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
Making It Up with Aime Austin, author of the Casey Cort series
“The muse days and the slog days look the same on the page, but they feel completely different when you’re writing them.” —Aime Austin
Aime Austin is the author of the Casey Cort and Nicole Long legal thriller series, weaving sharp social commentary into gripping crime fiction. Born in Brooklyn, Aime graduated from Smith College and Cornell Law School before practicing family and criminal law in Cleveland, Ohio. She now splits her time between Los Angeles and Budapest, writing thrillers, hosting the podcast A Time to Thrill, and interviewing brilliant women creators. Aime is a 2025 Mystery Writers of America Barbara Neely Scholarship recipient.
Among other things, Aime and Carter discuss Aime’s experiences doing “stringer” work for newspapers, fearing losing momentum in your writing, and attracting new readers as your fanbase ages. At the end of their conversation, they make up a dark story using a line from Tess Gerritson’s The Summer Guests.