Chris's Idea Engine Podcast
Episodes
140 episodes
First Story, First Kiss
I chase the feeling I get the first time it worked out for me. But like a first kiss is not the same as a relationship, writing a story is not like being an author.
What's the Best Use for an Outline?
Sure, you can use it to prepare your story, but I've got a different use for it that may be more helpful.
The Novice Writer: Finding Beauty
Mentally, seeking beauty (and being open to whatever form it takes) helps you as a writer.
The Novice Writer: Go For a Walk
Besides exercise being good for your body, walking in particular is great for the writing brain.
The Novice Writer: Handwriting or Typing?
What's the difference between the two? Handwriting works great for drafting ideas, and typing is great for developing the story.
The Novice Writer: Copying Stories
Copying Stories should be like copying the artwork of a master. It isn't copying to claim the work, but to follow the master in their results. Like handwriting, or "do what I do" for writers.So don't be ashamed to copy what som...
The First Draft: On Writing From the Mind
Final thoughts on turning your idea into a written project. Write down everything, pick it what's important later. Practice much. Good luck.
The First Draft: From Picture to 1000 Words
When you try to turn an image in your head into a story, what are some things to consider?
The First Draft: Drawn Stories
How's are graphic novels different from written stories?
The First Draft: Video Games, Options, and Writing
Thinking of your story like a video game (sometimes) can solve a lot of writer's block issues.
The First Draft: Video Games and Side Quest Stories?
When your world is too big for one story, how do you explore it without losing focus? You make "side quests."
The First Draft: Video Game Stories
How are video games a way to tell stories? What makes them different from movies and books?
The First Draft: Audio to Book
A few tips for turning audio stories into written stories, mostly limitations.
The First Draft: Audio Stories
Even longer than people have written stories, they have told stories. What are some of the unspoken features of the world of audio stories?
The First Draft: Movies vs. Books? Pictures vs. Words?
If I'm a visual imaginer, and my stories are visual when I first conceive them, how do I turn that into words?
The First Draft: Movie as a Medium of Art
When a picture is with a thousand words, that saves a thousand words of work. Plus you can do things visually that you can't on paper.
The First Draft: Writing as a Form of Storytelling
What are the features, strengths, and weaknesses of the written word?
The First Draft: Why Your Story Never Turns Out How You Imagine It
Hint: you aren't writing it down, you are changing it from one media form to another. Like a book turned into a movie, or vice versa, taking your story from how you imagine it to how you express it... Well, it won't be the danger b...
It Was All a Dream? When It Works
The trope isn't a lost cause. There t ick is to give the dream meaning.
It Was All a Dream? Examining a trope
What is the problem with this trope? And how can it be fixed?
Selling Your Stories?
A little input on making good stories to, hopefully, sell.
Meta-Fiction, and How It Messes With Your Head
What is Meta-Fiction? And why do I enjoy writing it so much?
Why Writers "Nerf" Their Stories
Why make a feature suddenly weaker, or a smart character suddenly rather dumb? It's a problem that should be fixed in the second draft, but often isn't.