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Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

BOTM #26: IT

Oct 6, 2026 · 57 min · 11 segments

In today's cold open, we talk about our current writing progress. After that, we discuss Stephen King's bestselling novel IT. Rather than talk about the story, which almost everyone knows already, we…

In today's cold open, we talk about our current writing progress. After that, we discuss Stephen King's bestselling novel IT. Rather than talk about the story, which almost everyone knows already, we discuss the icky bits that nobody wants to hear about. You know the scene! Also, all the racism and gross nonsense, but we don't dwell on that stuff too much. We break down some of the writing tricks Stephen King used to scare readers, and we end the episode by giving a quick top five of our favorite King novels. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com.

In today's cold open, we talk about our current writing progress. After that, we discuss Stephen King's bestselling novel IT. Rather than talk about the story, which almost everyone knows already, we…

Spotify Amazon Music Website

Show signals: Audience≈2k followers

Speakers: Caleb JHostSpencerHost

Top entities: Pennywise×24 Stephen King×40 Derry×16 Belch Huggins×3 Henry Bowers×11

Reading and Rating It6:15 – 11:08

C

6:15

So we read Stephen King's It.

C

6:17

It was a long undertaking.

C

6:18

It took, it took me a month.

S

SpencerHost

6:19

Yeah, it took you longer to read that than, uh-

C

6:22

1Q84

S

SpencerHost

6:22

... right.

C

6:23

But there's reason for that, and that reason was it's very long.

S

SpencerHost

6:27

Mm-hmm.

C

6:28

And I, uh, I'm a busy guy.

S

SpencerHost

6:31

S

SpencerHost

6:31

And it's dense.

S

SpencerHost

6:32

There's a lot going on.

C

6:34

Also, I think I read slower on my Kindle-

S

SpencerHost

6:37

Mm

C

6:37

... because I don- well, I don't know.

C

6:39

It's hard to say 'cause I feel like I was going through it a lot, but I don't know the page count.

S

SpencerHost

6:42

Okay.

C

6:42

So I just, I think subconsciously, like, when I'm reading a book, I'll be like, "Oh, if I hit another 10 pages, I'll get to the end of the chapter." If I-

S

SpencerHost

6:49

Yeah

C

6:49

...

C

6:49

but with the Kindle, I don't... unless I wanna click and do all this shit-

S

SpencerHost

6:52

Yeah

C

6:52

...

C

6:52

I don't know when the end of the chapter is.

C

6:53

I can't just flip to it.

PennywiseEntityFictional character
99%24 mentions
Stephen KingPersonAmerican author
97%40 mentions
DerryEntity
95%16 mentions
Belch HugginsEntityMovie character
94%3 mentions
Henry BowersEntityFilm character
92%11 mentions
ItBookNovel by Stephen King
90%6 mentions
RevivalBookNovel by Stephen King
88%4 mentions
The StandBookNovel by Stephen King
86%6 mentions
Owen TeaguePersonAmerican actor
85%1 mention
Needful ThingsBookNovel by Stephen King
83%2 mentions
Victor CrissEntity
81%4 mentions
Amazon KindleProduct ModelBook
79%3 mentions
PennsylvaniaAdministrative AreaUS state
77%2 mentions
RacismEntity
75%1 mention
InstagramSoftware ApplicationSocial networking service
74%5 mentions
The Dark TowerBook SeriesNovel series
72%7 mentions
FacebookSoftware ApplicationSocial networking service
70%2 mentions
CarrieBookNovel by Stephen King
67%4 mentions
The ShiningBookNovel by Stephen King
67%4 mentions
Pulitzer PrizeEntityAward
65%4 mentions
Patrick HockstetterEntityBook character
63%2 mentions
African AmericansEntityEthnic group
61%1 mention
The Dead ZoneBookNovel by Stephen King
59%5 mentions
XEntitySocial networking service
57%2 mentions
Doctor SleepBookNovel by Stephen King
55%2 mentions
Billy SummersBookNovel by Stephen King
54%2 mentions
Mark TwainPersonWriter
52%5 mentions
H. P. LovecraftPersonAmerican writer
50%2 mentions
Dick HallorannEntityFictional character
48%1 mention
EnglishEntitySpoken language
46%1 mention
Jewish peopleEntityAdherents
45%1 mention
'Salem's LotBookNovel by Stephen King
43%2 mentions
Night of the Living DeadMovie1968 film
41%2 mentions
Frankenstein MonsterEntityFictional character
39%2 mentions
JoylandBookNovel by Stephen King
37%2 mentions
The Colorado KidBookNovel by Stephen King
35%2 mentions
Dragon Ball ZTV SeriesJapanese animated series
34%1 mention
The Legend of Bagger VanceMovie2000 film
32%1 mention
Chuck BerryPersonAmerican guitarist and singer-songwriter
30%1 mention
The TommyknockersBookNovel by Stephen King
28%2 mentions
The Green MileBookNovel by Stephen King
26%2 mentions
The Man in the Black SuitBookShort story by Stephen King
25%2 mentions
Under the DomeBookNovel by Stephen King
23%2 mentions
MississippiAdministrative AreaUS state
21%1 mention
Aryan BrotherhoodOrganization
19%1 mention
BuickBrandAutomotive marque
17%2 mentions
Pet SemataryBookNovel by Stephen King
15%1 mention
The Lord of the RingsBook SeriesBook trilogies
14%1 mention
Barack ObamaPerson44th U.S. President
12%1 mention
YouTubeWebsiteVideo sharing company
10%1 mention

Cultural RepresentationEthics
Stephen King NovelsLiterature > Fiction > Horror Fiction
Narrative TechniqueWriting
Stephen King AdaptationsFilm > Adaptation > Literary Adaptations
ItLiterature > Fiction > Horror Fiction > Stephen King Novels
Pennywise and the MacroverseLiterature > Fiction > Horror Fiction > Cosmic Horror
It Film AdaptationsFilm > Adaptation > Literary Adaptations > Stephen King Adaptations
Horror WritingWriting > Narrative Technique
World-Building and Narrative StructureWriting > Narrative Technique > Horror Writing
Derry, Maine and Nonlinear NarrationWriting > Narrative Technique > Horror Writing > World-Building and Narrative Structure
Depictions of Childhood and RaceEthics > Cultural Representation
Controversial Content in FictionEthics > Cultural Representation > Depictions of Childhood and Race
It's Sexualized Childhood and Racist LanguageEthics > Cultural Representation > Depictions of Childhood and Race > Controversial Content in Fiction
AdaptationFilm
Horror FictionLiterature > Fiction
Literary AdaptationsFilm > Adaptation
Cosmic HorrorLiterature > Fiction > Horror Fiction
Literature
FictionLiterature
Writing
Film
Ethics

Reading and Rating It6:15 – 11:08

C

6:15

So we read Stephen King's It.

C

6:17

It was a long undertaking.

C

6:18

It took, it took me a month.

S

SpencerHost

6:19

Yeah, it took you longer to read that than, uh-

C

6:22

1Q84

S

SpencerHost

6:22

... right.

C

6:23

But there's reason for that, and that reason was it's very long.

S

SpencerHost

6:27

Mm-hmm.

C

6:28

And I, uh, I'm a busy guy.

S

SpencerHost

6:31

It's...

S

SpencerHost

6:31

And it's dense.

S

SpencerHost

6:32

There's a lot going on.

C

6:34

Also, I think I read slower on my Kindle-

S

SpencerHost

6:37

Mm

C

6:37

... because I don- well, I don't know.

C

6:39

It's hard to say 'cause I feel like I was going through it a lot, but I don't know the page count.

S

SpencerHost

6:42

Okay.

C

6:42

So I just, I think subconsciously, like, when I'm reading a book, I'll be like, "Oh, if I hit another 10 pages, I'll get to the end of the chapter." If I-

S

SpencerHost

6:49

Yeah

C

6:49

...

C

6:49

but with the Kindle, I don't... unless I wanna click and do all this shit-

S

SpencerHost

6:52

Yeah

C

6:52

...

C

6:52

I don't know when the end of the chapter is.

C

6:53

I can't just flip to it.

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