Speculate!

Welcome to Episode 76 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we present the final installment of our triptych of shows on the work of Tim Powers with a discussion of some of the writing techniques used in his latest novel Hide Me Among The Graves, looking at the artful use of mystery, creating and fulfilling an implied contract between writer and reader, immersing oneself in the world being created, learning the value of both giving and receiving critiques, and being comfortable with the kind of writer you are–all things represented by and in Tim’s work.  If you like what you see and hear, don’t forget to check back in two weeks when we’ll talk about the joys and sorrows of writing workshops with veteran writers (and fellow Codexians) Cat Rambo and Luc Reid.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

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Join Greg and Brad as we talk writing using Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm’s short story collection, The Inheritance & Other Stories, as inspiration. We talk about writing “the other” with low human-oriented reference, altered awareness as story scope expands, character arcs, and more. We also give, and allow us to repeat it here, a huge thank you to all our supporters who gave us a nod in the Hugo preliminary voting. Here’s hoping we make it onto the short list, but either way, we couldn’t have gotten here without your help. Thanks for your comments and for spreading the word as far as you have. We appreciate it very much.

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Welcome to Episode 64 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode, our final one of 2012, we conclude our triptych of shows on Joe Abercrombie‘s Red Country with a discussion about some of the specific writing techniques used in the novel, examining aspects of setting, character development, determining the place of a book’s characters in the world they inhabit and the importance of writing what you love.  We conclude with wishes for a happy and peaceful holiday season, never more necessary than in the wake of the horrific tragedy at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut; we pay tribute to the victims at the end of the episode.

If you like what you hear, please spread the word, and thanks for all your support in 2012.  We’ll be back in the new year with new shows examining the speculative fiction genre which we love.  Until then, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!

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Welcome to Episode 59 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we conclude our triptych of shows on the Beneath Ceaseless Skies magazine with a look at a few of the specific writing techniques used in the stories from the two issues we discussed during this series, focusing on ways to establish tone through language, work against reader expectations, use vignettes to engage the reader, and put together surprise endings–ones which don’t have to rely simply on the progression of the plot.  If you enjoy the conversation, don’t forget to check back next week for an interview with urban fantasy authors Amber Benson and Anton Strout.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

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Welcome back for Episode 54 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we conclude our quadtych of shows on the work of Saladin Ahmed with a look at some of the specific writing techniques used in his debut novel Throne of the Crescent Moon, focusing on narrative pace and character description, misdirection, filling in the world, character development, and cultural portrayals.  If you enjoy what you hear, don’t forget to check back soon for a series of short interviews from GenCon and the Wellspring workshop.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

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Welcome back for Episode 48 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we conclude our series of shows on the work of Ian McDonald with a look at a few of the specific writing techniques used in The Dervish House, particularly his approach to cinematic writing, evoking all the senses, worldbuilding and atmosphere, using contrasting characters and points of view to establish a (reasonably) objective truth, and not being afraid of science–or even educated guesses about what science might reveal in the future–in writing science fiction.  If you enjoy what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our series of short interviews from Origins 2012.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

(Side note:  During the show Brad refers to a roundtable he recently participated in over at SF Signal with a host of SFF luminaries including Elizabeth Bear, Charles Stross and recent Speculate! guest Rob Ziegler, moderated by Jeremy Lassen.  There are a lot of interesting insights to be gleaned from the discussion, and if you find today’s episode interesting we recommend you head here for more.)

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Welcome back for Episode 44 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we conclude our series of shows on the work of Rob Ziegler with a discussion of some of the specific writing techniques used in his book Seed, looking at how gutsy writing with an attention to narrative voice and tone, muscular prose laced with moments of grace, and unity of message and theme makes Seed as good as it is–and how you might be able to use such techniques in your own work.  If you enjoy what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our interview with Brent Weeks, author of the Night Angel trilogy and other books.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

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Welcome back for Episode 37 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we conclude our series of shows on the work of Mark Hodder with a discussion of some of the specific writing techniques used in his book The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, looking at how the use of characters as foils, attention to theme, meditations on empire and other aspects of writing make Strange Affair such an interesting and enjoyable book…and how aspiring writers can learn to apply these techniques in their own work.  We’ll be taking a break next week, but if you enjoy what you hear don’t forget to check back in two weeks for an interview with artist Todd Lockwood, and be on the lookout for our interview with Brandon Sanderson.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

(Side note: As you’ll hear at the end of this week’s show and will be seeing in more detail in an upcoming post, Speculate! is eligible for nomination in the Best Related Work category of the Hugo awards.  Obviously there are a lot of worthy candidates to be nominated for something like this, but we thought you might not know if we didn’t say that we’d love to join that list.  So if you’re a member of last year’s, this year’s or next year’s Worldcon, please head over to the official site before March 11, 2012 and consider nominating us (and others of the many choices in all the categories) in the Best Related Work category…and thanks!)

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Welcome back for Episode 33 of Speculate!  The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we’re proud to present our first annual Year in Review show, in which (after wishing ourselves a very happy birthday) we discuss how the show has progressed over the past year and touch on the various episodes we released in 2011, from reviews to interviews to discussion about writing techniques and everything in between, before talking briefly about what’s on the docket in 2012.  We’re very pleased with how everything has turned out so far, and most of the credit for that goes to the authors, artists and editors we’ve had the good fortune to discuss and interview…and, of course, our listeners.  Thanks so much for continuing to tune into the show, and please continue to spread the word about us in 2012!

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Welcome back for Episode 29 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  This week we conclude our series of shows on Night Shade Books‘ anthology The Book of Cthulhu with a discussion about some of the writing techniques used in the stories we focused on during this sequence.  We enjoyed reading this anthology a great deal, and if you have even a faint interest in cosmic horror (or, you know, just don’t feel like getting on the wrong side of the Elder Gods) we highly recommend you check it out.  If you enjoy the discussion, make sure to check back next episode as we conduct a couple of short interviews while we gear up for our next book sequence on Mark Hodder’s The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack.  Until next time, thanks as always for listening to the show, and please continue to spread the word!

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