Prose and Cons

One of the very best ways to improve your own writing is to read the classics - those works of literature that, despite being written decades (or even hundreds of years) ago are still read, resonant, and selling copies in the 21st century. In this episode of Prose and Cons, we give you our personal favourite classic works: books that have both stood the test of time and taught us to write better....

For those of you who haven't been listening for long, this is a rerun of one of our classic episodes. Ally's pick for a rerun is our House of the Dragon episode. Here we take a look at the first episode of the HBO adaption of George R. R. Martin's Fire and Blood. Some of us know a lot about it and are keen to share that knowledge, some of us are just along for the ride. If you'...

Hey all you Potter Heads and Naruto fans. Hi to the Trekkies and Star Wars . . . the people who love Star Wars. Today we’re diving deep into the dense, dense jungle of Fan Fiction. Ally, Phoenix, and Matan explore the beauties and pitfalls of this widely enjoyed and audience-specific practice, touching on things like: Writing to tropes vs. writing to genre. Leaning on cameos and nostalgia. The sha...

As everyone here at Prose and Cons is busily bustling around Santa's workshop style—picture Paddy running with some ribbon, James checking off some comically long list, and Matan doing something with one of those old wooden mallets that seem to be staples of elf workshops—we will be skipping our regularly programmed episode for this week in favor of doing our busy things. We will, however, be...

For those of you who have been listening for a bit, you may have heard this one already, but for those of you who are new, this episode is a great place to start. Yes, this is a rerun. We’re going to be investing some time in the expansion and improvement of Prose and Cons as well as Precipice Fiction as a whole. In order to give ourselves more space to do this, we’ll have a new release schedule....

Could the book be better than the movie? Paddy, Alex, Matan and Phoenix discuss the value and issues inherent in adapting an IP from one source to another. We go deep on classics like Bladerunner, the Shining, Annihilation and Apocalypse Now and compare them to their literary progenitors. - Should a movie adaptation  be completely faithful? - What is entailed in keeping the "spirit" of a...

Hail and well met my good traveler! I must say I am pleased to see that the dragon of Ar’kanék has not bested you and that you were able to come and hear my tale. Dear traveler, sit and enjoy as I tell you the story of four young, handsome magi who talked about High Fantasy for a bit over an hour.    That’s right! In this episode of Prose and Cons, Paddy leads Phoenix, Matan, and Alex through the...

Today Phoenix, Paddy and Alex delve down into the fascinating rabbit hole of the ludo-narrative! That's right, we're talking videogames and how they relate to storytelling. We're looking at our favourite games and how they use the medium in interesting ways to tell fascinating stories through the interplay of gameplay mechanics and narrative intrigue.  STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER...

It's just Alex and Paddy today, going deep on bicameral minds, Jordan Peele, what horror and comedy have in common, paving the road to hell with adverbs, and Alex's new short horror story: Eggboy . (This one's a bonus episode; if you're after a more - ahem - structured podcast experience, maybe check out one of our more recent episodes instead.) STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER:...

Show don’t tell—how many times have you heard that one?  Chances are we’ve all received this note at one point or another in our writing journies, but what exactly does it mean? Also, what about telling? When should we tell rather than show? This week on Prose and Cons, Paddy, Phoenix, and Alex dig into this writing note of notes and delve into the inverse as well—when to tell instead of show. STE...

Alex sits down with established and prolific Australian writer Catherine Jinks and discusses all things writing: how she got started in her career, what the traditional book market looks like today, writing grants and all the opportunities and options writers have today that weren't necessarily available when she started. You can find Catherine on YouTube at Storybook Cottage Writer STEPHEN K...

One month, 50,000 words, and half a million people worldwide - NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is one of the very best ways to jumpstart your writing project. But 50,000 words can be a mighty steep hill... and in just one month!? Well fear not! Ally, Alex, Phoenix and James are here to take you through their NaNoWriMo tips, tricks, experiences and pitfalls to get you (yes, YOU) NaNoWriMo-...

Welcome all! Step up if you dare, to a very spOoooOOky episode of Prose and Cons. Follow Phoenix, Paddy, and Alex through the deep woods, the darkness of homes left to themselves, and some off-putting reddit recipe reviews.  In this Halloween Spooktacular, the three bring to the table the stories that have well and truly spooked them, and talk a little about why this might have been and what can m...

What do Titanic, Princess Mononoke and The Matrix have in common? They're all great examples of "thematic conflict". But what is thematic conflict? Why is it so important? And how can we use this oft-overlooked, but very powerful, concept in our own writing? STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 0 TODAY, 62 TOTAL Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com/contact/ ============...

Today Phoenix, Ally and Paddy get together to discuss the big cyborg elephant in the room: AI. What does it mean for the future of writers and editors? What is Amazon doing to combat the flood of AI generated stories in the marketplace? Are writer's being replaced by AI? All this and more. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 62 TOTAL Send us a message! Contact us at: precipicefiction.com...

Head hopping, third-person dissonance, jarring changes in perspective? Join Phoenix, Alex, and James as they narrate the world of … well … narration. Third person, third-person tight, even second person, what are the ins and outs, the dos and don’ts, the … pros(e) and cons (heh) of each? It’s a massive umbrella topic, but fundamental to almost all, if not all, narrative works. Rather than unconsci...

Witch of Words, Doula of Dialogue, Alchemist of Artistic Expression: Shelley Robinson helps authors find their creativity and overcome their emotional hurdles. Join us as we interview this great sage, discussing conquering self-doubt, the crippling "fear of exposure", and how to find (and own) your superpower as a writer. If you've ever struggled with the expression of your art, thi...

In this episode, Paddy, Alex and Matan discuss the merits of writing groups, why you need them, what the etiquette is and what to do if you find yourself stuck in a dud one! Having started from a purely feedback based writers group, our guests today all have plenty of experience with the good, the bad and the weird of writing groups. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 2 TODAY, 59 OVERALL Send us a me...

H.P. Lovecraft has, in recent decades, become a large part of the modern zeitgeist. From references across a multitude of popular media to tabletop roleplaying games, most are well and truly familiar with the famous tentacles that we’ve come to associate with the work. But what is Cosmic Horror as a whole? Who are the other players? What are the elements that make up a truly unsettling piece of th...

Imposter syndrome: the feeling that, no matter how good you seem to be, deep down you know you're a fake. And worse - that sooner or later, people are going to find out. It's all too common, and even moreso in the world of writing, where taste is subjective and there's no simple measure of success. So how do we deal with it? And just how common is it? And can we help others struggli...

Yeah, look, we’re not going to beat around the bush, The Book of Boba Fett was not great. But, as they say, another person’s failed attempt at representing a well-known IP is another writer’s treasure. In all seriousness, though, it not always obvious in the moment when a bit of writing isn’t working. Yes, in this episode we do poke fun at The Book of Boba Fett, but as writers, we get it – this ha...

But what about when the narrator isn't giving the full story? When about when you can't trust them at all? And where's the line between unreliable narrator and ineffectual storyteller? In this episode, we break down everything you could ever want to know about writing unreliable narrators - from different types, to best examples, to pitfalls to avoid. (Note, dear listener, that this...

We've got a MONSTER of an episode for you today ... I'm truly sorry about that. But it's true! Matan, Paddy, James  and Alex discuss monsters in all their incarnations and ask some questions:  How do you write about something that is 'indescribably horrific'? The different frames in which to place your monster: horrific, challenging or redemptive. What even is a monster an...

The episode so nice we did it twice! Sorta. As James and Paddy couldn't make our Barbenheimer episode extravaganza, we're releasing their own micro-episode just on Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer. James and Paddy don't always see eye-to-eye on movies (and by "don't always" we mean "never"), so tune in for a particularly varied discussion on the...

What is Lord of the Rings without Middle Earth? What is Star Trek without the Final Frontier? To some settings, the right setting can be absolutely crucial; and to others, next to irrelevant. So when does it matter? And why? In this episode, we explore setting in depth, asking questions like: Why is setting important at all? Does setting always matter? Is a setting ruined by leaning into popular t...