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 things off with a rant about people who boycott art they were never going to purchase in the first place—especially the jerks who try to cancel books even though they don’t read.

After that, we settle into a fun discussion about writing good dialogue. This begins with David Foster Wallace’s opinion on Stephen King’s method for writing dialogue and why Wallace thought King wrote below his capabilities for the sake of quantity over quality. 

This leads us to the meat of the matter in how we write dialogue in our work. We give a bunch of great tips and examples from great writers and how they go about crafting realistic dialogue. 

#212: Overrated American Novels – Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

We begin today's episode talking about a giant snowstorm and Russian literature. After that, we revisit an old topic with a twist. We discuss American novels that are overrated.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at http://www.calebjamesk.com. 

1. #212: Overrated American Novels 30:50
2. #211: Words You Should Cut From Your Work 34:17
3. DBS #132: Why You Should Level Up Your Reading 43:42
4. BOTM #22: The Sugar Man 44:17
5. #210: Our 2025 Writing Year In Review 41:49