Derailed Trains of Thought

Hosted ByNick Hayden & Timothy Deal

Derailed Trains of Thought is your premiere podcast on storytelling for the creator and the consumer. Hosted by Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal, Derailed Trains of Thought discusses a wide range of storytelling topics, from the practical to the philosophical, in a engaging, conversational manner. It also includes bouts of fiction, brainstorming, Internet weirdness, puns, and a general enjoyment of the intersection between the written word, film, story, and meaning.

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Episode 67 – The Once and Future Podcast

Foretold by prophecy and brought forth from its pleasant village in the Woods of Tranquility to liberate the Intrawebs from the forces of evil memes, Episode 67 is here! To guide it upon its hero’s journey, guides Nick and Tim train it in the ways of the

Episode 66 – Gentlemen, Start Your Story Engines!

People say there are only nine basic plots. They say stories can be broken down into tropes and stereotypes and MacGuffins. Well, Tim and Nick say, “That sounds like a good episode topic!” So listen in as they discuss the skeleton of a story, the primal p

Episode 65 – Of the World and Everything in It

Worldview. It’s one of those terms thrown around by people who like to talk about big ideas. So, of course, Tim and Nick have decided to talk about it. Every story presents a way of looking at the world. How can a reader/viewer navigate these different po

Episode 64 – Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink

“Show, don’t tell.” It’s a rule pounded into storytellers, and for good reason. Many great stories are marked by the raised eyebrow and the evocative phrase, the shimmer of recognition in the hero’s eyes and the tantalizing hint of a dark past. In other w

Episode 63 – Orchestrating a Plot

Music is called the universal language; therefore, it would be remiss to discuss storytelling without discussing the way music undergirds so much of modern multimedia art. And Nick and Tim would never dare be remiss. SO! This is an episode about how music

Side Track 7 – The Force Awakens

If you’ve ever listened to Derailed Trains of Thought, you know that Tim and Nick mention Star Wars almost every episode. If you’re not living in a cave, you know that a new Star Wars movie just came out. I’ll give you three guesses what this Side Track d

Episode 62 – ‘Tis the Setting

It’s that time of year, the time we’ve been waiting for for months. Yep, that’s right, it’s finally Christmas! (Also: Star Wars opening!) As you settle down to watch your favorite Christmas movie (also: space opera), one thing you’ll notice right away–th

Episode 61 – Shut Up and Buy My Book

There are many ways to promote yourself and your work in this modern connection economy. The first step is to NOT do what the title of this podcast says. Don’t be that guy. Seriously. The next step is to listen in as Tim and Nick stumble into author Natha

Episode 60 – The Story Goes Ever On And On

You may have noticed, if you’re especially perceptive, that there are a lot of story franchises and long-running shows around. For instance, there’s some sort of space opera coming out with its seventh episode this December. Seven episodes? Seriously? Isn

Episode 59 – Creativity is Nine-Tenths of the Law

Once upon a time, a young man found a story in the woods. He fed it and raised it and, when it had grown, he let it out into the wild. Later, a band of merchants tamed the story and took it with them on their tour of the world. Boys and girls everywhere l