The Creative Writer's Toolbelt

This is a bonus episode, featuring an interview with the British Science Fiction writer Alastair Reynolds. In this interview we discuss Al's advice to aspiring SciFi writers, the state of Science Fiction literature, and why the future doesn't have to end up in the hands of flesh eating zombies.

In this episode we condense about 2,300 years of story theory into ten minutes(!) and then look at four practical lessons we can apply to our writing, including how to make a great first impression with an opening line, why it's so important that we get our work into the best possible state, and how to tell whether a clever plot element really is as clever as we think it is.

How do you start a story? With a compelling opening line, of course. In this episode we will look at how you can write a great opening line, what the most important objective for an opening lines is, and how the dimensions of story can help you. We'll have a look at some great opening lines from literature, and a couple of bad ones that I've made created just for the episode!

This episode is a "must listen" for all writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. My guest is Jeanne Cavelos the primary instructor and Director of the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust. In her role Jeanne directs the Odyssey Writing Workshop; a six week intensive course - the only workshop of its kind run by an editor. In this interview Jeanne gives us tips on planning versus pantsing, world building and character development and tells me about the single biggest problem she sees in the manuscripts that she reviews.

What is foreshadowing? How does it work, and how can you use it to enhance and enrich your writing? In this episode we will look at the different types of foreshadowing, how they can empower your writing, and how to use them to best effect

What's the most important thing in creating a plot and story development? It's knowing your guiding principle, or 'Controlling Idea' as the master of story telling,Robert McKee, calls it. In this episode we identify what that guiding principle is, and why it's critical to your story.

You know that feeling, you are about 20k to 30k words in to the story, and you suddenly begin to wonder where it's all going. Is this story really any good? Is it even worth you finishing it? These are all classic symptoms of the mid-story crisis, and in this episode we explore what that crisis is, and how you can resolve it.

This is a guest episide with Ottawa-based storyteller and science-fiction/fantasy writer, Marie Bilodeau. Marie's writings have been nominated four times for Canada's biggest SF award, the Aurora Awards. Her new dark fantasy series, Nigh, is about to be released. She's told stories across Canada in theatre houses, tea shops, bars and under disco balls. Find out more about Marie, her writings and upcoming shows at www.mariebilodeau.com.

One of the more contentious debates in creative writing is the question of whether authors should plan and outline, or simply go with the flow and dive straight in to their writing. In this episode we look at both sides of the argument and try to pick the best from both.

Continuing our review of the essentials of plot, in this episode we look at the things you need to deal with early in the story, namely setting out the main storyline and setting the core expectations and boundaries for your reader.