We've got a great potpourri episode for you this week! We start by talking about characters turning from bad to good and the reasoning behind this trope, and then we expand into a variety of related topics, like overly worrying about including tropes and watching as new owners destroy old properties!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠

Hoooo, boy... have we got something for you today.

Imagine a blogpost that looks like a basic writing tip... Now imagine that the "tip" comes all the way at the end, and is preceded by a bunch of crazy, awful nonsense that makes you think it was written by AI.

...Bad AI. Maybe the internet really is dead.

Behold! The Uncanny Valley of Blogs!

https://medium.com/educreation/unpacking-engagement-in-reading-and-writing-through-storytelling-and-mastering-context-cues-532f3c3e4324

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, we're talking a bit more about common obstacles for the writer. Everything from tracking (or not tracking) word counts to worrying too much about reader reviews is covered!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠

This week, we're talking about the problems that arise when "Achievement Culture" hits literature. There is a significant group of people who want writing simplified and dumbed down. They want this because it would make it easier for them to claim to have read certain "important" books.

We oppose this, in the same way we oppose turning the first few beautiful paragraphs in Lovecraft's The Beast in the Cave into "I was lost in a cave."

Lots of fun tangents this time, too, including thoughts on shrinking attention spans, the issues with multitasking, common core mathematics, and more!

Also referenced:

My series on Murray Rothbard's book America's Great Depression

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0StR9W2bZ4&list=PLdRgEGhb-VVCKc-W9GVExldr1B42m_t5j

Rinkworks' Movie-a-Minute

http://rinkworks.com/movieaminute/

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode we're talking about magazines, both paper and electronic!

Justin picked up a couple and spent some time perusing the racks, so he's got some up-to-date data for us!

How long are the big paper magazines going to stick around? How many of them are actually profitable? We'll talk about this and more!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠

Today we're talking about how some people say you shouldn't read certain authors because of their opinions on some topic.

Of course, this is nonsense.

We cover several different authors and their opinions, and conclude that yes, you shouldn't let your distaste for some of their thoughts prevent you from reading their stuff.

Also, to borrow a line from some indie creators: Monetize your haters!

Check out Rudy's review of George Orwell's Road to Wigan Pier:

https://mises.org/mises-wire/review-orwells-road-wigan-pier

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, we're diving into the first book in the Slayers series, and discussing the positive and negative points of the animated adaptation!

What we find is that the adaptation is, in general, pretty close, but the perspective of the book limits it in some ways, while the audience of the anime limits it in others!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠

In contrast with our coverage of Fer-de-Lance last week, this time we're covering one of Rex Stout's later Wolfe books, Trio for Blunt Instruments.

Rex Stout published about one Wolfe book per year, and most of them were full-sized novels, but a significant fraction of them were collections of two, three, or four shorter, self-contained novellas: Kill Now, Pay Later; Murder Is Corny; and Blood Will Tell.

Yes, we will be talking about the corn recipe in Murder Is Corny, as well as a little talk about another celebrated detective: Hercule Poirot.

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠

The first Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout. The quintessential American murder mystery. Fer-de-lance (no, you aren't pronouncing it right) is a solid introduction to the characters that solved murders every year for forty years!

We're big fans of Rex Stout, especially the Nero Wolfe series, and we thought it would be fun to cover this great book!

Also, Saul Panzer is an exceptional man. He can fly.

Who else is appalled at the slow death spiral into irrelevance of Doctor Who and Lucasfilms?

Consistency is important in writing (obviously) because it creates stakes and characters who a reader can care about long-term.

Doctor Who and Disney have chosen the path of inconsistency, leading to a loss of viewer investment.

Plus, a series of unanswered mystery boxes is no way to create a story.

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠