Oren is a grumpy old man whose physical age hasn’t quite caught up with him, at least that’s what the kids who won’t get off his lawn keep saying. He’s been into roleplaying games since he was knee-high to a d10, and into prose writing for nearly as long. He loves stories and games that push the envelope of storytelling, like the Discworld series and the RPG Primetime Adventures. He’s also a huge Star Trek fan, though his rants on the mistakes of Voyager and Enterprise might make you think otherwise.
To the Mythcreant it may concern, I’ve been running a D&D game for about 6 months now (several of those months have been online for obvious reasons) and it has mostly gone well. Recently, at a critical plot moment the players captured an NPC that … read more »
First there’s a problem, then there’s a turning point, and then… darn it, what comes after the turning point? If everything’s working properly, that’s when it’s time for the resolution, but this is trickier than some writers think. You have to show things resolving, not … read more »
Redemption arcs are an incredibly popular trope in storytelling. From classics like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings to more recent hits like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, we love to watch or read about a bad guy … read more »
Hi! I read somewhere on here that it can be weird if you have a very important, world saving object and it is broken into pieces/deactivated/something like that without a reason. What are some valid reasons for doing this? -Clover Read more »
Shhhh, don’t tell anyone we’re recording a podcast about magic that no one knows about. We have to keep it hidden by putting on an elaborate deception to keep people from finding out. A masquerade, if you will. That’s right, in this episode, we’re talking … read more »
The last time we looked at MCU climaxes, phase two had made significant improvements over phase one. The results still weren’t great, but at least there were some bright spots. Now it’s time to look at phase three, or at least the first half of … read more »
Hello, Mythcreants! I’m a subscriber and your site has been very helpful in honing my writing/storytelling abilities. Anyway, I have a question about how to critique something that’s commonly thought of as good in my culture. What can I do to simultaneously be polite and … read more »
One big novel is great, but what if it was a bunch of tiny novels instead? Or one novel chopped into a bunch of tiny pieces? More than novels normally are, I mean. Today, we’re exploring the topic of episodic storytelling in prose: how it … read more »
Red Rising by Pierce Brown imagines a far future where humanity has spread across the solar system. There’s just one problem: a rigid, color-coded caste system ensures the constant oppression of those at the bottom for the benefit of those at the top. Ruling Golds … read more »
You’ve got your basic cast figured out, but the characters are missing something. A little pop, a little sizzle, a certain indefinable quality. Fortunately, it turns out that quality is perfectly definable, and that’s what we’re discussing today. We talk about strategies for making your … read more »