Five Stories With Weak Stakes
What a villain is going to do matters more than what they’ve already done.
Oren Ashkenazi
Episode 330: High Magic Settings
Sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from a broken setting.
Five Badly Motivated Villains From Popular Stories
A character’s motivation tells us why they’re doing what they’re doing.
Episode 329: Writers in Stories
Why are writers so bad at writing about writing?
Five Stories That Suffer From Muddled Atmosphere
Clashing themes and inconsistent tone can ruin a great story.
Episode 328: Our Favorite Tropes
Are you tempted by tropes? That's okay!
Six Stories With Weak Romantic Attraction
Many storytellers neglect attraction in their rush to get the characters dating.
Episode 327: What Are Wizards?
We were going to talk about wizards, but we couldn't agree on what they are.
Five Fascinating Monsters From Speculative Fiction
The best monsters have novelty: something fresh and interesting to offer.
Episode 326: Parents in Fiction
Parents: they really get in the way when your underaged hero wants to have dangerous adventures
Five Baffling Tech Explanations in Spec Fic
We've reboozled the fintoozler to find silly examples of terrible technobabble.
Episode 325: Ending Lines
What is that last line even for?
Building Baubles: How Revenger Fails at Technology
Revenger's setting is both intriguing and highly confused.
Episode 324: Opening Lines
Due to the linear nature of spacetime, stories have to start somewhere.
Five Novels With Bizarre Tangents
Lack of plot focus in a story leads to convoluted and unpleasant detours.
Q&A: Is Conspiracy Fiction Harmful?
Answered
Episode 323: Plot Twists
You thought this episode would have a topic other than plot twists, but, twist, the topic is plot twists!
Five Stories With Unsatisfying Endings
An unsatisfying ending ruins the lasting impression a story leaves.
Oren Ashkenazi