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Episode 27 – All You Need is Love?

Happy Valentine’s Day (or Singles Awareness Day)! Seeing as the calendar reads February 14, we finally give up our pride, and our prejudice, and examine the idea of romance in fiction. In Story School, author Dawn Crandall shares experiences gleaned from

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Episode 28 – Of God and Supermen

Greetings, faithful listeners! This episode, Tim and Nick examine how belief interacts with fiction. How does God appear in stories? How do you tell the Truth when you’re making things up? Also mentioned: aliens, superheroes, and, as always, the Doctor. W

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Episode 39 – That Was Easy…a Little TOO Easy

We all love our ah-ha! moments. We like plot twists and seeing set-ups pay off. That medallion of his dead wife he wears under his shirt? Yep, blocks a bullet in the final battle. But when do these drama conventions become too convenient? And how to avoid

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Episode 40 – Of Making Many Books There Is No End

‘Tis the season, and if you’re like us, you’ll end up with books and movies beneath your tree. But in a media-saturated culture, how do you navigate among the millions of choices for entertainment and art? Well, lucky for you, Tim and Nick have decided to

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Episode 70 – Invaders, Neighbors, and Gods

“You probably thought you saw something up in the sky other than Venus, but I assure you, it was Venus.” -“Jose Chung’s From Outer Space,” The X-Files Perhaps you aren’t a true believer like Mulder, but even you must admit that aliens of all shapes and si

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Episode 87 – Adventure is Out There!

Whether it’s through a portal, across the sea, among the stars, or deep into the earth, we all dream of going on an adventure. That’s why so many stories are concerned with adventures, and why Timothy and Nick tackle the genre–along with guest Greg Meyer

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Episode 88 – Are You a Hack, a Savant, or What?

So, you’ve created something. Great job. Don’t you know that someone else has already done it better and that you’re a sorry excuse for an artist and that you’ll never compare with the greats out there? Truth is “creatives” always compare themselves to ot

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Episode 96 – You Got Me Monologuing!

It might be a rant, a heartfelt reminiscence, a personal reflection, an exposition dump, or a rousing speech, but whatever it is, there’s something special about one character taking a minute (or ten) to share what’s on his mind. This episode, Nick and Ti

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Episode 99 – The Hype is Real!

IT’S HERE! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? IT’S REALLY HERE! EPISODE 99 OF THE WORLD’S MOST AMAZINGLY AWESOME PODCAST ON STORYTELLING! IT’S THE GREATEST! IT’S STUPENDOUS! AFTER YOU LISTEN TO THIS, YOUR LIFE WILL BE COMPLETE! Now take a breath. This episode in Story

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Episode 109 – Answering the Call of the Wild

Has urban life made people soft? Does living off the grid make you one with Nature? Does eking out an existence on a deserted island improve your moral character? Following up last episode’s discussion on nature, Tim and Nick examine how characters are ch

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