Image by Shutterstock When to Kill a Hero – or Not A protagonist death can make the audience rage-quit. Is it worth it? October 7, 2022October 13, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Six Types of Downward Turning Points Downward turning points make failure feel satisfying. March 18, 2022March 17, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
How to Create an Unhappy Ending In a truly tragic story, the hero fails because they made the wrong choice. March 4, 2022April 21, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Episode 337: Tone, Mood, and Atmosphere Some character deaths are gruesome while others are slapstick comedy. July 25, 2021May 28, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi and Chris Winkle
Episode 320: Exploitation and Appropriation How do you know which stories aren't yours to tell, and why should you care? March 28, 2021October 23, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Svend Phillips
Interview With the Vampire Shows the Strengths and Weaknesses of Adaptation The movie isn't always worse than the book. December 26, 2020June 14, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
What The Black Company Teaches Us About Dark Stories Audiences expect more from stories that feature distressing subject matter. December 19, 2020June 14, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis, Social Justice
Why Storytellers Fail at Grimdark and How to Fix It A thin garnish of gruesome tragedy won't make your story meaningful. July 17, 2020September 16, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Five Stories Sabotaged by Their Tone Both dark and comical elements can hinder a story. March 29, 2019July 19, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Analysis
Six Ways to Bluff That Your Hero Will Die Many stories use the possibility that the hero will die to keep the story tense. October 26, 2018October 25, 2018 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Five Common Problems With Dark Stories Dark elements can help heighten drama, but if done poorly they'll just end up hollow. November 25, 2017June 28, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi in Storytelling
When Dark and Gritty Is Just Exploitation Tragedy can make for high drama, but appropriating it from someone else can do real harm. September 2, 2017June 28, 2021 by Chris Winkle in Commentary, Social Justice
Five Heroes With Dark Reflections Five villains who said "We're not so different after all"—and were right about it. June 16, 2017June 30, 2021 by Chris Winkle in Analysis
Episode 89: Body Horror Elly and Rhys are back this week, once again joining Oren to keep the podcast on course. October 23, 2016August 26, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi, Elly Bangs, and Rhys Subitch
Seven Ways to Use Consequences in Stories What your characters can learn from their mistakes—and how that learning can improve your story. September 30, 2016July 16, 2021 by David Mesick in Storytelling
Creating Distinct and Grounded Anti-Heroes What to consider when crafting your protagonist with a morally gray streak. April 2, 2016July 19, 2021 by David Mesick in Storytelling
How to Use Lovecraftian Horrors in Your Stories How to make your ravenous cosmic beastie strike terror in your readers' hearts. November 29, 2015July 23, 2021 by David Mesick in Storytelling
Making Your Story Games Horrifying (in the Good Way) How to make players tremble at the sight of your dice—and keep coming back for more. November 15, 2015July 23, 2021 by Edward Turner in Roleplaying
Five Innovative Horror Stories to Read These tales will get your spine tingling in new and exciting ways. October 31, 2015July 24, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi in Inspiration
Four Elements That Kill Horror in Roleplaying Games These safeguards might make your PCs too comfortable, and we can't have that. October 24, 2015July 24, 2021 by Oren Ashkenazi in Roleplaying
C Baker