Podcast #33 is now available for download here. Jeffrey A. Carver was a guest lecturer at Odyssey 2009, where he lectured on Story Structure: Conflict and Plot. In this podcast, Jeffrey explains the importance of structure. Structure supplies the skeleton for your story; without it, your story becomes a jellyfish. Read more
Podcast #32 is now available for download here. Patricia Bray was a guest lecturer at Odyssey 2009, where she lectured about the uses of the sidekick in fiction. In this podcast, the second of two parts, Patricia explains how the sidekick’s characteristics can balance those of the protagonist, or contrast Read more
Podcast #31 is now available for download here. In her lecture at Odyssey 2009, Patricia Bray explored the role of a sidekick in fiction. In this podcast, the first of two parts, Patricia defines a sidekick and explains the inherently unequal nature of the hero/sidekick relationship. Giving examples that illuminate Read more
Podcast #30 is now available for download here. In her lecture at Odyssey 2004, Catherine Asaro explained how to develop a scientific “What if?” for your story. In this podcast, she covers some of the challenges of getting the science into your science fiction. Too much detail may bore readers, Read more
Podcast #29 is now available for download here. In her guest lecture at the 2005 Odyssey workshop, P. D. Cacek debunked some of the alleged “rules” about writing. In this podcast, she covers a series of such “rules,” explains their limitations and inaccuracies, and provides the more complex truth. For Read more
Podcast #28 is now available for download here. This is part 2 of a two-part podcast. You can find part 1 in Podcast #27. In his guest lecture at Odyssey 2003, Bruce Holland Rogers discussed narrative theory and the importance of structure. Structure can provide a story with unity and Read more
Podcast #27 is now available for download here. In his guest lecture at Odyssey 2003, Bruce Holland Rogers discussed narrative theory and the importance of structure. Structure can provide a story with unity and can give an author direction. In this podcast, Bruce explains his own use of structure and Read more
Podcast #26 is now available for download here. At Odyssey 2005, Allen M. Steele lectured on building a world’s environment. In this excerpt from his lecture, Allen takes writers through the process of creating a believable, realistic world, using the setting from his “Coyote” novels as an example. He explains Read more
Podcast #25 is now available for download here. In their guest lecture at Odyssey 2008, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman discussed the many differences between writing a novel and writing a short story. In this podcast, Delia and Ellen explore how the opening of a novel differs from the opening Read more
Podcast #24 is now available for download here. In her guest lecture at Odyssey 2008, literary agent Jenny Rappaport provided so much useful information that we’ve chosen to make a second excerpt from her talk available as another podcast (for her first excerpt, see Podcast #23). In this podcast, Jenny Read more