The Archetypist: Recent Episodes
Jacob & Kathleen
"The only analytics-based genre fiction podcast."
A monthly podcast (& regular short edition) dissecting successful novels so emerging authors can learn from the professionals. Jacob earned his MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill and has taught university-level Creative Writing—Kathleen has been writing, publishing, and critiquing stories for over 15 years. Join us to discuss tropes, conventions, and popular books to discover why readers love what they love.
patreon.com/Archetypist twitter.com/Archetypist_Pod goodreads.com/archetypist archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
Thinking about making a new years "writing" resolution? Jacob talks effective strategies for setting realistic goals and the interplay between professional goals and personal lifestyle.
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Have you been working on the same project for (many) years? Do you cycle through projects, distracted by the next shiny idea? In this episode, Kathleen talks about recognizing when it's time to keep revising your draft and when it's time to move on. Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
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In this episode, Jacob discusses his process and how he brings a project from the idea phase to a completed first draft.
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Do you dread the question, "So what are you working on?" Do you find yourself stumbling when you try to describe your latest project? Do you tend to criticize your work to deflect from discussing it before it's polished? If yes, we're here to help.
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In this episode, Jacob defines "borrowed structure" and uses the first book of the Dresden Files ("Storm Front") as an example.
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In this episode, Jacob discusses the concept of Writer's Block and how the current vernacular gives it an almost preternatural power over us. We discuss various types of Emotional/Physical/psychological blocks and how identifying the root cause of your "writer's block" will help you create and effective strategy to move past it.
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In this episode, Jacob details the fourth of the four different types of description, Poetic description and how to use it effectively in your writing.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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In this episode, Jacob details the third of the four different types of description, Emotional description, and how to use it effectively in your writing.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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In this episode, Jacob details the second of the four different types of description, sensory description and how to use it effectively in your writing.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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Kathleen on how to test your high concept for your novel BEFORE you start your rough draft.
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In this episode, Jacob details the first of the four different types of description, scientific description and how to use it effectively in your writing.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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In this episode, Kathleen gives her take on MFA programs & Alternatives
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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Kathleen discusses how to build a diverse booklist for your field recon.
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In this episode, Jacob gives his take on MFA programs, informed by his experience at Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction Program
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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Jacob discusses the concept of field recons, the basis for the Archetypist Podcast, what the scientific method has to do with the writing process, and why analytics are important.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
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Jacob announces the newest facet of the Archetypist Umbrella: a twice-weekly show on various writing topics.
Follow us on Twitter @Archetypist_Pod and find us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
For questions, comments, or if you want to be interviewed on the podcast, email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/archetypist/message
In this episode, Jacob interviews Josh Wetmore, a graduate of Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University about the structure and tone of hard news articles and feature writing and how to include convincing news articles in your novel. Especially in Mystery and Thriller Novels authors often use newspaper clippings as epigraphs or write characters with news backgrounds. Josh breaks down the tenants of writing as a journalist, including the difference between hard news, feature writing, and what less ethical news outlets with a clear slant/agenda do to galvanize their readers into action. Also included: how to write a professional lead, examples of "archetypal" structure in news articles, discussions on the AP & AP Style guide, and the ethical ramifications of irresponsible journalism.
If you're interested in following Josh's mission to El Salvador with Maryknoll Lay Missioners: https://mklm.org/
AP Style Guide (55th Edition): https://www.apstylebook.com/
Writing and Reporting the News as a Story: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reporting-News-as-Story/dp/0205440010
Have a question or want to be interviewed on the show? Email us at Archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
Twitter: @Archetypist_Pod
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Archetypist
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In this episode, we discuss time travel, thriller pacing, and how Blake Crouch's beginning flies in the face of Creative Writing Professor's advice.
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In this episode, we discuss A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, Space Opera, Political Thrillers, and the difference between Hard and Soft SF
Like what you heard? Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/archetypist
Send us an email at archetypistpodcast@gmail.com
Or find us on twitter @Archetypist_Pod
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In this episode, we discuss the Martian by Andy Weir, hard science fiction, and the conventions of Man vs. Nature and Epistolary stories.
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K.P. Kulski joins us for a special episode for Women in Horror month. She discusses her newest novel -- Fairest Flesh (horror, historical fiction), which made the first ballot for the Stoker awards. She also talks about her process, the indie horror industry, historical fiction, parenthood, writing the other, monstrosity, and building an equitable society. In addition to an MFA from Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction program, K.P. also holds a M.A. in History and served in both the Navy and the Air Force.
Her novel can be found on Bookshop.org at: https://bookshop.org/books/fairest-flesh/9781946335357?aid=7576&listref=women-in-horror and on Amazon.
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TW: Discussion of torture/sexual abuse & if it has a place in stories (it doesn't) from 14:30 to 19:28.
In this conversation, Jacob and Kathleen discuss cyberpunk, noir fiction, and hardboiled detective novels and how to handle traditional noir/detective tropes, often referred to as sexist, and where they have a place in contemporary popular novels (if at all).
We also take a deep dive into the first 500 words of Altered Carbon and discuss how Morgan builds a masterful beginning.
Near the end of the episode, we discuss the concept of the self and how this novel pushes those boundaries to their extremes.
Sources, licensing for nerds:
David Parfit and Reductionism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Parfit
Cyberpunk Remastered: Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Postmodernism by K. Ceres Wright: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Genres-One-Craft-Lessons/dp/0938467085
All sound effects in the Introduction sourced from freesound.org under attribution license
"Data Corrupted"-- https://freesound.org/people/Saltbearer/sounds/481996/
"Static" -- https://freesound.org/people/joedeshon/sounds/329673/
"Glitch" -- https://freesound.org/people/KatHakaku/sounds/35059/
"Ambient Dreamscape" -- https://freesound.org/people/onderwish/sounds/400670/
Theme Music "Soul Shaker" by Reaktor Productions, sourced from PremiumBeat.com
Narration of first pages of Altered Carbon read by Jacob to add to discussion of themes of the novel
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In this episode, Jacob and Kathleen discuss "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, the novella that the hit movie "Arrival" was based on. We discuss time, the future, and the question that Ted Chiang poses to his readers: if you knew the future, would you change it? COULD you change it? Jacob also takes a deep dive into the first 500 words of the novella and talks analytics about Character, Plot, Conflict, and Description
Intro Music: Aviators: Infinity Awaits Us: https://soundoftheaviators.bandcamp.com/album/infinity-awaits-us-a-royalty-free-ost
*Music was edited to fit the intro. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
All read excerpts for purposes of critique.
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In this episode, we discuss the basic conventions, tropes, and sub-genres in the Science Fiction genre and lay out the books we will be analyzing in the first cycle of the podcast.
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In this episode, we discuss the basic conventions of genre, why genre is important, and how taking a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of genre is one of the best things you can do for yourself as a fiction writer.
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