Prose and Cons

Hello all! Prose & Cons is going on a little bit of a break for the next few months. With a lot of new chapters presently starting, a few months of a break will help us keep our sanity as we navigate the transitions. All good things! But the extra time is needed. We'll be coming back fresh and ready to go! We already have some episodes planned. Until then, we'll still be monitoring o...

This is it! This is the moment we've been waiting for. Ally Burnham's novel Swallow is coming out this November: listen as the group gathers to discuss her process, beta reading, historical novel(ing) and more.  (The episode includes light spoilers and the occasional mutiny)  Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/contact/ ============================================= Thi...

Deus Ex Machina. God from the machine. Writing tool? Or something we should avoid? Paddy, James, and Phoenix dive into this very topic in this episode of Prose and Cons. Like with most genres and writing “rules,” it helps to do your research so you can properly be in conversation with the thing you’re trying to talk about or use—you have to learn the rules to break them, and in the case of Deus Ex...

Jimmy was walking to school one day when he tripped over a rock and fell. With a jolt, Jimmy woke up from the dream only to remember that he never walks to school. What does this passage mean?!?! Does Jimmy represent the US empire falling only to wake up and realise the empire was all just a dream? An illusion of power? Could be! But is it what the author intended? Or is it just what you felt whil...

Between all the writing, it is sometimes easy to forget just how much we love to read. Jump in for a cozy and fascinating conversation between James and Phoenix as they discuss their current reading list--what works, what doesn't, and how about George R.R Martin "cheating" with Fire and Blood and still making it still work?  Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/con...

And then, at the end of all things, James, Ally, and Matan . . . WERE DINOSAURS THE WHOLE TIME!  I simply cannot believe it.   That’s just a little taste of what you can expect in this twisty, curvy, blind-siding episode of Prose and Cons, where James, Ally, and Matan talk all things twists: What makes them a satisfying flipping of the script vs something that leaves the audience feeling lied to o...

Annnnnnnd we're back! Tune in to see the 2nd part of the Sanderson festivities--this time centered around Ally Burnham's terrific (and chaotic) Cosmere Universal Tournmanet Arc, in which Matan's partial knowlege of the Cosmere and James's non-knowledge come together to try and decide the winners of these would-be clashes.  Find the results and the final bracket here! https://ib...

Of course we couldn't do a Sanderson episode without making it a SERIES! This one ended up ballooning, rightfully so, as Ally, Matan and James discuss not only Sanderson's incredible list of works, but also delve into recommended reading lists, Sanderson's supposed position in Fantasy heirarchy and also, interestingly, his "behind the scenes" process. Stay tuned for Part I...

Wait, wait, wait - there's a DIFFERENCE between plot and story? Yes there is, and it's an important distinction to make! Let Alex, James and Paddy take you through the key differences between these two important, related, yet rather different concepts. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 2 TODAY, 115 TOTAL Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/contact/ ======================...

Death . . . what is it good for? Lots of things! Need to fundamentally alter the way your story functions and your characters interact? A character death might be right for you. In this episode of Prose and Cons, Ally, James and Phoenix analyse various character deaths across a number of stories that got it right. They’ll go into what the authors did well and ultimately why these deaths felt so im...

Writing is a marathon. Unless you're Alex Eldridge, and then writing is a sprint in which you write 20,000 words in one hit--sorta. Jokes aside, listen to the gang discuss their rising (and sometimes falling) motivation, and how they maintain momentum, specifically across large projects.  Ally, Matan and Alex discuss also go into a few tangents about writing influence and anxiety-inducing ima...

It's ironic that often the hardest part of writing a story is knowing how to start it. And what makes it harder? The start is often the most important part! But fear not! On today's episode, the gang take you through the do's (and don'ts) of starting your tale, and give examples of some of the very best story openers in literature. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 109 T...

It’s as they say: one can’t understand the mouse until they peer beyond the hole in the wall. . . . Maybe they don’t say that, but they should! In this episode of Prose and Cons, Ally and Matan go deeper into the world of fantasy writing, breaking down what fantasy is and what it seeks to do. Some highlights: Fantasy and what is its purpose. Myth and religion and their role in forming fantasy as w...

Atticus Finch! Lord Voldemort! Ebeneezer Scrooge! Or maybe... Eeyore? Listen as Ally, Paddy and Matan try to get to the bottom of what makes a great literary name, followed by 40 arduous minutes of the 1st Annual Precipice Name Ranking--which goes about as well as you'd expect...  Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/contact/ ============================================= Thi...

This week, we explore hit HBO crime drama The Penguin. Its been much lauded - but *why* is it so good? Join Ally, Paddy and Phoenix this week as they explore the techniques used to create the mesmerising plot, and exceptional protagonist, of The Penguin. Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/contact/ ============================================= This is Prose & Cons - a podcas...

It has been three years since we started this thing – three years and 100 episodes! Join all six of us as we reflect on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, and our hopes for the future. Burn out, hits to our motivation, wins, losses, emotions, we get into it all. Also, Ridley Scott, sorry to hear the movie wasn’t so good, but we’d still be happy to work with you. Also also, Phoenix had fun bleep...

Today dear audience we're going to do something a little different (GASP!): we're going to read, and analyse, Roald Dahl's short story 'The Wish'. This is a bit of an experiment for us, where we share a story with you and break down our thoughts and feelings about it. And if it goes well, we may even do another, so go ahead and let us know what you think! (Contact details...

The mic sits in front of me, cold, unplugged, as an obligatory software update tries to keep me pacified with a graphic that clearly doesn’t actually indicate how much progress has been made.   ... Maybe this information isn’t so important. On this episode of Prose and Cons, Matan leads a discussion with Paddy and Phoenix, dissecting the age-old editor's note 'Show don’t tell'. What...

The Bear: what a show. What a stressful, anxiety-inducing show. On today's menu, Ally, Alex and Paddy deconstruct the writing of The Bear, how it uses its frantic energy to such strong effect, and how you (yes YOU!) can sprinkle some of that special spice into your own writing. (Do note - there are slight spoilers for seasons 1, 2 and 3. Nothing major, but if you really don't want to kno...

You’re sitting there, maybe standing, and you’re thinking about listening to this podcast. You have a choice: press play, and you’ll be swept away, or you can close your podcast app and know a normal life.  The choice is yours.   On this episode of Prose & Cons, Phoenix, Alex, and Paddy bask in some Saturday morning energy and discuss their thoughts around and relationships with text-based gam...

Short stories are the brief beloveds of the literary crowd. We here at Precipice love short stories - so why aren't they more popular? And why does (nearly) every great writer still write them? And why should *you* be writing them? Join Matan, Alex and Paddy in exploring the hidden mysteries of the tiny but mighty short story format. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 104 TOTAL Send us...

Come one! Come all! Join the Zoom call! Today we dive deeply into the Matan-verse – the lore and backstory of our local English teacher and student.     With James as your guide, you’ll get a good look at what he’s writing, the arc of his life and writing career, and his experience writing in his second language. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 0 TODAY, 103 TOTAL Send us a message! Contact us at:...

Morally ascending, morally descending; are these star sign terms?  No – we’ll go ahead and answer that really quickly for you. But they are two archetypal character arcs, among many others, for you to add to your toolbox. Join Paddy, Matan, and Alex as they talk all about the ups, downs, and little side-to-side motions of characters in stories. Things to expect: The many different ways characters...

(Spoiler warning for No Country for Old Men, from about 25:30 to 43:00.) This is not a regular episode. This is an arena. A battleground. A place for scores to be settled; for arguments old and deep to come to a head; for James and Paddy's unreconcilable feelings about the film No Country For Old Men to finally be aired. In this bonus episode, James and Paddy wage war over Cormac Mccarthy ada...

What is the *perfect* job for a writer? You know - other than being a New York Times bestseller. Is it something like, say, copywriting? Or is it something with no relation to writing at all - say, a Zookeeper? Today, Matan, Alex, Ally and James discuss the complicated relationship between work (the 9-5) and writing (what we really want to be doing). How do we balance it? How do we complement each...