Posts Tagged ‘Valerie Valdes’

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings

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“Anytime someone starts a sentence with, ‘why don’t you just,’
immediately stop listening to them.”
~Valerie Valdes (Lia Amador)

New 2025 logo, tiny Mur on pink/orange background with purple circle saying I should Be Writing.While it hasn’t been a long time for podcast listeners, it’s been a while for us and considering her expertise, I’ve invited Valerie Valdes back for a candid discussion about the recent demise of NaNoWriMo and what it means for writers. We delve into the challenges of maintaining community and motivation without the established infrastructure of the once-beloved event. Valerie shares her insights as a former municipal liaison and offers alternatives for writers looking to stay engaged during November.

We cover Nano 2.0, Shut Up and Write, and 4 The Words. Community is one of the most important parts of this month, and we make sure people know that they’re still not alone!

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on November 4, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

 

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Purple illustrated book cover for Witch You Would, two people standing opposite with a cauldron in between themLinks

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“NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

November 6, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 21 | murverse.com
“NaNoWriMo’s Ghosts and New Beginnings” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:22 — 30.2MB)

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“You should be writing, because that’s the only thing that ultimately you can have
even a hope of controlling.”
~Valerie Valdes (Lia Amador)

New 2025 logo, tiny Mur on pink/orange background with purple circle saying I should Be Writing.Welcome back to the talented Valerie Valdes, also known as Lia Amador! We are here to launch her newest book, a fantasy rom-com titled Witch You Wood. We talk magical reality shows, romance, and tropes. We also get real about the struggles that persist even after being published.

Valerie discusses her experiences with self-doubt and how she manages to push through these challenges. We also explore the nuances of writing romance, the balance between subtlety and straightforwardness, and the significance of knowing your audience.

Blue logo to join the Fabulists via Patreon(This post went live for supporters on October 20, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

 

Download Transcript

Subscribe/Follow here! (All apps)

Purple illustrated book cover for Witch You Would, two people standing opposite with a cauldron in between themLinks

Evergreen Links

—
“Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes” is brought to you in large part by my supporters, the Fabulists, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon!

Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at no extra cost to you. Also consider leaving a review for ISBW, please!

CREDITS
Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link). Get archives of the show via Patreon.

October 23, 2025 | Season 21 Ep 19 | murverse.com
“Exploring Romance and Reality in Writing with Valerie Valdes” by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In case it wasn’t clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.

I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Hugh and Mur with Valerie Valdes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:48 — 40.9MB)

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“Hugh and Mur with Valerie Valdes” is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some links below are affiliate links and I may earn some money at no cost to you when you use them. 

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ISBW S19 Ep33

I wanted to discuss humor again, so my buddy Valerie came back on to talk about it because she’s smarter than me. Even though she introduced us to “Diggy Diggy Hole.” We also talk “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun,” the Bridesmaids toast scene that makes me wanna die, The Hitchhiker’s Gudie to the Galaxy, and Tom Cardy’s “Perception Check” (NSFW language).

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I Should Be Writing, Podcasts, Projects, Transcript

[ISBW] NaNoWriMo Prep with Valerie Valdes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:22 — 21.2MB)

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“NaNoWriMo Prep with Valerie Valdes!” is brought to you in large part by by my supporters, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon or Substack!

Some links below are affiliate links and I may earn some money at no cost to you when you use them. 

Subscribe/Follow here! (All apps)

ISBW S19 Ep29

NaNoWriMowhere Peace is lost book cover, angelic profile with wings and a sheild starts tomorrow! Are you participating? Are you ready? Author, editor, and long time NaNoWriMo municipal liaison Valerie Valdes joins us to talk about her new projects and how to tackle NaNoWriMo!

Don’t forget, Chaos Terminal comes out in ONE WEEK.

Transcript

Valerie Valdes 10:08:
…I wonder if there’s like enough NaNoWriMo people at this point who are published writers that it’s kind of lost some of that sheen of the amateur. Somehow I don’t know. But I definitely haven’t heard that as much as I feel like I also would occasionally see that kind of grump on social media. But yeah, I think that, that more and more writers, the benefit of NaNoWriMo, even if you’re a professional writer, and you write 100%, of the time all year round, is that you’re doing this together with other people who are also doing this thing. And even professional writers, a lot of them don’t write 50,000 words in a month, a lot of times, it’s a much slower pace, and it’s spread out over a longer period of time. 

(more…)

Podcasts, Projects

[DD] Do AIs Dream of Electronic Submissions? With Valerie Valdes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:14 — 42.2MB)

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Ditch Diggers 2022 logo, orange and blue, illustrated tiny matt and mur in foregroundDitch Diggers is brought to you in large part by my patrons, who received an early version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon as low as $3 a month! You can get the entire archive and bonus episodes!

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Streamed live, February 27, 2023

S9 Ep2
I’m joined at the last minute by Valerie Valdes, my co-editor at Escape Pod! We talk about the whole AI thing and look to shed some light on the current kerfuffle.

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Ditch Diggers credits:
theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja,
site design by Clockpunk Studio and hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon).
February 27, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 2 | murverse.com
“Do AIs Dream of Electronic Submissions?” by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Podcasts, Projects

[ISBW] Emotions & Trilogies: Valerie Valdes Interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:06 — 47.6MB)

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New ISBW Logo, blue and purple, illustrated tiny mur in foreground with giant fountain pen“Back to Basics: Valerie Valdes and Fault Tolerance! Emotions and Trilogies” is brought to you in large part by by my patrons, who received an early, expanded version of this episode. You can join our Fabulist community with a pledge on Patreon as low as $1 a month! The rewards may vary slightly, but all get the archive and bonus episodes!

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S18 Ep53

Main Topic: Back to Basics w/Valerie Valdes

Links

Twitch schedule for August:

  • Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers (19th 4:30pm)
  • Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing
  • Wednesday 3pm: Gaming TBD
  • Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing
  • Thursday 8pm: Arsenic and Old Dice, A Brindlewood Bay Livestream

Support Local Book Stores!

I Should Be Writing credits: production by Summer Brooks, theme song byJohn Anealio,
art by Numbers Ninja, site design by Clockpunk Studio and hosted by Libsyn (affiliate link) (or you can get it via Patreon).
July 28, 2022 | Season 18 Ep 53 | murverse.com
“Valerie Valdes and Fault Tolerance! Emotions and Trilogies” by Mur Lafferty
is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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