Analysis
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, is the shared universe for the screen adaptations of Marvel’s comic book properties. It started with Iron Man and includes all of the Marvel movies since then, as well as TV shows like Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Notably, it … read more »
Worldbuilding
We scifi authors love to write stories about abandoning Earth and colonizing space. We also love to write scientifically plausible stories. This is a problem, because most stories about evacuating our home planet are wildly implausible. Most planetary evacuation scenarios don’t work for two main reasons. The … read more »
Podcast
Sometimes a sentence is very long, and it keeps going and going with commas in places that a period could be and extra clauses that don’t necessarily need to be there. Other times a sentence is short. Which is better? As is so often the … read more »
Writing
Writing contests seem so flashy and cool. They promise big prizes and publishing deals, and surely your story is good enough to win, right? Entering seems like a no-brainer! Except that it’s almost never a good idea to enter a prose writing contest.* For authors, writing … read more »
Storytelling
Not every person that appears in a story is an actual character. These non-characters remain in the background: standing in line, cheering after a speech, or manning a stand. Like the buildings or the waterways, they exist to flesh out the setting. They are the extras of … read more »
Podcast
Some writers start every sentence with “there are,” others can’t stop italicizing, and still others write sentences that never end. We’ve all got bad habits in our writing, and this week Ariel returns to discuss them with Chris and Wes. Our hosts are all editors, … read more »
Roleplaying
Roleplaying design isn’t easy, as we can see from all the bad mechanics that make their way into our favorite games. Some mechanics aren’t inherently flawed but are merely implemented poorly. Other mechanics have no redeeming qualities and should be dropped completely. It’s that second category we’re talking about today. Designers use … read more »
Writing
What we read influences what we write, often without our conscious intent. So if you’re working on your writing skills, pick your books carefully. Great books can show you how it’s done. Terrible ones can encourage poor habits. But which books are great? If you’re new … read more »
Podcast
What’s this? Ariel has returned from the wilderness of freelance editing to grace our podcast yet again. She joins Chris and Wes for an in-depth discussion of emphasis in writing. How should writers make key passages stand out? How much is too much? Is bolding … read more »
Worldbuilding
While the fantasy genre is rapidly growing beyond the limitations of medieval Europe, it is still historical almost by definition. Sometimes fantasy stories are literally set in our own world’s history, and sometimes they use history as inspiration. Either way, authors spend a lot of … read more »
