To Be a Great Writer, You Must Defeat a Thousand Babies
OnAs the world looks grimmer and grimmer, Millennials and Gen Xers retreat deeper and deeper into childhood nostalgia.
Finding Beauty In Darkness
OnWhy do we love horror so much? On the surface, it makes no sense. Why would anybody enjoy media that focuses on upsetting, grotesque topics?
Saving Criticism from the Corporate Marketing Machine
OnCultural criticism has always been an essential part of our media ecosystem, especially when it comes to geek culture. But is any of this really meaningful, or is it just another part of the big corporate content marketing machine?
Bad Writing Advice
OnThere are many writing advice columns that won’t help you write good—that will actually encourage you to write bad, or at best mediocre.
I’m Not Here to Make Friends: On Unlikable Female Characters
OnFilthcore queen Gretchen Felker-Martin returns to talk about unlikable female characters. What makes a woman unlikable?
Translation, or Mi Tio Es Infermo, Pero la Carretera Es Verde!
OnSFF author and professional translator Mário Seabra Coelho talks to us about the art of translation. Writing translations, even only as an exercise, can open a writer’s eye to new perspectives, new devices, and new poetic turns of phrase.
The Bitter Medicine of Unhappy Endings
OnHorror writer G. Emerald, who has a background in the medical system, joins us to talk about the healing power of stories that leave us with a bad taste in our mouths.
Who Are You Talking To?
OnSci-fi/fantasy author Karlo Yeager Rodríguez joins us to talk about the relationship between storyteller and in-universe audience.
Writing About Sex Work
OnIn this episode, Mistress Snow, PhD joins us to talk about sex work in writing. What do writers get wrong? How do writers promote inaccurate and harmful stereotypes about sex workers? How can writers do better?
A Wretched Episode of Scum and Villainy
OnVillains in fiction tend to fit a certain template: erudite, aristocratic, queer-coded, monologuing and vaguely British. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it gets a little old after a while.