Here Be Tygers: Your Storytelling Guide

Hey all, the second half of our foray into the tales found in small places is out tonight. So join Dave and I as we discover who transgresses and why, and how even the same rituals, phrases or rites can—with differing intents—a new thing convey.

Hey all, Long Covid is a beast sometimes, and this month marks the third year. Still recording when we can though. Even when the schedule goes a little weird. For today’s ep, Dave and I talk about remakes, remasters, and how in storytelling, even the smallest things, moments or actions can carry a tremendous weight. We hope you enjoy, J

Hey all, Here’s the second half of our wild tour through sci-fi tropes in a fantasy land, now with space tourists, ‘wampires?’, and the new people ( or places ) they’d rule. We hope you enjoy, J

Hey all, With the new trailer to Renfield making the rounds, it seemed like a good time to share one of our vampier streams. This one starts innocently enough, as we ponder the eternal question of “moon wizard v. spaceship 🚀, and then what…?” But never fear: we will have plenty of space butlers and fancy, fanged aliens in the second half later this month. We hope you enjoy, -J Oh, and this one wa...

Hey all, We went on an unexpected hiatus last month into this one ( sometimes long Covid forces you to rest ). On a partial schedule at the moment but things should hopefully settle down by Feb. As for today’s episode: sometimes Dave and I like to start with the simple to find the ‘complex’—what will give life to your world, story and characters once they’re outside of your head. Just a quick note...

For the second half of my interview with Matt, we talk about how to give what you create enough time, space, and memory so that it can exist ( and persist ) outside of you without consuming your life.

Hey all, We just lost a close family member—it was quite sudden—a couple weeks ago, so things are still somewhat out of sorts here. Today’s episode is part of an interview I did last year for Matt Selznick’s show, Sonitotum. He’s been kind enough to let us share it here while we take some time off to recover and find some peace of mind again. -J

Hey all, Here’s the second half of our initial concept session for The Conductors setting, where Ken and I delve into particulars such as ‘the passport’: or how the world defines you ( and your actions ) through tags, as they accrue. -J

Hey all, Join Ken and I as we try a little bit of alchemic synthesis with truths of world, story and character from a few different places—to see both what should and should not persist. As for whether or not you’ll see more of Conductors and their world later… Well, we’re still at work on a few more ingredients. -J

Join Dave as I we delve into post-apocalyptic tales, how to tell them and why. And what happens when you attempt to live out the final days in the vast and unfathomable terrain that is your newly awakened crew’s ‘user guide’. Oh, and the novel I mentioned partway through about a collapsing ark ship is Marissa Levien’s “The World Gives Way”.

Hey all, Here’s the second half of our short narrative livestream, using Honey Heist. Will our intrepid team of felonious ursines discover, survive, or even escape with their prize? Find out tonight. -J

Hey all, Since we’re exploring short narrative fiction and forms over the summer, we decided to share one of our earliest live attempts. This time, with Grant Howitt’s Honey Heist and some of our fans. J

Hey all, For the second half of our conversation on finding your tale through one sheet game design, we delve into what kinds of stories we hope each set of truths will provide. - J

Dave, Andrew and I talk about using one sheet game design as a creative exercise, how to play with the truths that make for a good story, and (when they’re live) fail successfully.

Join Dave, Grant (from Rowan Rook & Decard) and I as we talk about one sheet games, the art of the possible, and the joy of creating new worlds, stories and characters for the first time.

Hey all, Here’s the second half of our Possible Worlds session with Ken and Dex on what empires do when the world seems to end, how fiat alone cannot the sky’s falling prevent, and why you start from the little truths (like spiders) to find what gives shape, intent and life to rest.

Hey all, Today’s ep is our first full attempt at the new Possible Worlds exercise, where you take a few truths of the world, story, and characters that you write, a particular premise, and ask yourself “what it…?” to see what /else/ might. Which should give you plenty of ideas to can play with, discard, or hold up as a mirror to your own work—without any fear of change to its original state. Unles...

Hey all, It’s our 50th episode! Join us as we celebrate, occasionally reflect (sometimes ruminate) on what’s been, and talk about where seasons 3 and onward will go. And be sure to welcome Dave from Odder Worlds and Geekly Oddcast as an official co-host!

Hey all, This episode was originally meant to air last year. But like so many things during that time, it slipped away and into the far off reaches of mind until the moment, I suppose, was more ‘right’. We’ve talked before about how both fear and expectations can interfere with what you’ll write—no matter the genre and in media of all kinds. Today though, I wanted to share some of what my own jour...

Hey all, We’re back today with the second half of our livestream, “A Mote in the Mad King’s Eye.” And yes, that is a nod to both the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle work as well as the parable from which they derived. When we left the last time, it was on the note that a vizier (and perhaps wizard) gave to the king his most mad designs. And from there did the world break, for others to right. Thou...

Hey all, Today, we’re sharing part of a livestream episode we did for our Patrons back in 2020, when we were tasked with creating a world in which other tales could be made. Using only the premise: “who built the ruins that now lie in waste?” You’ll hear my co-host, Dave, lay out the concept for the world. And then our panel will have a chance to make it grow from the simple and mundane into the n...

Hey all, For the holidays, we thought it would be fun to share a conversation that Dave and I had awhile back with one of the students from my writing class, Bee. When  we initially recorded the episode for Dave’s show, Odder Worlds , Bee had just begun to define the setting in which her story takes place. So  we invited her to share a few of the most essential truths about her  wor...

Hey all,  Today’s episode is part of a conversation I had with my friend, radio expert, and archaeological buff, Ken.  You may recognize him from our earlier world-building eps. 2 & 8, “Rambling Man” and “The Unforgiving Tree”, where we first delved into some of the more unusual places in the world of Here Be Tygers.   Since then, I’ve discovered some peculiar (and perhaps, particular) threads abo...

Hey all,  My apologies for the delay on this week. I’ve been severely ill since last Thursday, and am still finding it difficult to breathe, much less speak. Today’s episode comes from a world-building series on "how to create a space in which you can create", without fear of what might change or persist, that we ran for our patrons earlier this year.  You’ll probably recognize the first two voice...

Today’s ep is a bit of a preface for our future miniseries on the ‘Seven Great Rules to Writing Stories that Sell’. These are things I found myself teaching all the time, so I thought it would be helpful for Dave and I to talk about prep for them. And how you can shift from a critical (‘what is…?’) to a more creative (‘what if…?’) state of mind when you’d like. We’ll also share some of the more pe...