Chris Winkle
Chris is the founder and editor-in-chief of Mythcreants. On the side she also designs, codes, and writes stories. When she manages to escape from chronic workaholism, she likes to drink tea, wear funny hats, pet kitties, and crush her enemies at the game table.
Chris, Mike, and Oren discuss the upsides and downsides of including non-humans in stories. They list their pet peeves with non-human races, and describe works with great or terrible depictions. Read more »
Writing
You’ve worked long and hard, finally completing the first draft of your story. You could send it to others for feedback, but before you do, stretch your storytelling skills by thinking critically about your work. Does your beginning hold its weight? Is your middle taut … read more »
Podcast
Oren, Chris, and Mike discuss adaptations from one story medium to another. They describe why adaptations are better or worse then their source material, and list their favorite and least favorite adaptations. Read more »
Analysis
We tell the same stories to ourselves over and over. That’s okay; people are comforted by the same themes and drawn to the same conflicts. Unfortunately, we also can repeat tropes just because we never thought critically about them. And when we do that, we … read more »
Storytelling
New character concepts can be thrilling. But if we just take our initial, exciting concept and run with it, we may end up with a character that’s one-dimensional. Flat characters feel less realistic, are more annoying, and become boring once their novelty wears thin. You … read more »
Podcast
Oren, Chris, and Mike discuss how GMs can keep their players on track. They describe railroading and why it’s harmful, warn against plots that are inflexible, and explain why players are all just cats. Read more »
Writing
Foreshadowing is the storyteller’s primary tool for setting expectations. It’s a clue that tells the audience what might happen later on. Why do they need to know? There are two different reasons, and each one calls for different foreshadowing techniques. Read more »
Storytelling
Are you worried your characters are forgettable? Don’t be. Just sacrifice small rodents in the name of Scientor until everyone sees visions of your heroes whenever they close their eyes. Or you could do the boring, normal thing and read this list of suggestions I made for you. Read more »
Podcast
Dr. Brandon Kier joins Oren, Mike, and Chris in discussing scientific accuracy – or lack thereof – in popular stories. They speculate on whether scientific accuracy is important, describe stories and scenes with questionable science, and highlight how science and the scientific process is itself portrayed. Read more »
Storytelling
With emotional drive comes the character depth your audience will love. These inner forces are incredibly flexible. They can form the backbone for your entire story or simply add another dimension to the plot and characters you already have. Read more »
