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We all love Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Its amazing visuals and incredible storytelling helped put speculative fiction on the mainstream map, paving the way for countless stories to come. What’s even more impressive is that it’s totally, 100% original. That … read more »
This podcast goes great with breakfast, or even second breakfast, because we’re talking about fantasy races. We cover everything from Tolkien to more Tolkien to even a few things that aren’t Tolkien. But first, why are they called “races” and not “species”? Second, how do … read more »
This week we’re talking about TV shows that take place on worlds other than Earth or on an Earth that’s radically different from our own. This includes sword and sorcery stories like Xena and high fantasy stories like Game of Thrones. Ari returns for a … read more »
What do Discworld, Alice in Wonderland, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Lord of the Rings have in common? If you guessed “omniscient narration,” then you’re right, but you also cheated by reading my title. No matter – I will still share the secrets of this powerful but challenging … read more »
Hate it or love it, none can doubt the beauty of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. He was one of those minds ahead of his time. He took fantasy “way too seriously,” sometimes overshadowing his “real” work as a philologist. Now, a hundred years after he wrote his … read more »
It’s a basic rule of storytelling: the stakes get higher as the story goes forward. But how do you do that? How do you know what’s good escalation and what’s just skipping all the necessary build up? What should you do when you’ve escalated as far as … read more »
Chris, Mike, and Oren get into the weeds of worldbuilding. How much culture is too much? What little details are distracting? And do you really need depth, or just an illusion of it? Read more »
Ariel, Chris, and Oren describe the difference between showing elaborate spectacle and simply telling what happens. They discuss how showing can invoke deep emotions and contemplate when telling is warranted. Listen to hear how writers enhance storytelling with showing and telling. Read more »
Mike, Oren, and Chris discuss how stories should be paced: the good, the bad, and the infuriatingly slow. They tackle the differences between visual and written media, how to pace a roleplaying game, and end with Chris’ advice for pacing dialogue. Read more »
Mike, Chris, and Oren offer tips for depicting factions in stories. They describe how competing groups manifest in real life and list their favorite factions from Star Wars, Star Trek, Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones. Then they debate which Hogwarts houses they’re in. Read more »