuss a topic that came to our attention recently. Some people think Stephen King is bad at writing female characters. Well, Spencer couldn’t let this King slander stand. So he found a list of great female characters in Stephen King’s work.

After we talk about the list, we go into some more details about this supposed fault of his. We discuss the faults of other writers and the problems with poorly written characters beyond gender.

#229: How To Fix Bad Writing And A Secret Book Club – Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

In today's cold open, we read from Edmund Spenser's epic fantasy poem, The Faerie Queene. We also discuss the Arthurian language used and why the work is so difficult to read. After that, we settle down and talk about bad writing and ways to fix it! We cover an article on the subject from http://www.aliventures.com, which gives some great examples of bad writing and tips on how to fix it. Of course, we share some of the things we've learned over the years and how we go about crafting stories. Finally, after the outro music, we have a secret book club for you! And no, Spencer is not involved in this one. It's the brand new Book Creepers Club! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at http://www.calebjamesk.com.