So I'm Writing a Novel...: Recent Episodes
Oliver Brackenbury
The show where you join me, Oliver Brackenbury, on the journey of writing my next novel, from first ideas all the way to publication & promotion. In this unique, one-man-reality show I'll share you with you my ever evolving thoughts and feelings on how I write, being a writer, and everything that entails at each stage of the process. I'll also answer listener questions and, sometimes, interview people who write fiction.
If you're the kind of person who likes to learn how things are made, and get to know the people making them, then this is the show for you.
Returning champion Nat Webb joins us to discuss his recent founding of a literary magazine, Wyngraf!
Their discussion covers alternate titles for the magazine, defining cozy fantasy & backpack fantasy, conflict in stories and other things that can drive story, writing delicious food scenes, the cozy fantasy scene on Reddit and elsewhere, getting into short stories, his first submission and rejection and what he learned from it all, self-publishing a novel, discovering a love for the technical side of publishing, taking submissions in for the first time, putting one of your own stories in your own magazine, being transparent about the numbers behind your business, paying forward all the writing advice you've been given, working with an artist on a cover commission, choosing to pay authors and how much, deciding how often to release new issues, the importance of actually finishing a project, knowing when to stop with a project, Legends and Lattes and other reading recs, refreshing sincerity vs ironic distance, "coffee shop AU" explained, "numbies" explained, how sometimes the thing you bang out quickly resonates with people far more than the thing you slaved over forever, ins and outs of the Kindle Select program, the merits of publishing flash fiction, and more!
www.wyngraf.com Wyngraf on Twitter The cover artist for issue #1 of Wyngraf is Sâmara Lígia (her other Instagram). The swashbuckling magazine Nat announced like five days after we recorded is called Rakehell. Nat's Author Site Nat's previous appearance on the show, where Oliver consulted him on a work-in-progress. Some magazines Nat mentions that he likes: Tales from the Magician's Skull, Whetstone Magazine, and Tales and Feathers. That Harry Otto Fischer origin story for Grey Mouser can be found here on page 28.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver takes you through the end of a friendship in this outline of the final Voe & Tiravam story for the novel. Among other things he discusses an epiphany he had which caused him to look at how his outlining had evolved over this first half of the novel, plotting an emotional journey for the reader, and being reminded of how there are certain things you're only able to discover in writing prose!
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver also gets into an outlining snarl which is solved by his trying a whole new method of working out what happens, when it happens, and what the reader learns when it happens.
Tom McHenry comic whose fourth panel Oliver mentions. Chalicotherex is a fun follow on Twitter.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Author, and Associate Editor of Witch House magazine, Chase A. Folmar joins Oliver to discuss his upcoming sword & sorcery novella, Frolic on the Amaranthyn.
Chase and Oliver discuss his sword & sorcery and creative writing origin story, that sweet spot of horror and action, mood and plot, finding your voice as an author, the importance of reading outside the genre you write most, elevator pitching, writing a story centered on an established romantic couple, finding that right combination of the unique and the familiar, beauty & horror and the uncanny valley, the Decadent Movement, good old civilization vs barbarism, what do morals mean at the absolute end of time, why Frolic is not a novella and not a short story or a full length novel, 500 page fantasy door wedges, the strengths of the novella format, the benefits of constraining your writing, the singular focus and very personal stakes of sword & sorcery, Robert E. Howard's The Hour of the Dragon, the problem with the world always ending, scifi as the literature of ideas and fantasy as the literature of settings, weaving the world of a story into the action of the plot, how audiences are about as genre savvy as they've ever been in human history, how long it took to make the novella a reality, the joy and frustration of editing, beta readers and feedback, use of language and accessibility vs trying to create the sense of entering another world, Branden Sanderson (who I keep calling "Brian"...) and that big ol' Kickstarter of his, heavy metal and sword & sorcery, broad appeal vs niche interest, defining success on your own terms, trends in cover art, literally judging a book by its cover and how that's a pretty fair thing to do when looking at self-published work, Ballantine Fantasy covers, and more.
Frolic on the Amaranthyn is available in ebook and softcover from Amazon Sable Star Press Facebook Group Chase's author site Goran Gligovic - cover artist for Frolic Witch House magazine www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Cora Buhlert is a Hugo-nominated author and genre scholar who Oliver was lucky enough to meet through his research for the novel, and he'd love for you to meet her too!
Oliver and Cora discuss her falling in love with the very American body of work known as pulp fiction while she grew up travelling the world, the survival of dime novels in modern Germany, the irresistible pull of forbidden fiction, Thundarr and He-Man, "the best thing that happened in Germany in 1989", European sword and sorcery comics, a book store that "must have been designed by time-lords", mediocre movie tie-in fiction, the potential future of sword & sorcery, how S&S heroes are usually outsides who aren't chosen ones - they choose themselves, marginalized characters and identity, the "token Irishman in space", how people often miss that Grey Mouser isn't white..., the whitening of S&S heroes of color in the cover art, "he's not black, it's solar rays!", a trans sword and sorcery protagonist and other characters we'd like to see, the historical precedent for trans S&S protagonists, how The Witcher has many stories which qualify as sword & sorcery, She-Ra as sword and sorcery, the Lancer Conans and the last time sword & sorcery had a big revival, Grimdark, Brian Sanderson, short & sweet sword & sorcery as an alternative to bloated epic fantasy tales, mosaic and fix-up novels, Lin Carter should get his due as an editor, Cora's intriguing character Richard Blakemore aka The Silencer, The Shadow with Alex Baldwin, writing two novels a month (!), the Lester Dent pulp writing formula, Batman: The Animates Series and The Grey Ghost, how the pulps brought us Batman (and superheroes in general), how Batman (1989) stole its plot from a Spider novel published in 1934, writing a story written by a character you created, keeping your history straight while also having fun when writing a period protagonist, writing a pulp character who falls in love with his own genre, putting more modern storytelling elements in tales framed as having been written long ago, sexual violence and censorship in the old pulps, C.L. Moore writing about sex and drugs as an UNMARRIED woman (!) in the 1930s, weighing creative impulses against what a genre suggests should happen, Galactic Journey, winking at the present when your writing from the perspective of the past, linguistics and writing, THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT CANADIANS AND THEIR BILINGUALISM, advice on self-publishing, looking outside the Amazon ecosystem, selling literature like ham at a deli, and what makes "a Cora Buhlert story".
Cora's Author Page Her self-publishing imprint, Pegasus Pulp Books Cora on Twitter as @corabuhlert The Sword & Sorcery round table discussion Oliver mentions Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery by Brian Murphy Galactic Journey
Interested in those European sword & sorcery comics Cora mentioned? After the interview she provided me with the following list: - Aria by Michel Weyland from Belgium: Aria is a warrior woman with a very 1970s haircut who fights evil and also winds up adopting a little girl. Started in 1979 and is still going on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aria_(Belgian_comic) Not to be confused with the Image comic of the same name.
-
Storm, art by Don Lawrence, writted by Dick Matena, Martn Lodwijk and others including Roy Thomas, from the Netherlands: This is actually sword and planet, but it might as well be sword and sorcery. The titular hero is an astronaut who gets lost in time and winds up in a post-apocalyotic Barbarian future and hooks up with a local warrior woman whom I know as Roodhaar (Redhair), but who's apparently called Ember in English language editions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_(Don_Lawrence) Started in 1977 and is also still ongoing.
-
Thorgal by Jean Van Hamme and Grzegorz Rosinski, also from Belgium. This is basically the Viking Superman, a humanoid alien raised and found by Vikings. Thorgal is also a family man and has a wife and several children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal Started in 1979 and is still ongoing as well.
-
Alix by Jacques Martin, also from Belgium: This is more historical than S&S, but the aesthetics are similar. Alix is a young Gaul sold into slavery, who winds up being adopted by a Roman Patrician and is perpetually torn between Rome and Gaul. This is basically a serious version of Asterix. Started way back in 1948 and still has new adventures coming out, though Jacques Martin has passed away by now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Alix
-
Ghita of Alizarr by Frank Thorne. This one is actually American, though I first encountered it in Dutch translation. This was Frank Thorne going further than the Comics Code allowed him to do with Red Sonja. Early Franco-Belgian-Dutch comics can be very prudish, but by the late 1970s no one cared about bare breasts and vague sex scene, so it wound up on the same shelf as the others. Started in 1978. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ghita-of-alizarr/4005-1348/
-
Eric de Noorman (Eric the Norseman) by Hans G. Kresse from the Netherlands: Eric is a Viking who has fantastic adventures. He's also a family man and has a wife and a son. I encountered it via reprint collections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_de_Noorman
-
De Rode Ridder (The Red Knight) by Willy Vandersteen and others, also from Belgium. Johan is a wandering knight who has adventures, many of which are supernatural. Started in 1946 and is still ongoing as well, though Vandersteen passed away around the time I discovered the series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Rode_Ridder
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver has a fun, informative discussion with author Ryan North, whose new book "How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain" is now available for pre-order.
They discuss having one footnote for each day of the year, cramming more jokes in the margin to make a comic have more bang for your buck, experimenting with the limits of what a format can do, why they're "choosable-path" adventures that he's written, the benefits of working in a younger medium that isn't fully explored, having unlockable characters in your book, white elephant books, publishing a book that may provide a guide to doing dangerous things, knowing when to stop doing research, when one chapter should be two, the cult of Scrivener (of which Oliver is a member), apps that help you focus when writing, working "in a distracted way", Ryan's method if integrating handwritten notes with his mostly digital process, knowing when a cool fact is usable in your work, the biosphere experiment, Jon Lomberg and the Voyager Golden Record, originality, how novel's are fine THEY'RE FINE, how working in an unpopular medium can be a safety net, things to try for and try to avoid when writing a popular science book, The Core (2003), optimizing workflow as a writer, methods of learning which work best, wasted keystrokes, productivity, work/life balance, trying to separate your sense of self-worth from your work, social media, steak-umms and the bleakest thing Ryan has ever seen in his life, the best time to post about your parent's death so as to increase the viral impact, "content", how the work has to interest you, grindset, trying to appear cool & productive at all times, how Ryan doesn't like to be conscious for more than six hours at a time, task-switching between a variety of projects, Lev Grossman on how forgiving fans can be of plot holes, how the concept of a "real author" is a fake idea, Ryan's life philosophy re: fate and control over one's life, Vonnegut, the core value of most characters in his work, how Ryan definitely isn't DB Cooper, and there's even a wee cameo by Ryan's dog Noam Chompsky.
You can also see a couple of babies in an interview from 2008, which Oliver may have still been figuring out his interview style...(Part one, part two).
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver chats with Philippine author Dariel Quiogue about his sword & silk novel, "Sword of the Four Winds"!
Their discussion covers portrayal of war elephants in history and stories, Alexander the Great being a war criminal to some, Carter & De Camp (and Nyburg) Conan tales, Howard Lamb's Khlit the Cossack stories (a huge influence on Robert E Howard), drawing from Asian history for his stories - including an intriguing alternate path for Genghis Khan, wanting to write more fiction based in where you're from, being anxious about a lack of experience to the world limiting your fiction, how late in history Dariel feels you can set a story and still have it feel like sword & sorcery, the "Sword & Sorcery attitude", portrayal of sorcery in fiction and childhood fears, the cynicism of some classic S&S, Shōgun by James Clavell & Frank Herbert's Dune, the Howardian cycle of civilization and barbarism, "can you be better than a monster?", how his work as a photographer influences his writing, playing the Conan soundtrack while writing, gore levels in S&S, Homer, how much detail to put in a fight scene, how Conan is often misrepresented as one who triumphs through strength rather than wits, what makes a grand military battle scene captivating, Mount & Blade: Warband, staying in the zone when you write, The Age of the Warrior by Hank Reinhardt, playlists to write by, writing on paper vs screen, Scrivener, the fantasy writing scene in the Philippines, Charles Saunders, the Savage Sword of Conan, and more!
Dariel's author website. Dariel's Ko-Fi which, as of this blog post, is funding toward the goal of commissioning cover art for his next novel. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, which Dariel mentions, free on Gutenberg Those comic links we promised in the interview: https://www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=alfredo-alcala--62810916 https://www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=nestor-redondo--3242129 www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=alex-nino--99372500 www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=rudy-nebres--32795352 The artist who illustrated SOFW for Dariel, Raymund Bermudez: https://www.deviantart.com/mccat
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver speaks with the editor of "Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword & Sorcery", covering a wide variety of subjects germane to running a semi-pro literary magazine, online community, and good old sword & sorcery.
Oliver and Jason get to some INTERESTING places in their far-reaching discussion, including subjects like: writing workshops, working class literature, modernist literature, R.A. Salvatore as a literary gateway drug, starting a literary magazine & the origin of Whetstone, why he feels you shouldn't send your best work to Whetstone, "mid-list exposure", submitting for ultra low acceptance rate magazines, elevated language, Clark Ashton Smith, grading English papers by engineers, Jason's role as academic coordinator for the Robert E. Howard foundation, Walter Benjamin, how a genre rooted in our past like sword & sorcery can give people an inspiring vision of something new, Elie Wiesel's The Trial of God, defending fiction, defining your identity by speaking back to power, how sword & sorcery can help you get through a rough patch (or at least how it helped Oliver), how a World of Warcraft guild inadvertently birthed a vibrant Sword & Sorcery online community, what people generally mean when they say "no politics!", what make a Discord server function well as a community, the digital humanities, Gather, advice on starting a writing community online or IRL, best principles for same, self-promo human spambots, the difference between useless negativity and letting someone know when they're stepping into a tar pit, writing conventions, formative experiences with teachers good and bad, tools over dogma, the possibility that the American style of creative fiction workshops homogenizes fiction, when compliments are worse than criticism, Jay's recent opera project, and....MORE.
Jason on Twitter (@jrcarney52) Spiral Tower Press Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword & Sorcery The Whetstone Discord Server Witch House: Amateur Magazine of Cosmic Horror How Sword & Sorcery Brings Us to Life by Jason 1932, The Year of Conan: Sword and Sorcery and Historical Pessimism (mentioned in the interview) also by Jason Bride of Cyclops Con - Best of Sword and Sorcery panel (Feat. Jason as a panel member) The Black Gate interview with Jason that I cite in one question - it covers lots of neat stuff that we didn't get to. An essay Jason wrote about the opera he was involved in, The Trial of God
That creative writing book, all about rethinking how we teach writing craft, that Oliver mentioned - Craft in the Real World by Mathew Salesses The MUSE Writers Center The Program Era by Mark McGurl
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
This episode will introduce you to fantasy & horror author Karl Edward Wagner, as well as his iconic sword & sorcery supervillain, Kane!
Oliver and Jordan discuss subjects like The Carcosa Papers, the magic of seeing author's original notebooks (and fantasizing about others feeling that way seeing yours), getting deep into why Kane stands out from other well read S&S protagonists, Kane as villain, as manipulator; as being almost secondary to his own stories, erotic horror, how Wagner's psychiatry education enhanced his writing, reading an author's personal issues in their work and then connecting them to your own, and a whole lot more!
Oliver is also made to feel a non-zero amount of video game shame.
The Dark Crusade podcast (DC on Facebook, on Instagram) The Spine of Night - A totally awesome, new rotoscoped sword & sorcery film featuring Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt, Richard E. Grant, annnnnd Jordan Smith! Jordan Smith's professional editing site What was Oliver talking about with The Noid?
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In this story consult, featuring a personal sword & sorcery tale by Matt John, we discuss a story which was very polished, then submitted to a magazine and...rejected. Happens to pretty much all stories, but what do you do when it happens to you? Matt sought out an editor, Oliver, and in this episode you can hear them discuss strategies for Matt to consider in the next draft of his story. Hey, did you know Oliver's now offering editing services?
In this conversation they discuss working through personal tragedy and difficult emotions in your stories, the "that" test and removing other filler words, good and bad editing/teaching philosophies, being a new writer working with an editor, how there's just so much to remember in terms of writing rules, how nobody on Earth can write perfectly without an editor, Alan Moore's love of tentacles, managing the distance between reader and protagonist, adding specificity to your stories, how it can be better not to name monsters, Stephen King's On Writing, proper nouns as names in genre stories, Encanto and trauma producing magic, spotting when something you wrote works for you but is unlikely to work for a reader, how deeply felt emotions can fuel but also cause lapses in writing, Cormac McCarthy's wife, thematic statements, writing exercises looking beyond your ending, PUBERTY, good old (literary) rejection, back matter and behind-the-scenes info in novels, what writing sex scenes and fight scenes have in common, HOW OLIVER'S NOW OFFERING EDITING SERVICES, learning to be comfortable showing your work to someone for critique, holding onto notes on your stories, and MORE.
Check out Matt on Rogues in the House, the sword & sorcery podcast he co-hosts!
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Trying something new for the show, Oliver is sitting down with author Nathaniel Webb to consult him on his latest work-in-progress, a sword & sorcery short story! After a reading of the story so far, and a little getting-to-know-you, you'll get to listen in on a proper story consult where Oliver will discuss Nat's story, focusing in particular on his main concern - how to best weave fun worldbuilding and character backstory info into the story itself.
They also discuss how short stories can turn out to be harder than you'd expect, heist story traditions, considering word counts against prospective literary markets, both Howard's The Tower of the Elephant and Leiber's The Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar, outlining vs seat-of-your-pants writing, the very legit desire to write a story like one you've greatly enjoyed, wanting to show off your worldbuilding, finding nuance in "write to please yourself, not a hypothetical audience", "Progression Lit", placing a character geographically not only with description but with placement of that description, weaving worldbuilding into the action, "the portrait shot", first drafts as essentially very detailed outlines, giving a character's backstory in the scene where they're introduced, a motivational poster from Oliver's grade 10 English class, does a character having a secret create an undesirable distance between them and the reader, "protagonist brain", and MORE.
Nathaniel's author site Nathaniel on Twitter Check out a sword & sorcery short story by Nathaniel in the latest issue of Whetstone magazine - for free! The then-latest issue of Tales From The Magician's Skull that we mention is #6 That The Adventures of Alyx book we chat a bout a bit, with my Goodreads review The writing book Nat mentions: The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird
And then we have that combined list of sword & sorcery markets we mention: That The Adventures of Alyx book we chat a bout a bit, with my Goodreads review The writing book Nat mentions: The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird
And then we have that combined list of sword & sorcery markets we mention: Clarkesworld Unreal Magazine Podcastle Fantasy & Science Fiction Beneath Ceaseless Skies Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Strange Horizons Fantasy Magazine Skelos Common Tongue Magazine Rogue Blades Starward Shadows https://www.literaryrebel.com/savage-submissions/ https://www.swordsandsorcerymagazine.com/submissions.html https://cirsova.wordpress.com/cirsova-magazine/submission-guidelines/ https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2020/10/20/announcing-open-call-for-sword-sorcery-fiction-for-tales-from-the-magicians-skull/ https://farthertrees.wordpress.com/queerblades/ http://thebizarchives.com/content-guidelines/ hthttp://stupefyingstories.com/ http://pulp-modern.blogspot.com/ https://www.ossgames.com/ares-home https://ralan.com/m.pay.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Hero_Press http://paralleluniversepublications.blogspot.com/p/submissions.html https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/10/27/write-up-a-storm-in-the-mortal-realms-black-library-submissions-are-open-now/
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In three acts, Oliver shares the outlining of this second story in the sword & sorcery novel's second quarter, an escalating farce built around the theft of a saintly relic from one church within the same religion as the other, who has hired Voe & Tiravam to perpetrate said theft. Ah, if only it were so straightforward as all that...
Oliver covers the joys of finding the piece of research which unlocks your story for you, interesting historical details of medieval relic theft, judging when the tone of an idea you love doesn't just doesn't fit with your work as a whole, balancing inspiration against directly imitating a story you love, courtroom drama, juggling lies & secrets, knowing when you've figured out enough for now, "horny is great for funny", and more!
There's also a listener question, asking Oliver for advice in researching markets for SciFi short stories. In his answer, Oliver mentions The Submission Grinder and Authors Publish. Finally there's some end of 2021 news, thanks, and announcements!
The show's Twitch channel, worth subscribing to as we have plans for it in 2022! Want to support the show? Here's a page with useful ideas and links.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In this episode Oliver tells you all about how he outlined the origin story for his protagonist's new friendship, a friendship that would be at the heart of a whole quarter of the novel's stories.
This involves discussion of consulting others when you're feeling lost trying to make a vital decision, puppetry (and avoiding obvious metaphors), elements by which two friends might bond, differing attitudes toward killing for your protagonists, what if DUNE's Bene Gesserit wanted to sell weed, the ol' "They meet in a tavern..." routine, Beer Street and Gin Lane, Bound 2 (?), using index cards to help keep everything you need in front of you, hitting a major progress point in the novel, and more!
Plus there's a LISTENER QUESTION, gosh we like those, to do with how far up the line of human history you can set a story (or base the secondary world setting of a story on) and still have it feel like sword & sorcery.
Mentioned in Oliver's answer is Howard Andrew Jones' breakdown of how he defines sword & sorcery as a genre.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Will Oliver succeed in finally naming his dang fantasy city by the end of the episode??? Oliver takes you through the process that got him to where he felt he knew enough about the fictional city where he'd be setting no less than four of his novel's stories in. He covers repurposing research from an older project, choosing when and how to shape setting with theme, when he decided a novel wasn't the story for him to write, figuring out what you need to figure out about a setting/city, feral cities, hyperdense research texts, an interesting lesson he took from his role-playing game hobby that applies here, leaving room for later inspiration, another pertinent Ursula K Le Guin quote, Karl Edward Wagner's Bloodstone, and more!
That book I mention a lot: Imaginary Cities: A Tour of Dream Cities, Nightmare Cities, and Everywhere in Between by Darren Anderson
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver takes you with him through the process by which he designed a new best friend for his novel's protagonist, a co-protagonist for the next four stories he has to outline, when Voe and this new best buddy will have swashbuckling, thieving adventures loosely inspired by the Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories of Fritz Leiber!
The writing book Oliver mentions in this episode, and has mentioned before, is Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
A lil' recap of the podcast & novel is followed by Oliver sharing how he figured out the most top-tier planning of his novel's middle, particularly its first half, and how it would fit into the novel as a whole!
This includes discussion of "how much inspiration do you want to take from another author's works?", how to keep your thoughts organized when you finally get to a part of writing a story that you've been looking forward to for ages, gauging how ambitious you might want to be with breaking The Rules, who Oliver sees as the most influential sword & sorcery heroes after good old Conan, the difficulty in choosing perspective for this part of the novel or even nailing down Fritz Leiber's approach to perspective, being both your instructor and your student, and more.
That publicly available, image-heavy Patreon post OIiver mentions, that's all about the notebook he outlines the novel in. The first episode of So I'm Writing a Novel Episode #7: where Oliver reads you the short story that grew into this novel & podcast. The Cultural Iceberg model.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Michael Curtis, while Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories have been a great source of inspiration for Oliver's novel-in-progress, you better believe he was excited to talk with Michael about: Why people should read the Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories, how these characters so defined by their friendship were born of a real life bromance, what defines Leiber's writing style, what makes F&GM's home - Lankhmar - the ultimate fantasy adventure city, how Michael made writing RPGs his career, what it was like poring over Leiber's original papers at an archive in Houston, and more!
Michael Curtis on Patreon Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG products by Michael Curtis Michael also writes articles for Goodman Games, such as this one on Lord Dunsany The Society of Torch, Pole, and Rope - Michael's game design blog may be dormant but it still contains many fascinating things to pore over. Michael Curtis Visits Leiber’s Legendary Lankhmar Library in Houston Lankhmar 101 - A video panel discussion about DCC: Lankhmar, led by Michael Curtis.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Julian Bernick has written across a wide variety of mediums, so Oliver discusses with him getting burnt out on novels, the Appendix N Reading List, writing for role-playing games, Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, writing lyrics as the lead singer of several bands, and more - but the focus of this interview is poetry, gothic horror, and how Julian combined the two in his most excellent book Castle Bash: A Record of the Most Unfortunate Doings at Castle Bash - As Told by an Unnamed Poet who was Never Seen Again!
A narrative poem in the Romantic tradition, Castle Bash is Byronic in character, Gothic in atmosphere, Romantic in outlook and Lovecraftian in scope. When a bastard poet is given safe haven and patronage at the tenebrous Castle Bash, mystery, passion, and the forces of hell converge upon its benighted inhabitants.
Spellburn Podcast / iTunes / Twitter Whistling Shade Magazine, where Julian serves as an editor of poetry. Julian's RPGeek page Some of Julian's earliest storytelling can be found in this Dungeons of Yesteryear feature. If you'd like to hear Julian talk more about his game design career... and Here's three contemporary poets Julian recommends: Chelsea Minnis Freddie Seidel Michael Robbins www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver and Hoi discuss fantasy book cover art, the origin story of the Appendix N Book Club, the conservative faction of S&S fandom, finding S&S outside the usual Anglo sphere, podcast show notes (do people read them??? ARE YOU READING THIS???), figuring out how to keep the momentum going with longform creative projects, what makes a good podcast guest, thinking critically about genre fiction or "low art", the Thor belly body shaming fiasco, form and substance in genre writing (and emulation), representation in writing S&S, iconic vs dramatic heroes, fantasizing about being an author when it was possible to make a living writing short stories, destroying your influences, writing to pay the rent, the vanished publishing midlist, creative writing MFAs, Game of Thrones having come out George R.R. Martin's rpg sessions, and soooo much more!
The Appendix N Book Club / Twitter / Patreon Gary Gygax's original Appendix N Reading List Hoi's Adventures in Fiction Articles on Goodman-Games.com: Andrew J. Offutt, John Bellairs, Lin Carter, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and Jack Williamson. Hoi on Twitter After the interview, Hoi remembered he'd actually written two books back in the 90's! Those were The Martial Arts Almanac (Goodreads) & Martial Arts Masters: The Greatest Teacher, Fighters, and Performers (Goodreads). The episode of The Appendix N Book Club where Oliver was the guest!
Some other stuff that comes up in the interview: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Swords of the Four Winds: Tales of Swords and Sorcery in an Ancient East That Never Was by Dariel Quiogue Harold Lamb 52 short stories in 52 weeks Appendix N Book Club episode covering Micheal Shea's Nifft the Lean Brain Murphy's Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery Pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Whetstone Magazine and the new cosmic horror magazine by the same guy, Witch House Imaro by Charles Saunders www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver speaks with a host from the popular sword & sorcery podcast Rogues in the House, Matt John, about the genre, gatekeeping vs helping the S&S scene thrive, the trials of buying books online when you're Canadian, working sword & sorcery and role-playing games into the classroom, Army of Darkness hot takes, He-Man, "Good Rudes", letting go of the things you don't want to write and just writing the things your inner child wants to write, good and bad nostalgia, and "more"!
Rogues in the House Podcast / Facebook / Twitter Matt's author page on Amazon Matt's essay on Robert E. Howard, Sword & Sorcery, and Grimdark The actual Robert E Howard story, Rogues in the House
Some other things we mentioned: Brian Murphy's Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery Rude Tales of Magic "The only RPG actual play Oliver listens to" The Whetstone Discord server, a great place to chat about sword & sorcery! Imaro by Charles Saunders Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection (Oliver's other podcast) Cromcast Conan Gaming Group Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" Goodreads group Tales From The Magician’s Skull submission guidelines www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In this interview we're speaking with author and publisher, Milton Davis. Oliver and Milton have plenty of laughs talking about what it's like being both a writer and a publisher, knowing Charles Saunders and what's going on with the Imaro TV adaptation, when the history nerds come for you, origin stories, designing and playtesting an RPG, and so much more!
www.miltonjdavis.com (Facebook and Twitter) A Sword and Soul Primer, blog post by Milton. MVmedia, Milton's publishing company. Sword and Soul Adventures FB Group, run by Milton. Nyumbani Tales (Short stories by Charles Saunders). Milton's Sword & Soul Worldbuilding video. A Look at Milton Davis' Changa's Safari Ki Khanga Sword and Soul Role Playing Game: Basic Rules Ki Khanga FB Group Griots: Sisters of the Spear
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver has a long, highly informative chat with author, actor, and voice actor J.M. Frey about her experiences as a writer, including what happens when your book grows to around the 200K word mark, self-publishing, the challenges of author exhaustion (incl. frank discussion of how the economics of publishing deals have evolved), when she received her first piece of fan art based on her work, and more! Jess is terribly knowledgeable, and we strongly recommend you check out her site not only for all the great advice it contains, but also to study how Jess presents herself online.
Jess's Author Page
Jess on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Youtube / Tumblr / Wattpad / Radish
Also mentioned in this episode: Print Run Podcast, and Writer Beware.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
We're kicking off a block of interviews with a chat with Oliver's mum, about her relationship to creativity as both parent and "pre-parent", the book she wrote, the book Oliver's dad says he'll finish, what it's like for both Oliver and Christine to look back on his decision to try making writing what he does for a living, and more. Oh and of course they cover the time she struck back at workplace sexism with a picture of a big ol' penis.
If you'd like to see the jewelry Oliver's parents make together, you can check out at www.brackenbury.ca
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
With this, the fifth short story, we've reached the end of the first act! In Disgrace the Stone, the outlining of which Oliver will share with you, Voe is finally a "hero" as she's struggled to be but the events of this story will change her mind about that being what she wants.
The brainstorming for this story involved an unexpected intersection between the webcomic Achewood, Leonard Cohen, and the pandemic (though this isn't a plague story, have no fear). This sent Oliver off on a journey that involved putting the this tale down for an entire year before coming back to finish it, providing unexpected benefits as well as a lesson in why it's important to always make very clear notes so that future-you can easily pick up where they left off...no matter how long it's been.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
This time around we're outlining story number four in our sword & sorcery short story cycle!
Oliver sets out to write a sword & sorcery love story, but is that what he ends up with? He also gets into that time the rural Canadian mafia murdered Oliver's brother because his parents wouldn't give them gold, knowing when to break your own format, the dangers of trying to will what you want into existence, and, as always, more.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
This time around we're outlining story number three in our sword & sorcery short story cycle!
Oliver introduces you to the marvelous book which made him want to tell this story, thrusting his protagonist Voe into the middle of a mighty battle between empires in the absolute meat grinder of a canyon floor with arrows raining down from either side! He then goes on to dissect the mentor/mentee relationship, share a formative story from his very Canadian youth (yes, it involves ice skating), and Ursula K Le Guin rears her head once more as Oliver looks to one of her better quotes for a great theme to explore, in which the very idea of deserving is framed as a fake idea.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Outlining the rest of the book has begun! Oliver walks you through how he outlined the second story in the novel, currently called "The Woman Who Floated Through Time", which includes discussion of whether or not characters should change over the course of a story, templates vs writing prompts, when its time to really break down who your protagonist is, "poop pipes", and more.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver chats with you about how easy it is to miss putting Zelda lore in your non-Zelda stories, the deadly disease known as "Wikipedia Mouth", and other aspects of how he handles research for writing fiction.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Author of the recently concluded Ring-Sworn trilogy, editor of the most excellent sword & sorcery magazine Tales of the Magician's Skull, and teacher of a heroic fantasy writing class Oliver recently attended (the next session just opened to registration), Howard Andrew Jones has been a source of inspiration, knowledge, and encouragement for Oliver while our earnest podcast host has worked on his book.
In this conversation they cover a lot of ground about the sword & sorcery genre and writing in general, including Howard's personal definition of S&S, when origin stories are necessary or just tacked on, Robert E. Howard's classic Conan short story The Tower of the Elephant, and a whole lot more!
You can find Howard on Twitter, Facebook, and his personal website. His new book is When the Goddess Wakes.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver looks at the risky proposition of mixing some scifi in with his fantasy via the sub-sub-genre known as Sword and Planet, explores S&P and makes some recommendations, then walks you through the thought process that got him to the kind of S&P story he'd like to tell in his Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel. He also tries to be "a good podcast boy", whatever that is!
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In the show's first interview, Oliver speaks with two authors whose work - The Red Man and Others - not only entertained him, it provided him with a great deal of hope for his own novel-in-progress and the future of sword & sorcery in general. Aside from Red Man, they discuss being a couple who also write together, what they like & dislike in author's public presences, the very concept of writing advice, and more.
Buy The Red Man and Others on Amazon in paperback & eBook formats. Doesn't matter what country you're in, you can get it from Amazon.ca, .uk, etc
You can also check out their blog, Turnip Lanterns, as well as find both Remco and Angeline on Twitter. Their linktree is also a good hub for all links related to them and their work.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In this episode Oliver gets down to the task of choosing exactly what stories are going to go into this short story cycle of a sword & sorcery novel, discusses the importance of order of information, figuring out the word count he wants to aim for and more.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver gets into universal translators and "The Common Tongue", Robert Howard's prose, reads a few cool paragraphs by Howard and a handful of his S&S contemporaries, gets into writing while not being entirely aware of the precise terminology for the techniques you're using, our old friend racism, and doing your best to avoid the inherent potholes in representing large groups as separate species instead of simply humans with a different culture.
In the listener question segment Oliver answers a request for details on how many short stories will make up Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel and how much variety there will be between them in length & tone.
And here's, as promised in the episode, a link to where you can read The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith for free.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Okay, NOW I read to you the short story that birthed this novel writing project, "Voe". I'll also explain why I've waited this long, provide commentary on my decision-making while writing "Voe", and discuss how this episode marks an important point in the progress of both podcast & novel.
I will also reveal my greatest strength, which is also my greatest weakness.
In the listener question segment I'll discuss ways I've worked out which idea I want to write when I feel stuck between several, and get into the "Study the Market vs Write What You Want" debate.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
In this episode I share the essay I found that helped me envision the ending of the novel, an almost anti-sword & sorcery essay, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K Le Guin. First I read it to you (click here if you want to read it yourself), then get into how it helped me see the story I want to tell so much more clearly.
Then in the listener question segment I discuss how I discovered, and was drawn to work with, a remarkable speculative fiction archive, The Merril Collection. In this I promise some links, which are as follow:
The Merril Collection: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/merril/
The Merril Collection Digital Archive: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?Erp=20&N=38537+38532&view=grid
Friends of Merril: https://friendsofmerril.org
Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection podcast: https://unknownworlds.podbean.com www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver discusses how, after the initial sugar rush of brainstorming for the novel, he stepped back to make several important decisions that would help keep him from getting lost while finishing the outline of the novel, as well as writing the dang novel itself! This involves choosing tense, perspective, primary POV, theme, all that good stuff, as well as discussion of having a healthy attitude toward writing advice, and your own ever-evolving approach to writing.
In the listener question segment he discusses when to call on the services of a story editor, and how he's found the ones he's worked with.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Concerned about just creating a shallow expression of the genre, and wanting to better understand what he likes about sword & sorcery before going further in outlining "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Oliver compares and contrasts Robert E. Howard's The People of the Black Circle with Lin Carter & L. Sprague De Camp's Conan the Buccaneer to see what he can learn from it. You, dear listener, may wish to read the former (available for free online), but absolutely don't have to in order to enjoy this episode.
In the listener question segment Oliver speaks more about anxieties that have made writing difficult, and how he overcomes them (most of the time). At the absolute end of the episode, Oliver also reads his favourite scene from People.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver discusses what a short story cycle is in novel form, his initial brainstorming of stories to include in his novel, and reclaiming dry or even dispiriting material from your school days as a source of pleasure later in life.
This episode's listener question comes off of episode two's discussion of protagonists, with Oliver answering in further detail how Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter inspired him, and why he's been drawn to write several protagonists birthed from that inspiration.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Oliver shares with you the path he took from being inspired by a famous painting, through to his creating the protagonist of "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Voe, roughly nine years later. He also answers a listener question about best practices when soliciting and receiving feedback on your work.
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
Meet host Oliver Brackenbury as he introduces the podcast, himself, and the titular novel "Untitled Sword & Sorcery novel". He also discusses the genre of sword & sorcery, then shares his experience working with an editor on the short story which become the first chapter of the novel.
It can be lonely writing a novel, and Oliver would love some company. Maybe, through the podcast, you'll join him?
Want to see inside The Denim Notebook Oliver mentions, the one where he's outlining the novel? Check out this public blog post over on the show's Patreon!
www.soimwritinganovel.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury
A brief intro to the host and concept of the show, So, I'm Writing a Novel...
PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury
Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury