20.10: Interview with Chuck Tingle: Breaking the Rules

9 snips

Mar 9, 2025

In this discussion with Chuck Tingle, an unconventional author known for his erotica and horror novels, he shares his creative journey from self-publishing to traditional publishing. He passionately advocates for breaking artistic rules, emphasizing that failures are just stepping stones to success. Chuck's playful approach includes wearing a pink bag for anonymity and a quirky take on vegan hot dogs. He encourages writers to embrace spontaneity and rethink traditional writing norms, blending humor and insight throughout the conversation.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Genre-Bending Author

Chuck Tingle, known for erotica, has signed a traditional publishing deal with Nightfire for horror novels.
This unconventional move breaks the 'niche' rule, as he maintains both genres under the same name.

ADVICE

Embrace the Unconventional

Embrace unconventional creative paths.
Astonishing failures can lead to beautiful art and push mediums forward.

INSIGHT

Failure is an Illusion

In art, failure doesn't truly exist.
Every perceived failure is a learning opportunity and essential to the creative process.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Today we have the pleasure of talking with author (and longtime listener!) Chuck Tingle. We invited him on the podcast to talk about breaking the rules—both in terms of how to publish and what to publish. Chuck told us about the business and creative rules that he has upended—he doesn’t do readings, he is anonymous (during our interview he wore a pink bag over his head), and he thinks you should tell and show. Chuck then shares some of his favorite failures, what he learned from them, and how failures actually aren’t real. Also featured on today’s episode: puppet bloopers, approaching art, and why LOVE IS REAL.

You can learn more about Chuck Tingle here.

Chuck’s Thing of the Week: The FrankenStand (a vegan hotdog stand in LA that serves horror-themed hot dogs)

Homework: Choose a section from your current Work In Progress (WIP). Think of the writing rule that you’re treating as the North Star of Writing At Large (what would the English Department hammer into you?). Try to rewrite that section without that rule or doing the opposite of the rule. Then, look at it and see what changes that makes. Is there a version of your writing where you can use this as a tool, and not a rule?

P.S. Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.

P.P.S. Are you tired of ads?! You can join our $5 tier on Patreon and receive ad-free episodes each week!

Sign up for our newsletter

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dongwon Song, and Howard Tayler. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

Join Our Writing Community!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy