Fiction Hack

As we come to the end of our series of NaNoWrimo special episodes, Ross admits, to Colin's horror, that he thinks this is a writing theory podcast! Then they go on to explore the difference between character and plot driven stories.

F. T. Kulpa and Wendell Mitchell Snow are both writers and NaNoWriMo enthusiasts. They have taken part several times each. In this interview they share their experiences about the process, how it is helpful and how to get the most out of NaNoWriMo.

Using theme and motif can be a great way to allow readers to enjoy your story on another level. It can also help focus your writing and add to that all-important NaNoWriMo word count! This week we discuss what we mean by using theme and motif.

Act structure is something that everyone talks and has an opinion about, but is it actually helpful when you are writing your story? No. No, it’s not. But maybe sometimes it is. Allow me to unlock the doors of the prison called “Act Structure” for you. It’s up to you if you leave…

Powers of Darkness  is the recently rediscovered early draft of Dracula. Somehow, this early manuscript found its way into the hands of an Icelandic translator and was translated into Icelandic in 1900. For over a hundred years the Icelanders have been reading this book  as  Dracula, despite there being major, significant differences between the English version and the translated version. With a t...

What was the first shared universe? The answer may be surprising (unless you listened to our last episode). Join us as we discuss the little-seen 1943 classic Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, as well as the following Universal Monster movies, and Ross compares Halloween as a kid in the US and the UK.

Why are the Universal Horror Movies important and why should we still talk about them today? Because believe it or not, the Hollywood movie industry is still making billions upon billions using the storytelling models that this specific series of movies developed that were kicked off over 85 years ago. Come inside and listen… if you dare!

Why are there so many Spider-Man Movies? I’ll tell you why there are so many Spider-Man movies! We do a box office and critical analysis of all of the Spider-Man movies up to the present day. Find out why the stories are recycled so much, why they keep recasting the character, and why he’s suddenly started showing up in the Avengers movies.

Who is Doctor Who?  We continue to answer this question, covering the Third and Fourth Doctors played by Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, as well as Berry Letts. 

Today we tackle and solve one of the eternal questions of humanity: what is truth? And what do we mean when we talk about truth and story? We have all the answers here for you guys. Seriously, we worked it out. You’re welcome.

So who is Doctor Who, anyway? It’s a fair question, and one that we have to travel 50 years into the past in order to answer fully. This week we pick up with the very first Doctor, mention very briefly “Dr. Who”, and blow through the Second Doctor–essentially all the black and white (and missing)episodes. Join us on a journey through space and time as we ask… who is Doctor Who?

Are you ready player one? Ross has read the book, Colin has seen the movie–can one convince the other to do the other? It’s a roundabout discussion that drifts into deeper waters as we question the value of nostalgia in the pursuit of truth.

We all think we know what we mean when we talk about protagonists and antagonists, but do we actually? Let’s dive deeper into the words’ origins… First up, as I hope I made clear, I am not using these two words in their conventional meaning. The accepted usage of “protagonist” today is simply “main character”. I think that this loses an important nuance, however, and one that we would have to inve...

What is the problem with  Die Hard ? It’s just a fun movie right? I mean, Bruce Willis is really good in it, Alan Rickman gives a career-making performance, and there are a couple cool explosions. What’s not to like? What’s the problem with  Die Hard ? Well… Full show note available on our Website: Fiction Hack: Episode 009

This week we are remembering Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, The Question, Rorshach, and much, much more. Just like the heroes he created and helped develop, Ditko was a mysterious, complex, and principled individual. Today we try to open a little of that up for you. Full Show notes available on our website: Fiction Hack: Episode 008

What’s this? Ross is the layman and  Colin  is the expert? Have we entered a mirrorverse? That would explain why both Colin and Ross are wearing dark goatees (Ross has a darker goatee on top of his beard–it’s weird). This week we talk Star Trek! Star Trek is massive. There have been 7 TV shows (including the Animated Series) totalling incorporating seasons, totalling 740 episodes. Additionally, th...

Marvel Studios is about to release its 20th movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp! As a long-time comic nerd, that blows my mind. Ant-Man is a very unlikely hero who has been around since the beginning and has a hard time keeping his own series. The Wasp has generally been a tag-along character to him. Along with Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s been one of the most obscure characters picked to headline his ow...

As Russian playwright Anton Chekhov once said: “I’ve got a gun!” Why is this an important statement in the history of fictional narrative? And how does it relate to some sort of box that J. J. Abrams once got as a kid? (Hint: Alfred Hitchcock) The answers are inside… The  Chekhov’s gun quotes  are from Wikipedia: “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapte...

This this episode Colin talks about why he does not have much time for Charles Dickens. Ross makes the case that while there is much to dislike about Dickens, there is also much to love.

In episode 3 of the Fiction Hack Podcast, Ross and Colin talk about what it means to ‘jump the shark’.

I this episode Ross Explains why he, a once die hard fan of Star Wars, couldn't care less.

In 2018 Ross Lawhead and I started a podcast called Fiction Hack: Unlocking a Deeper Experience in Modern Story. In this first episode we defined what the podcast would be about, and decided on a name.