So I'm Writing a Novel...

In which I discuss Climate Fiction with scifi luminary Kim Stanley Robinson. Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection (Also available everywhere people find podcasts) The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy The Friends of Merril New Edge Sword & Sorcery (that magazine Oliver mentions he's making)

It's "Magazine Month" on SIWAN this February, which we're kicking off by interviewing Graham and Caitlyn, two thirds of the people behind a new Sword & Sorcery magazine which debuted in the summer of 2022 - OLD MOON QUARTERLY! Their Website (Twitter and Instagram) www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

A brief intro to the host and concept of the show, So, I'm Writing a Novel... PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Meet host Oliver Brackenbury as he introduces the podcast, himself, and the titular novel "Untitled Sword & Sorcery novel". He also discusses the genre of sword & sorcery, then shares his experience working with an editor on the short story which become the first chapter of the novel. It can be lonely writing a novel, and Oliver would love some company. Maybe, through the podcast, you'll join him? Want to see inside The Denim Notebook Oliver mentions, the one where he's outlining the novel? Check out this public blog post over on the show's Patreon! www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver shares with you the path he took from being inspired by a famous painting, through to his creating the protagonist of "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Voe, roughly nine years later. He also answers a listener question about best practices when soliciting and receiving feedback on your work. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver discusses what a short story cycle is in novel form, his initial brainstorming of stories to include in his novel, and reclaiming dry or even dispiriting material from your school days as a source of pleasure later in life. This episode's listener question comes off of episode two's discussion of protagonists, with Oliver answering in further detail how Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter inspired him, and why he's been drawn to write several protagonists birthed from that inspiration. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Concerned about just creating a shallow expression of the genre, and wanting to better understand what he likes about sword & sorcery before going further in outlining "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Oliver compares and contrasts Robert E. Howard's The People of the Black Circle with Lin Carter & L. Sprague De Camp's Conan the Buccaneer to see what he can learn from it. You, dear listener, may wish to read the former (available for free online), but absolutely don't have to in order to enjoy this episode.  In the listener question segment Oliver speaks more about anxieties that have made writing difficult, and how he overcomes them (most of the time). At the absolute end of the episode, Oliver also reads his favourite scene from People. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver discusses how, after the initial sugar rush of brainstorming for the novel, he stepped back to make several important decisions that would help keep him from getting lost while finishing the outline of the novel, as well as writing the dang novel itself! This involves choosing tense, perspective, primary POV, theme, all that good stuff, as well as discussion of having a healthy attitude toward writing advice, and your own ever-evolving approach to writing. In the listener question segment he discusses when to call on the services of a story editor, and how he's found the ones he's worked with. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

In this episode I share the essay I found that helped me envision the ending of the novel, an almost anti-sword & sorcery essay, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K Le Guin. First I read it to you (click here if you want to read it yourself), then get into how it helped me see the story I want to tell so much more clearly. Then in the listener question segment I discuss how I discovered, and was drawn to work with, a remarkable speculative fiction archive, The Merril Collection. In this I promise some links, which are as follow: The Merril Collection: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/merril/ The Merril Collection Digital Archive: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?Erp=20&N=38537+38532&view=grid Friends of Merril: https://friendsofmerril.org Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection podcast: https://unknownworlds.podbean.com www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Okay, NOW I read to you the short story that birthed this novel writing project, "Voe". I'll also explain why I've waited this long, provide commentary on my decision-making while writing "Voe", and discuss how this episode marks an important point in the progress of both podcast & novel. I will also reveal my greatest strength, which is also my greatest weakness. In the listener question segment I'll discuss ways I've worked out which idea I want to write when I feel stuck between several, and get into the "Study the Market vs Write What You Want" debate. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver gets into universal translators and "The Common Tongue", Robert Howard's prose, reads a few cool paragraphs by Howard and a handful of his S&S contemporaries, gets into writing while not being entirely aware of the precise terminology for the techniques you're using, our old friend racism, and doing your best to avoid the inherent potholes in representing large groups as separate species instead of simply humans with a different culture. In the listener question segment Oliver answers a request for details on how many short stories will make up Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel and how much variety there will be between them in length & tone. And here's, as promised in the episode, a link to where you can read The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith for free. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

In this episode Oliver gets down to the task of choosing exactly what stories are going to go into this short story cycle of a sword & sorcery novel, discusses the importance of order of information, figuring out the word count he wants to aim for and more. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

In the show's first interview, Oliver speaks with two authors whose work - The Red Man and Others - not only entertained him, it provided him with a great deal of hope for his own novel-in-progress and the future of sword & sorcery in general. Aside from Red Man, they discuss being a couple who also write together, what they like & dislike in author's public presences, the very concept of writing advice, and more. Buy The Red Man and Others on Amazon in paperback & eBook formats. Doesn't matter what country you're in, you can get it from Amazon.ca, .uk, etc You can also check out their blog, Turnip Lanterns, as well as find both Remco and Angeline on Twitter. Their linktree is also a good hub for all links related to them and their work. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver looks at the risky proposition of mixing some scifi in with his fantasy via the sub-sub-genre known as Sword and Planet, explores S&P and makes some recommendations, then walks you through the thought process that got him to the kind of S&P story he'd like to tell in his Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel. He also tries to be "a good podcast boy", whatever that is! www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Author of the recently concluded Ring-Sworn trilogy, editor of the most excellent sword & sorcery magazine Tales of the Magician's Skull, and teacher of a heroic fantasy writing class Oliver recently attended (the next session just opened to registration), Howard Andrew Jones has been a source of inspiration, knowledge, and encouragement for Oliver while our earnest podcast host has worked on his book. In this conversation they cover a lot of ground about the sword & sorcery genre and writing in general, including Howard's personal definition of S&S, when origin stories are necessary or just tacked on, Robert E. Howard's classic Conan short story The Tower of the Elephant, and a whole lot more! You can find Howard on Twitter, Facebook, and his personal website. His new book is When the Goddess Wakes. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Oliver chats with you about how easy it is to miss putting Zelda lore in your non-Zelda stories, the deadly disease known as "Wikipedia Mouth", and other aspects of how he handles research for writing fiction. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Outlining the rest of the book has begun! Oliver walks you through how he outlined the second story in the novel, currently called "The Woman Who Floated Through Time", which includes discussion of whether or not characters should change over the course of a story, templates vs writing prompts, when its time to really break down who your protagonist is, "poop pipes", and more. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

This time around we're outlining story number three in our sword & sorcery short story cycle! Oliver introduces you to the marvelous book which made him want to tell this story, thrusting his protagonist Voe into the middle of a mighty battle between empires in the absolute meat grinder of a canyon floor with arrows raining down from either side! He then goes on to dissect the mentor/mentee relationship, share a formative story from his very Canadian youth (yes, it involves ice skating), and Ursula K Le Guin rears her head once more as Oliver looks to one of her better quotes for a great theme to explore, in which the very idea of deserving is framed as a fake idea. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

This time around we're outlining story number four in our sword & sorcery short story cycle! Oliver sets out to write a sword & sorcery love story, but is that what he ends up with? He also gets into that time the rural Canadian mafia murdered Oliver's brother because his parents wouldn't give them gold, knowing when to break your own format, the dangers of trying to will what you want into existence, and, as always, more. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

With this, the fifth short story, we've reached the end of the first act! In Disgrace the Stone, the outlining of which Oliver will share with you, Voe is finally a "hero" as she's struggled to be but the events of this story will change her mind about that being what she wants. The brainstorming for this story involved an unexpected intersection between the webcomic Achewood, Leonard Cohen, and the pandemic (though this isn't a plague story, have no fear). This sent Oliver off on a journey that involved putting the this tale down for an entire year before coming back to finish it, providing unexpected benefits as well as a lesson in why it's important to always make very clear notes so that future-you can easily pick up where they left off...no matter how long it's been. www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury