In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to debate the use of the present tense as a main narrative tense in fanfiction, and its opposition to the more 'traditional' past tense. They discuss the prevalence of this 'trend' in young adult original fiction in recent years, and why they believe it permeated fanfiction in the mid to late 2000s. Jo defends her love for the present tense, both as a reader and as a writer, whereas Lani expresses her more reserved attitude towards this shift. 

Your recommendations for this week are:

• The Song of Achillesby Madeline Miller - recommended by Lani and everyone else on the internet. 
• none of this is serious by Catherine Prasifka - recommended by Jo as a book that uses present tense as a great narrative device, and which also fits her obsession with stories of how social media has changed our lives

You can find Jo and Lani online at:

• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to chat about the portrayal of romantic relationships in fanfiction, also known as “shipping”. They discuss the importance of romance in fandom, the high popularity of gay pairings in fanfiction (especially male/male pairings), and debate what they believe even qualifies as “romantic” in writing. Lastly, they talk about writing non-romantic fanfiction content, also known as “gen,” and why they both gravitate towards it, these days.

Your recommendations for this week are:

• Desperadoby fluorescentgray (HP, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin) - recommended by Lani for its treatment of romantic settings
• All Involved by Ryan Gattis - original work recommended by Lani, deals with the 1992 riots in Los Angeles
• We Had to Remove this Postby Hanna Bervoets - original work recommended by Jo, deals with content review in social media

You can find Jo and Lani online at:

• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) talk about original characters in fanfiction. They discuss how they come up with them, how they name them, the purpose they can serve in fanfiction, and touch upon the somewhat controversial subject of self-inserts and "Mary Sues." They also talk about the differences between fanfiction and original fiction when it comes to writing characters, and about the different techniques writers can use to craft well-rounded protagonists.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• random name generator
• the sorting hat chats personality "test"

Our recommendations for this month are:

• My Dad Wrote a Porno - for the lolz and how not to write porn
• British Scandal - for bits of British history, great storytelling, and food for the brain

You can find Jo and Lani online at:

• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

If you have any feedback, suggestions, or if you want to be featured on the podcast, please feel free to let us know by PM-ing us, or sending us an ask!

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to chat about how they come up with new ideas for fanfic, their relationship to plotting and outlines, how they usually try and dig themselves out of plot holes, and the value of getting comments from their readers as they go along. They also go on a rather long tangent about a condition Jo has, called “aphantasia,” and how that impacts her writing style.

Your recommendations for this month are:

• Knowing Where To Look by ala_baguette for some HP post-war politics and an unusual POV
• The Lincoln Lawyer (TV Series); The Lincoln Lawyer (Film); The Michael Haller book series by Michael Connolly for food for thought on the topic of variations around similar characters/themes.

You can find Jo and Lani online at:

• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down for a general chat about fanfiction, original fiction and the origins of the podcast. They discuss discovering fanfiction as kids with unsupervised internet access in the 2000s, what it means to write fanfiction as adults, and how blurry the line between fanfiction and original fiction can be.

Your recommendations for this month are: 

• The Elements of Style by Strunk & White for writing and stylistic tips!
• dirgewithoutmusic on AO3 for excellent, non-cliché HP fic
• the divine comedian also on AO3 for someone so good they could get published if they filed off serial numbers

You can find Jo and Lani online at:

• Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
• Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3