Prose and Cons
This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons. Brought to you by Precipice Fiction: Six Writers. Six Worlds. Alexandria Burnham, Paddy Boylan, Alex Eldridge, Matan Elul, Phoenix Raig and James Healy. Intro and outro delivery by Nathan Gothard. https://linktr.ee/precipicefictionOur first anthology is available now! "The New Mythic: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Collection". Find it in ebook or paperback: https://mybook.to/TheNewMythicReach out to us at: https://www.precipicefiction.com/contactpage/
What a Twist!
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:
The Sanderlanche - A Cosmere Royal Rumble - Part II
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://ibb.co/gMLT7WYn
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging w...
The Sanderlanche - What We Think of Brandon Sanderson - Part I
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 II to be released in the next few days!
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging...
Plot vs Story
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
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons.
Brought to you by Precipice...
DEATH: What a Terrible Day for this Man.
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 impactful, and maybe even left us stunned.
BIG SPOILER WARNINGS:
Lord of the Rings
Lio...
Keeping the Momentum - Writing Motivations
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 imagery.
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by...
How to start a story
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 TOTAL
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by...
Fantasy Deeper Dive
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 we know it.The difference between fantasy and sci-fi.STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTE...
What's in a Name? - The Team Discusses (and fails at) Ranking Names
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...
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons.
Brought to you by Precipice Fiction. S...
The Penguin: a masterclass in plot and character
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.
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons.
Brought to you by Precipice Fiction. Six Writers. Six...
Celebrating 100 Episodes of Prose & Cons
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 bleeping something out in this one for the sake of bleeping something out.
STEPH...
Short story analysis: The Wish by Roald Dahl
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 are below). Enjoy x
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Show Don't Tell 2: The Tellening
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 are the prose of telling?
What are the cons of showing?
They’ll get into all this and more.
STEPHEN...
Anxiety in The Bear: Dialling your mother to 11
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 know anything that happens, maybe leave this one until you're all caught up on the show.)
STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 105 TOTAL
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Text-based Games and Gamified Literature
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 games and literature that has adopted a gamified approach.
This isn’t a technique-heavy episode, but feel free to kick back, relax, and enjoy a fun discuss...
Tiny but Mighty: Short Stories
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
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because...
The Limits of a Language: Precipice Interview with Matan Elul
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
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging...
Character Arcs
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 can change and be explored.Are character arcs necessary?What do character arcs allow us to achieve?STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 2 TODAY, 103 TOTAL...
Bonus episode: James and Paddy have strong feelings about Cormack McCarthy
(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 adaptations: No Country for Old Men, The Counselor, and whether Blood Meridian could (or even should) ever be made into a film.
Mentioned...
Work vs. Writing
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? How do we avoid burnout? Is "Deep Penetration" the best name for a spy-thriller romance? (Yes it is.)
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Taking Risks
What do passing notes while the teacher isn’t looking, drinking a big mug of coffee just before a run, and writing a novel-length work in the second person have in common?
They’re RISKS, baby!
Join Matan, James, and Ally as they talk through the industry and art of risk-taking in the literary world.
Some things to expect:
Risks in content vs. risks in prose/form.Character morality vs. character likeabilityThe commercial publishing world vs. the artistic vision of the author. Ally organises her bookshelf by colourSTEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNT...
New Release Schedule
Hello all!
In order to allow us to keep producing this podcast that we love—in a meaningful way—while still attending to our other projects and things, we've decided to switch from a weekly release schedule to a release every other week.
Thank you to everyone who has been listening up until now. We're excited to keep going : )
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros...
What makes a character interesting enough to write?
Today is a bit of a grab bag of an episode about characters and what makes them interesting to us, interesting enough to write about. James, Paddy and Phoenix go over a number of topics including paleo art, the importance of not overpopulating your worlds with vapid characters, writing characters within the context of their relationships and, of course, the importance of occasionally wearing someone else's pants.
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This is Prose & Cons - a p...
Where does inspiration come from?
"If a story is in you, it has to come out." So says William Faulker, and it may well be true. But where does the inspiration for these stories come from? What sparks our creativity and where do we find the impetus to write?
On today's episode, Alex, James, Phoenix and Matan sit down to talk about the origin of inspiration in writing: both from their own experience and with the art of writing more generally, tackling creativity, motivation and the formulation of ideas.
STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 100 TOTAL
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Author Deep-Dive: Dan Simmons
Today we’ve got some book recommendations for you. Join James and Phoenix as they delve into the writing styles of Dan “the man” Simmons (Phoenix added “the man,” so don’t worry if Dan doesn’t respond to that if you call out to him).
We’ll get into his mastery of genre, the scope of his voice, and the interesting author lineage of influence behind him as we take a good hard look at three of his works:
HyperionThe TerrorCarrion ComfortSit back, relax, and enjoy a little book conversation.
STEPHEN KIN...
Reading and Writing Horror with James and Alex
As two of the resident horror writers of the group, Alex and James get together to discuss all parts of the genre: what makes it tick, how to structure it and how masters of the genre do what they do. And you better believe we reference Stephen King!
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel...
Genre Deep Dive: Dystopian Literature
“The Spider hears everything through all its jangling threads.” Sarah dropped her rolled, diluted tobacco ration to the ground and pressed it into the soil with the ball of her foot, as though the ever-watching Omni-Mayor were right there under her shoe.
“That’s no reason to give up hope,” I said, not even believing my own words.
“Who said anything about giving up?”
——
If you haven’t guessed from this little flash-dash-micro fiction that Phoenix is very proud of, today we’re talking Dystopian literature, film, and so on.
James leads Matan an...
Absolute Prose Highlights: How to Break a Story
Some lovely new discussions are on the horizon as the team has been quite busy off in the writing world. In the time being, Phoenix has selected one of his favourite episodes; if you're in the early drafting stages or the developmental stage of your manuscript, this is definitely worth a listen.
Why can't we just give our character a magic wand and be done with it? Nothing says we can't, but will it be good? Or will it completely ruin the story? In this episode, Ally, Matan, Phoenix, Paddy, and James look at all the ways...
Absolute Prose Highlights: How to Break a Story
Some lovely new discussions are on the horizion as the team has been quite busy off in the writing world. In the time being, Phoenix has selected one of his favourite episodes. If you're in the early drafting stages or the developmental stage of your manuscript, this is definitely worth a listen.
Why can't we just give our character a magic wand and be done with it? Nothing says we can't, but will it be good? Or will it completely ruin the story? In this episode, Ally, Matan, Phoenix, Paddy, and James look at all the ways...
Absolute Prose Highlights: All Storytelling is Wrestling
We're back with another Absolute Prose classic episode: Ally's sensational "All Storytelling is Wrestling" ep! WrestleMania 39 was on the horizon, and the producers here at Precipice Fiction Inc. felt it was time to unleash Ally's true form on the world. A writer behind the keyboard, a slayer in the analysis of storytelling tools used in the WWE, Ally leads a willing, yet maybe slightly nervous, team into the unknown world of wrestling in this special extended episode—Ally had a lot to say, Phoenix took notes.
We went over:
What are your favourite writing techniques?
James, Matan and Alex sit down to answer the the question what are their favourite techniques - both to read and to write.
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons.
Brought to you by Precipice Fiction. Six Writers. Six Worlds. Alexandria Burnham, Paddy Boylan, Alex Eldridge, Matan Elul, Phoenix Raig and James Healy.
The New Mythic: A Sci-Fi...
Film and Multi-media Madness: Precipice Interview with Alexandria Burnham
Hot take time! Get ready for your exclusive guided tour through Ally’s career as a writer, what got her started, what she’s up to, and what’s coming next. For anyone pursuing a career in film or finding an identity as a multi-media writer, you’re sure to find some excellent nuggets in this one.
STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 0 TODAY, 90 TOTAL
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometime...
Books That Blew Our Minds
Have you ever read a book that completely rocked the axis on which you read and consider literature? Well, here's four of them! Today, Alex, Paddy, James and Matan recount four books that have changed them as readers and writers. Please be aware there are significant spoilers for the following books:
Never Let Me Go - Kasuo Ishagura
The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Wolf Hall (the trilogy) - Hilary Mantel
So if you haven't read these books, do yourself a favour and...
Why characters need to fail (before they can soar)
Counterintuitive as it may seem, sometimes our protagonists need to fall flat on their face and fail. After all, what's an epic journey without setbacks? In today's episode, Matan, Ally and James examine character failure and why it's often so necessary for an effective story. Join us as we explore the why's and how's of failures, what makes a story's failure effective (and what can make it ineffective), and round it all out with the mighty Game of Fails!
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The Hero's Journey
Follow the white rabbit.
To where is it hippity hoppiting?
Through the mono-myth we go,
Where all threads are spun.
Sorry, I don’t know what came over me just then. Anyway, welcome to Prose & Cons! On today’s episode, Paddy takes James, Alex, and Ally through the Hero’s Journey (name used in a gender-neutral context), the map over which it’s said that all stories are written.
Whether you’re entirely unfamiliar with it or have heard of it but don’t know the exact breakdown, they’ve got you covered, going...
Mail time! Ask Us Anything (Pt. 2)
Part two of our vaunted Mailbag episode!
This part definitely occurred on a different day and we're certainly not all delerious from three hours of podcasting. So enjoy this entirely hinged and sane second part of our mailbag episode!
STEPHEN KING REFERENCE COUNTER: 1 TODAY, 90 TOTAL
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like cons.
Brought to you by Precipice...
Mail time! Ask us anything (Pt. 1)
And like Christmas, it's finally here! The long-awaited Precipice Listener Questions episode, where we huddle around the ol' Precipice mailbag and draw out your letters, answering questions on writing, editing, publishing, collaboration and more. We had so many that we've decided to make this a two-parter, so stay tuned for Mail Time pt. 2!
Got a question you'd like to send us? Shoot it through via the contact link below, and let us know if you'd be ok with us reading it out on the next mailbag ep! (Be sure to let us know if you're ok with u...
Avatar: Original vs. Netflix
Netflix's live-action reimagining of the beloved series Avatar: The Last Airbender is fresh out of the stables, which leads us to the question: how well does the new version hold up? Today we examine this adaptation of a classic series: narrative, character, translation of setting, the nature and purpose of action scenes - nothing will go unexamined!
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This is Prose & Cons - a podcast for emerging writers, by emerging writers. Because sometimes we feel like pros, and sometimes we feel like...
Non-linear Narrative
And then James said, “I think that’s it.” And we all said our goodbyes.
But for this to make sense, let’s go back a bit, back to the beginning.
In this episode of Prose and Cons, James, Alex, and Phoenix talk about non-linear storytelling—stories where the end is the beginning or sometimes there are new beginnings that come in the middle.
They'll talk through numerous examples as well as touch on some traps to watch out for if you yourself are planning on telling a story this way.
If you wan...
Absolute Prose Highlights: Imposter Syndrome
This marks the 6th and final episode of our Absolute Prose run. This final highlight selection was made by – last but not least – Phoenix. Imposter syndrome is something that has plagued more or less everybody at some point in their lives in some form or another. If you've not felt it, that's fantastic – keep doing what you're doing. If you have felt it, you are far from alone. This is one of the things that a writing group, or community in general, can help a lot with.
Kick back and enjoy our little sharing circle. After all, sometimes we fee...
