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Paul Andruss Podcast TTT Season 4 Writing

Season 4 Episode 15:  Paul Andruss on Writing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.  

I am you host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am heading across the ocean to Wales, that beautiful country full of magic, mystery, music, and great writers. I am excited to reconnect with one of those writers – Paul Andruss.

Paul is the author of the Young Adult magical realism trilogy, the Jack Hughes Books, and the forthcoming (very adult) Finn Mac Cool – a mythological saga. He has also written several short stories and novellas.  

Over the past several months, Paul and I have been exploring the evolution of writing. What will the future bring in a world where different artistic disciplines are blurring: books to movies and the advent of gaming. How will different creative disciplines merge and cross over?  Or are they bounded by the current product format? These are the questions that will be discussed today.

So put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Listeners, thank you for sharing this moment with Paul and me on Tea Toast and Trivia. I invite your to meet up with Paul on Goodreads and on his website, Jack Hughes Books.  You are only an internet click away from a daring and exciting adventure.

Until next time, dear friends, keep safe and be well.

 River Taff (Welsh: Afon Taf) 

Paul Andruss on Writing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

59 replies on “Season 4 Episode 15:  Paul Andruss on Writing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”

That was a very interesting conversation with Paul, and I agree with him on all points! Thank you Rebecca for bringing yet another great conversation. Paul I wish you all the luck and good fortune on your animation endeavor! I know from experience how challenging it can be embarking in new waters!

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Dear Marina, thank you so much for the encouraging comment and best wishes for my attempt at animation. I think fellow creatives always appreciate how much time and effort it takes to create, mainly because they are involved with their own projects. And let’s be honest even the easiest project you think of never proves easy. It’s like the old saying goes- the first 99% of a project takes up 99% of the time and the last 1% takes up the other 99%!!

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Fascinating discussion, Rebecca and Paul!

Paul, I was particularly struck by your description of your struggles with the animation process — amid the need to create that animation to try to increase the audience for your books. Writers everywhere who are not super-tech-savvy can relate. 🙂

And it was very interesting to hear about the different way the same jokes “land” in the “Harry Potter” books vs. the “Harry Potter” movies.

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Dave, thanks very much. It means a lot. I am glad you appreciated the explanation of how the same joke has to be told in a different way in a visual media – even though reading is visual I always believe it is more a cerebral activity, i.e. just try playing with your i-phone while reading a book! Cheers!

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Hi, Dave. My thought when I listened to Paul’s comments about Harry Potter was that the best movie adaptations of books I’ve seen are the ones that stay true to the medium of film, rather than the book itself.

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HI Dave, I was also very interested in the Harry Potter jokes commentary. I’ve never thought about it before, but I rarely watch movies as they always disappoint me because they don’t have the depth of the book. I understand Paul’s meaning completely.

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I agree, Robbie, that movies based on novels often disappoint. But I think some of those screen adaptations are still excellent in their way — and the “Harry Potter” films are among the ones I enjoyed a lot. 🙂

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Rebecca and Don thanks for this. Given I was there at the interview I can only say that this entertaining piece is down to the questions asked and the judicious editing of me droning on to produce something on point and interesting. Great work from you guys. PXX

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Many thanks for sharing your insights, Paul! Don and I had a wonderful time and I look forward to many conversations that are awaiting our arrival. You are always involved in a brilliant project!!! Exciting!!!!

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Hi Rebecca and Paul. Another top notch podcast episode, I learned a lot. Rebecca, I have only listened to.4 of your segments so far, but it seems like you’re giving NPR a run for their money!

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Thank you for your awesome support and encouragement of these conversations, Babsje. I love the idea of giving NPR a run for their money because I know it is because of the brilliant guests that have graciously shared their insights, thoughts and stories. I am heartened!! Paul is brilliant and honest in how he approaches the writing process. He is now working on a poetry project that I am very interested in seeing how it evolves. There is always an adventure!

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Dear Babsje, thank you for the very kind comment. It’s great to know you found it interesting. When involved in a conversation you wonder if you are hitting the mark so it is good to know it is well received. However I must say, I was in very good hands. As an interviewer Rebecca knows how to bring out the best in me (and Don edits out the rest!)

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Thank you, Rebecca and Paul, for this historical, educational and interesting conversation. It was exciting to me to hear Paul reviewing history and events, not only the recent past, but also from from 13+ centuries ago, events that I had not heard about! True, we have moved from classical Greek to our world today with complicated and elaborate movies and all kinds of electronic devices to make viewing and studying of the past seem almost current! ! His remarks about the Harry Potter books and movies and the making of them was insightful. It is evident that all of this process will change with the 4th Industrial Revolution. He relates that he has written a good, interesting and exciting book and can not get anyone interested in buying it.. So, he is setting up U-2 channels on line to attract readers, because in today’s world, it is necessary to attract many readers, nothing just happens by itself! Animation is necessary and does not happen without time and much thought to design. A fact that I find most interesting of all, is that he is learning and finding new ways to teach and express himself–a skill that we all should learn from his example. It will be good to learn from him in the future. His closing remarks about sharing love is very important!

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I am delighted that you joined Paul and me in this conversation, Frances. I knew that you would enjoy this podcast. Your thoughtful comments add depth and breadth to how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact our daily lives. Just yesterday in our telephone conversation we both recognized the need to find new ways of learning and engaging. Challenges do make our lives exciting even when they cause frustration. Learning takes energy, time, and reflection.

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Frances, thank you for adding your thoughts to the conversation. Firstly I think a lot of credit goes to Rebecca for thinking up the great topics and keeping the interviewee (i.e. me!) on target. It really is a gift, and a rare one at that. I liked the way you closed your comment with the fact that sharing love is important. Given fame and fortune as so transitory, I think the only think worth a damn in this world is the love you give and hopefully (unconditionally) receive.

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Thank you Rebecca and Paul for sharing this conversation. I am just getting ready to release and attempt to market the books I’ve been working on. That task seemed daunting enough a few minutes ago. Now I wonder.

I think Paul confirmed why I enjoy books more than movies, at least modern movies. I don’t feel like movies leave any room for my imagination to work. As I read (I think I heard Paul say) I am building the scene (or the author is) in my mind. It’s almost as if reading is also a creative process.

Audio, at least in the form of an audio book or podcast, brings me along slowly and let’s me engage more with the story. For example, I can almost see Paul struggling with that software. Movies don’t leave me any room. I think that’s because of how important our sense of sight is in the way we perceive the world, but I digress.

Learning something new and useful is never a waste of time. I’m impressed by Paul for going this route and I wish him much success. Publishing has changed as a result of the each industrial revolution, with the result being more information reaching more people. It doesn’t, or perhaps won’t surprise me to see it changing again.

Paul, thanks for sharing your experience with us. Good luck with however you choose to proceed.

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Dan, thanks for the great comment. Good luck with your books and please don’t let me put you off. Something I learned, that was not relevant to the topic discussed, is that you should not underestimate dumb luck -being in the right place at the right time, catching the zeitgeist (my word of the week) or whatever you want to call it.
I did a lot of research of this- enough to fill another talk with Rebecca, and in every success there was quite simply a huge amount of luck and often a huge amount of money spent. Although money does not guarantee success.
Bowie is a great example and that could comfortably fill 10 minutes. Contrary, are the people tipped for the top, considered huge talents, who never made it. Finally the great talents who got lost on the way and became 1 hit wonders.
What I am trying to say is my experience of failing to engage with readers might well be my shortcomings as a self-promoter or simply my luck. It will not reflect on your journey at all. However if you do become a best selling author, then remember me!
Cheers, Paul

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Congratulations on your writing adventures, Dan. I will be following your progress with great interest. The idea of writing a book is entirely different from publishing a book, and even more different than marketing a book. With our current technology, creative work is open to all – writers, photographers, artists, film makers. Paul used the word “zeitgeist” – a word that fits into our complex world of communication. What is most exciting – we can tell our stories and send them out into the unknown. Stories have a way knowing where they should land.

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Some movies, just a few, leave my imagination working over time eg the recent movie, Drive My Car. The best books, the best films, the best paintings give you time to think as you read and watch, and a reason to come back again and again. That has been my experience or perhaps I should say what I am learning as I take my life journey.

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I’ve been wondering when we would hear from Paul again! This was a very thought-provoking conversation that raised the question for me about using a video and/or audio medium to promote one’s writing versus using video and/or audio as a form of creative expression in and of itself–and, if doing both, the relationship between the two.

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Hi Liz, now you know why I have been keeping my head down.
Your comment summed up the whole dichotomy. What is the purpose of expanding into other media- are you a media creator or a writer using a different strategy to promote your writing. I think the answer is how long is a piece of string.
There are a number of excellent magazine channels on U-tube but as I recently found out (2nd hand), they do not sell your book. Perhaps you are seen as a presenter not an author. However a lot of people make a very good living as a u-Tube creator.
Being U-tube creator is a full time job, which means your ambitions as an author of fiction will probably suffer. It depends on your choices and what you consider important- integrity or hard cash (hmmm, let me think about that for a moment … Bingo!)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood – which seems to be my motto in life. Given a choice – prevaricate!

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Such a lovely conversation. I do like the way that Paul took us on a journey from ancient Turkey and Rome all the way through to the 21st century (and beyond). Paul, I admire your willingness to try animation and new ways of attracting an audience. You seem like a person who is very thorough with your research. However, I am wondering why you chose YouTube over Tiktok. Is it that YouTube gives you more time to say what you need to? I wish you well.

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Thanks for the great comment Gallivanta (what a great name!).
I do like history, often preferring the past to the present and increasingly the future. There are now enough links in the chain to give a pretty good understanding of how we developed into early settled societies and grew into cities. With later civilisations, like the Romans, it is pretty clear we are making the same mistakes all over again.
Now to your question why u-Tube over tik tok. Ignorance, I’m afraid. I’m simply familiar with U-tube and people on there entertain me, so I am ashamed to say I did not really think much further ahead than that.. Thanks for your good wishes – Paul

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Hi Rebecca, it is lovely to see Paul here and I agree with you, he has a lovely speaking voice. It is true that to be successful as a writer you need to get your books in front of a larger audience that blogging, FB, and other writing friends and acquaintances. It is also true that creatives spend a lot of time being creative. It is very difficult to do that, as Paul has mentioned. I have a YT channel and it is slowly picking up followers. I have found it harder to develop than blogging but that is because I enjoy blogging a lot more and spend more time doing it. If I look at the YT videos and Youtubers my sons follow, I know I will never be able to be that irritating or idiotic about everything in life. I am just far to sensible. As a result, I don’t expect to every appeal to youngsters. Animation might do the trick though. I shall be interested to see the outcome.

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Thank you, Robbie, for listening in and for adding depth and breadth to this conversation. I have learned a great deal about the writing and creative process in my discussion with Paul. Your thoughts on your YT channel resonate. It is building a “tribe” – a community that increases the word of mouth possibility, which allows the message to spread quickly. I continue to learn and learn and learn.

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Dear Robbie, thanks for your insights. I have found your YT channel and look forward to checking it out over the next few days. You are right – it does seem social media platforms belong to the young- with sometimes questionable results. Thank heavens there is also a lot of mature and entertaining well-considered work there too. Re the animation I do not expect this to appeal to youngsters either as the story is more adult. Thanks for your thoughts as always. Paul X

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Hi Paul and Rebecca. I’m back! And wow, what a fantastical episode here today with Paul. Great topics of conversation and loved Paul’s reasoning for why jokes wouldn’t work in the Harry Potter movie, compared to the lead up of the joke in a book’s pages. Great history lessons and great witing conversations. And I especially agree with Paul’s thinking on marketing and getting more involved with Youtube. I so don’t enjoy the digital marketing part of being an author, lol. Paul is brilliant! Thanks for a great chat and Paul, please share your Youtube channel. Hugs to both ❤

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Welcome home, Debby! I am delighted that you joined Paul and me on this conversation. Thank you for sharing your insights into the marketing aspect of publishing. I am looking forward to following your YouTube Channel. You have a wonderful voice, Debby. Sending many hugs back your way.

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Hello Debbie love to see you back. Apologies for the delay- just got back from Devon and somerset this evening. Firstly thank you for your kind remarks. Like you I don’t feel that comfortable with the marketing side of being an author, yet It is certainly something that needs to be done. I will let you know when the you tube channel is up and running. And as always thank you for your kindness ,encouragement and friendship. Love Paul

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I’ve enjoyed listening to Paul here in the past.
Love the history of the ages of industrial revolution.
Animation is an interesting way to go.
I get it, Paul, when you say you haven’t sold a book. I have a book up on Amazon. I sold a few. However, now I have been boycotting Amazon for 6 years.
Thinking of animation… it’s like shooting film. The characters, the shots, the lighting, sound, etc.
I worked in film for 25 years. Animation is film, with graphic actors instead of real actors.

I’ve been doing “Gowntoons” on my Art Gowns blog. This is cartoons not animation.
It’s not so obvious, but I do address contemporary issues.
Tongue in cheek, ABSOLUTELY!
Lol, Rebecca is the Art Director.

I’m not a great artist, but my fashion drawing based art is pretty great.

I think I am a bit more relaxed about success than you seem to be. This is because I had a decent career as a Costume Designer. I never won an Oscar, or Emmy, but I am a voting member of the ATAS. I’ve worked with A-listers, and believe some of the work I’ve done will be remembered, especially the docudramas I did during my 10 year run with Showtime, and an odd Canadian tv series “Little Mosque on the Prairie”.

I wish you the best!!!!!!!!!
https://resamcconaghy.com/

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Sorry for the late response, Resa!! Thank you for adding depth and breadth to this conversation that speaks to our innate need to create, to add value and participate in a broader dimension. Several years ago, I was frustrated by an award system that did not seem fair to me for several reasons, which I enumerated to Don. He responded by saying I had two choices:

1) To strive to succeed on a flawed award/benchmarks. No matter how well they are crafted, they are never perfect. OR
2) Use my creativity, intellect, enthusiasm, to change the world.

I believe that is what we do everyday, Resa. To me you are a great artist who challenges us to see the world through a creative lens that embraces the beauty of diversity and inclusivity.

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No worries dear Rebecca! I figure you are reading War and peace, and it keeps you busy!
Lol! I’ve been working on a drawing of you and the bad gal on a catwalk. It’s a challenge, but seems to be coming along. The Zombie you, plays in the next episode.
The more I get into the stories, the harder they become, as there is a lot of info already laid down in the adventures. Continuity is key. Also, I like challenging my drawing skills.

Awards… It’s Emmy season. I’ve got a lot of TV & streaming shows to watch! Soon we will be nominating. I have access to every show made, on any platform over the last year.
As a voting member, I take my role in making sure my votes are honest, seriously. I only vote for shows I’ve seen.
Anyway it’s the noms right now. The winning nominees will be announced in July. In August we will be voting.
It is very exciting. {{Hugs}}

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