Determination, Deliberation, and Dragons

Hope you're staying cool during this hot Summer. And what better way to stay cool than heading on inside, grabbing some seat, and listening to our latest episode! In this episode, Izzy and Peter workshop the fifth installment of the Pana and Waveskimmer series of short stories, Finding a Place to Rest . As Pana and Waveskimmer flee Varé, they come across a port village and some new people (as well...

Here on Determination, Deliberation, and Dragons, we love diving into a story and analyzing everything about it. So, we decided to do an episode by episode analysis of one of our favorite shows, The Owl House, created by Dana Terrace! On this first episode, Peter is joined by their cousin, Tess, as they begin to pick apart the series premiere. They talk about the various characters, the setting of...

We are delighted to have had the opportunity to speak to the incredible Michael Barakiva (he/him): author of the book "Hold My Hand," director, and fellow graduate of Vassar College. This episode is our conversation with him. He told us about some of the inspiration behind his book, aspects of his Armenian background, the importance of centering romance in a novel defined by its queerness, and so...

Peter and Andy rank all the Star Wars movies as well as The Clone Wars and Rebels tv shows, and talk about why they like Star Wars. This episode is filled with laughs, some mild analysis, and a few surprises. Featuring: Andy Host/Editor/Producer: Peter Art: Gloria Music: Julie Check out our Patreon where we post exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons Follow us on Twitter at @DetD...

You can listen to the audiobook of Peter's fourth short story in the Pana and Waveskimmer series, "Catching Up," here! You can support our podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons Follow us on Twitter @detdeldragons Instagram: @determinepod Narrator/Editor/Producer: Peter Music: Julie Art: Gloria Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you've all had an excellent May! Congrats to those of you who have graduated recently. May this summer be relaxing for you. We have so many exciting things planned for the podcast, so stay tuned. In this episode, Peter and Izzy workshop the fourth short story in Peter's series of stories about Pana and Waveskimmer called "Catching Up." Pana and their friend turned nemesis Varé finally...

Peter has already talked about why Luz Noceda, the protagonist in Disney's The Owl House , is amazing, and now it's time to talk about another character from that show. Amity Blight is possibly their favorite character in the show, so much so that they even dyed their hair green to match her. Peter talks about Amity's progression from somewhat of an antagonist to the main love interest, how Amity...

This is the Audiobook version of "The Guardian of Ryotho," the third installment in the Pana and Waveskimmer story. It is meant to be listened to alongside Episode 5, in which Izzy and Peter workshop this story. Writer/Editor/Producer: Peter Narrator: Izzy Art: Gloria Music: Julie Feel free to check out our Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons We also have a Twitter now! You can fol...

We hope you had an excellent April! In this episode, Peter and Izzy workshop the third story in Peter's series of short stories, "The Guardian of Ryotho." Join their discussion of perception and how characters and people view the spaces in which they move about in. We also want to dedicate this episode to two amazing departed dogs, Summer and Sassy, both of whom were lovable, gentle, warm-hearted,...

In this Episode, Peter chats with Dr. Johnny Moreno about Disney's excellent animated show, The Owl House. Johnny is a doctor in Ecuador, and Peter met him while volunteering for Blanca's House. The two realized that they both enjoyed The Owl House, and we decided to invite Johnny on the podcast to continue the conversation that began in Ecuador. He talks about his experiences growing up in Ecuado...

Happy Greek Independence Day! On this episode of Determination, Deliberation, and Dragons we are joined by the wonderful Julie Wilson. We explore some of the physical aspects of books through a discussion of Charlie Jane Anders' short story, The Bookstore at the End of America , and then Julie tells us about the research she conducted as a Master's student at the University of Virginia. Our Patreo...

In this episode, Peter shares an essay that they wrote for their Trans-Atlantic Romanticism class. It focuses on the Lucy poems written by William Wordsworth, and how the poet manages to intermix the beautiful with the sublime as defined during the romantic period. If you would like to help support the podcast, you can check out our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons Follow us on...

This is the audiobook style recording of the 2nd Pana and Waveskimmer story, Frozen Together, and is meant to be listened to alongside episode 3, in which we workshop this story. Check out our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons Follow us on Twitter at @DetDelDragons Instagram: @determinepod Host/Editor/Producer/Narrator: Peter Markotsis Music: Julie Wilson Cover Art: Gloria Voice...

Join Izzy and Peter as they discuss worldbuilding while workshopping Peter's second story in the Pana and Waveskimmer series. Hosts: Izzy Perez and Peter Markotsis Editor/Producer: Peter Markotsis Music: Julie Wilson Cover Art: Gloria Don't forget to check out our Patreon! Follow this link: https://www.patreon.com/DetDelDragons Follow us on Twitter at @DetDelDragons Instagram: @determinepod Hosted...

Most Harry Potter fans know Bellatrix as Voldemort's lieutenant, his top Death Eater who is willing to do absolutely anything in his service. But what if she wasn't a Death Eater during the first Wizarding War? Voldemort claims that two Lestranges went to Azkaban for their service to him, but we know that there are actually three: Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus, and his brother Rabastan. Is this...

Peter had the incredible opportunity to visit Guayaquil Ecuador as part of a medical mission. While they were there, they visited a place called Las Peñas (the steps). It reminded them of a world they've been working on developing for the last eight years. They talk about how for them, imagining settings and characters can be a struggle, and that watching the world around them helps to creatively...

In this episode, Peter takes a look at how the How To Train Your Dragon books written by Cressida Cowell, present patriarchy, and the ways in which the titular character Hiccup pushes back against the patriarchal system of the Barbaric Archipelago. If you've ever wondered how dragons can teach us to be a gentler, kinder, and more thoughtful society, then this is the episode for you. Written, Produ...

Get ready to join us as we write improvised stories just for you. In this episode, Izzy and Peter along with the incredible Kaitlyn Cunningham perform a writing exercise designed to test our ability to improvise and change tones. You'll hear us as we go through the process of talking about what we'll be doing, read the stories we wrote, and then discuss them afterwards. This is a great exercise th...

Happy holidays! We hope that you all are staying safe, and having a fantastic and restful holiday season. We would like to present you with a little gift. In this episode, Peter talks a bit about one of the best fictional characters of all time: Luz Noceda, from the fantastic show, The Owl House , by Dana Terrace. This is a short, fun, and quickly made episode about some of the reasons why Luz is...

In our first episode, we workshopped a story written by Peter called Off The Scent , the first in a series of short stories about Pana and their dragon friend Waveskimmer. Though we gave a brief summary of the story in that episode, we realized that parts of our discussion may have been difficult to follow without actually reading the story for yourself. So, we decided to have Peter, someone who h...

Welcome to the first episode of Determination, Deliberation, and Dragons , a podcast in which Izzy (she/her) and Peter (they/them) talk about various aspects of creative writing while workshopping their own stories. Our goal is to improve as writers and to share some helpful tips with you along the way. In this episode, Izzy and Peter introduce themselves, and talk about what makes a good introduc...