Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Making It Up is an unscripted conversation series about the messy reality of being a writer. Each episode is a deep, unplanned conversation with writers at every stage of the journey. New York Times bestselling authors. Award winners. Debut novelists just getting started. No prepared questions. No talking points. Just two people following the conversation wherever it leads. We talk about where stories really come from. Childhood influences. Fear. Luck. Loss. Discipline. Doubt. The highs, the lows, and the long stretches in between that rarely get talked about. At the end of every episode, we put the philosophy into practice. We choose a random sentence from a random book and use it to create an impromptu short story. No prep. No outline. Just making something out of nothing. Because that is the job. And that is the point. Visit Carter at www.carterwilson.com.

Carter Wilson's Making It Up is a arts podcast hosted by Carter Wilson, with 254 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Carter Wilson hosts Carter Wilson's Making It Up, a arts show with 254 episodes published.

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  Episode #251

  Making It Up with Mike Papantonio, author of A Death in Arcadia

  Sep 26, 202638 minS1

  "If I'm writing strong, I walk away for the day so I can come back tomorrow and take off immediately. Once that energy starts flowing, it carries right through into the next scene." — Mike Papantonio Mike Papantonio is an American trial lawyer, television presenter, radio talk show host, and author. He is a senior partner with Levin Papantonio, one of America’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, and was one of the youngest inductees into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He has aggressively taken on Big Pharma, tobacco, corporate polluters, and weapons manufacturers, among other bastions of corporate greed, and uses his own cases as springboards for his seven-book series of legal thrillers featuring Nicholas “Deke” Deketomis. Mike’s most recent legal thriller is “A Death in Arcadia,” inspired by the infamous Dozier School for Boys. Among other things, Mike and Carter discuss how Mike’s novels are inspired by real cases he has litigated, the prevalence of “anti-heroes” in Hollywood, and the myth of writer's block. At the end of their conversation, they make up a poetic story using a line from Robert Thorogood’s The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts.

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  Episode #250

  Making It Up with David Ellis, author of Keep Them Close

  Sep 19, 202650 minS1

  "I'm going to write what I want to write, because that's what I'm going to write best—what makes me feel passionate. It’s all about messed up people doing messed up things." — David Ellis Welcome to Episode 250 of Making It Up! Our 250th episode features David Ellis, a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight bestselling books co-authored with James Patterson. His novels have been translated into more than ten languages worldwide. In December 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. Among other things, David and Carter discuss concerns of AI in the writing industry, how plot is less important than character, and how the movie The Sixth Sense is the perfect example of a big plot twist. At the end of their conversation, they make up an interesting story using a line from Alex Finlay’s The Anniversary.

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  Episode #249

  Making It Up with Robert Thorogood, author of The Marlow Murder Club series

  Sep 9, 202651 minS1

  "The difference between a professional writer and an amateur is that the professionals get to the end and write 'The End.' And the thing that helps with that is we have contracts. But I've always found the pressure of a monthly mortgage a very good way of focusing concentration on actually doing your word count for the day." — Robert Thorogood Robert Thorogood is an English screenwriter and Sunday Times and USA Today Bestselling novelist. He created the BBC One murder mystery series Death in Paradise as well as co-created two spin-off shows from it, Beyond Paradise and Return to Paradise . Since then, he's written The Marlow Murder Club series of murder mystery novels, which he turned into a TV series for PBS and UKTV. Among other things, Robert and Carter discuss the feeling of seeing your book in person for the first time, writing series versus standalones, and how Robert emulates Agatha Christie in the way he plans out his stories.

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  Episode #248

  Making It Up with Joseph Moldover, author of To the End of Reckoning

  Sep 6, 202642 minS1

  "Once upon a time when I was young, I wanted to be an actor. And I think writing in first person is like being an actor—you’re climbing inside this role and it gets you outside of yourself. Third person just felt like a middle-aged suburban dad telling a story." — Joe Moldover Joseph Moldover is the author of the Young Adult novels Every Moment After and Just Until. His adult debut, To the End of Reckoning, is forthcoming in 2026. His short fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Stonecoast Review, MonkeyBicycle, One Teen Story, and elsewhere. From 2020-2023 he co-hosted the online program and podcast Authors Love Bookstores for A Mighty Blaze. Joe is also a clinical psychologist and specializes in learning and developmental challenges. He is the author of The Empowered Parent, a short guide for parents of children with special needs. Among other things, Joe and Carter discuss writing YA fiction, how Joe started writing short fiction through an online class, and the pressure of living up to a high advance from your publisher. At the end of their conversation, they make up an eerie story using a line from Matt Goldman’s The Murder Show.

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  Episode #247

  Making It Up with Maria Dong, author of Aviary

  Aug 30, 202649 minS1

  "Publishing is very married to the idea of you as a writer having a brand... I have ADHD, I get really bored writing the same thing over and over again—I actually can't do it. My brand is just women with mental health issues; it doesn't matter what genre or time period it's in." — Maria Dong Maria Dong is the author of Aviary , Psychopomp , and Liar, Dreamer, Thief. Her short fiction, articles, and poetry have been published in dozens of magazines, like the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Lightspeed, Augur, Nightmare, Khoreo, Fantasy, Apex, and Apparition Literary Magazine, and her story, In the Beginning of Me, I was a Bird, was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. Among other things, Maria and Carter discuss deviating from your original vision when writing, their appreciation for copy editors, and why Maria enjoys reading her negative reviews. At the end of their conversation, they make up an intense story using a line from Alex Finlay’s The Anniversary .

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