Ep 28 – Kinship in Kholtum – So I'm Writing a Novel…

In this episode Oliver tells you all about how he outlined the origin story for his protagonist’s new friendship, a friendship that would be at the heart of a whole quarter of the novel’s stories.

This involves discussion of consulting others when you’re feeling lost trying to make a vital decision, puppetry (and avoiding obvious metaphors), elements by which two friends might bond, differing attitudes toward killing for your protagonists, what if DUNE’s Bene Gesserit wanted to sell weed, the ol’ “They meet in a tavern…” routine, Beer Street and Gin Lane, Bound 2 (?), using index cards to help keep everything you need in front of you, hitting a major progress point in the novel, and more!

Plus there’s a LISTENER QUESTION, gosh we like those, to do with how far up the line of human history you can set a story (or base the secondary world setting of a story on) and still have it feel like sword & sorcery.

Mentioned in Oliver’s answer is Howard Andrew Jones’ breakdown of how he defines sword & sorcery as a genre.