Rock

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

Read More

Episode 55 – Why Don’t You Just Write Already?

Writer’s Block. You’ve had it. I’ve had it. Everyone’s had it, except possibly Isaac Asimov. The solution, of course, is to just start writing, but that’s like saying the best way to find patience is to wait for it. So, can podcast hosts Timothy Deal and

Read More

Episode 51 – Wanted: Three Ghosts for One Night Job

“There goes Mr. Humbug. / There goes Mr. Grim. / If they gave a prize for bein’ mean, / The winner would be him.” Everyone knows it’s not Christmas without Ebenezer Scrooge, so we’re examining A Christmas Carol this December as we discuss the presentation

Read More

Episode 50 – Guest Starring…Everybody!

This is it, the show you’ve been waiting for–the 50th episode extravaganza! Join Tim and Nick and a boatload of guest stars as they lead you through a double-length whirlwind tour of the many segments, past and present, that make up the one, the only, th

Read More

Episode 49 – Write It Again, Sam

Writing is revision and a movie is discovered in the editing room. Or so “they” tell us. Isn’t vision enough? If not, how do we go about casting our re-vision anyway? Tim and Nick take up the topic with their usual flair in Episode 49 of Derailed Trains o

Read More

Episode 42 – Why We (Don’t) Create

It’s no secret Tim and Nick like to create. I mean, they’ve recorded more than 40 podcasts discussing the art of storytelling! But every creative person has a reason they create. And every creative person has multitudes of excuses for why they don’t actua

Read More

Episode 41 – Can’t See No Forest For All These Trees

We all have our little pet scenes and characters. You know, that one line you’ll watch again and again or that minor villain you write long fan fictions about because he’s just SO COOL. Then there’s costumes design of the palace guards (which is just so t

Read More

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

Read More

Episode 26 – Capers, Chaos, and Pythons…Oh My!

KA-POW! In this episode of Derailed Trains of Thought, Tim and Nick–BAM!–fight their way through the–BANG!–dangerous question of what–RAT-TAT-TAT!–makes action awesome. TICK. And what makes it–SNICK! ARGHHH!–just a mess of dead bodies. TICK. Also,

Read More

Episode 20 – Everything But the Kitchen Sink

In honor of the podcast’s first anniversary, we’ve sent our previous episode descriptions through the blender and come up with this: Hello, there! Have we got an original for you! The perfect cure to your sterotypical, connect-the-dots podcast! This episo

Read More