Wes Matlock
Podcast
Words words words! What do they even mean? And who decides what they mean? When you’re a writer, these are very important, which is why today we’re talking about the terminology of storytelling. In fact, we’ve already started, since “storytelling” is a bit of terminology … read more »
Podcast
Look, redemption arcs are great fun, but what happens when a character does something bad and doesn’t ever redeem themself? That’s a downward arc, and it’s one of the hardest tropes to pull off successfully. That’s why it’s the subject of today’s episode. We discuss … read more »
Podcast
Sometimes, we love a villain. We can’t help it; they’re just so dark and cool that we want them to be heroes. But they can’t usually just become heroes on account of all the villainy they did. That’s when you need a redemption arc, a … read more »
Podcast
For no reason at all, disease seems to be on a lot of authors’ minds right now. Whether you’re writing up a storm in self-quarantine or just thinking of new ideas during this difficult time, we’ve got all the disease-focused discussion you could possibly want. … read more »
Podcast
I could tell you what this podcast is about, but how would you know if I was telling the truth? Normally, you’d just have to trust me, but in fantasy stories, we can have magic that stops people from lying. That’s what we’re talking about … read more »
Podcast
One of them is evocative language, and the other is an animal or inanimate object with googly eyes. But which is which? And how are you supposed to use them once you figure out the answer? That’s what we’re talking about this week. We’ll discuss … read more »
Podcast
Sometimes in writing you just know what to do, even if you can’t say why you know. That’s your gut in action, your writerly instincts making themselves known. But how does writing with your gut actually work? What are its strengths, what are its weaknesses, … read more »
Podcast
Behold, it is time to discuss the taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems! That’s right, this week we’re talking about economies. That means currencies, taxes, trade, and post-scarcity utopias. We talk about how weird it is for heroes to be against payment for … read more »
Podcast
If someone records a podcast about trees, and no one listens to it, does it make a sound? Hopefully we won’t have to find out, because this episode is all about our leafy friends and how they fit into our stories. We talk about trees … read more »