• different kinds of monsters
• the history of monsters
• best monster books
• how to design a monster for your story

We talk about:

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Green Knowe
• Arcane Houses of London
• The Haunting of Hill House
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Hogwarts
• Baba Yaga
• The Hobbit
• Grail Legends
• Condor Peak

• the interplay between plot & character
• how to get character to do unusual things & stay in character
• what 'breaks' a character
• how to design interesting characters

We talk about:

• Ursula le Guin
• Tolkien
• Genre conversions
• LOTR and Figwit
• Surprising & delighting readers - without losing them
• Stringing people along for the payoff

We talk about:

• the different levels of pet peeves
• how you can't please everybody (so don't try)
• the curse of knowledge (and how it can ruin an otherwise good read)
• the rule I use when parsing beta reader feedback
• and many more peeves...

• how our previous jobs (architecture, theatre) shaped our writing
• how hobbies (classical music, surfing) shapes writing
• the role of the narrator/director in a story
• the architecture of story

We talk about:

• Fan fiction
• Harry Potter, Draco/Hermione, Draco/Harry Potter
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Da Vinci Code
• The disco ball of theme
• Dark romance, Damseling, & Stockholm Syndrome
• Vorkosigan Saga - Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith
• BBC Sherlock & Queerbaiting
• Greek concept of multiple forms of love
• The Hobbit movie

• Pride & Prejudice
• A Civil Campaign
• Pygmalion
• Steering the Craft - Ursula le Guin, Left Hand of Darkness
• Gaslamp Fantasy vs Comedy of Manners vs Fantasy of Manners
• Oscar Wilde
• Gaudy Night
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
• The Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin
• The Secret of Monkey Island
• Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall
• Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
• Embodying the characters while writing vs method acting