Email your show feedback to fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord. Our prompt this week can be found here.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians is hosted by Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find more episodes of this podcast on both our feed and InBetweenDrafts.com.

Email your show feedback to <a href="mailto:fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com">fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com</a> or <a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2">join our Discord</a>. Our prompt this week can be found <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasywriters/comments/1fsodfe/how_can_i_avoid_my_main_character_being_cliché/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">here</a>.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians is hosted by <a href="https://jonnegroni.com">Jon Negroni</a>, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find more episodes of this podcast on both our feed and <a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com">InBetweenDrafts.com</a>.

Whether you're a beginner fantasy writer or maybe even a barbarian, Fantasy Writing for Barbarians can help take your story to some exciting new worlds. Hosted by Jon Negroni and produced by Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock.

Whether you're a beginner fantasy writer or maybe even a barbarian, Fantasy Writing for Barbarians can help take your story to some exciting new worlds. Hosted by Jon Negroni and produced by Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians

InBetweenDrafts is a new destination for the endlessly curious. Founded by the former editors at The Young Folks, we cover the latest news and entertainment across film, books, television, games, music, and more.

InBetweenDrafts is a new destination for the endlessly curious. Founded by the former editors at The Young Folks, we cover the latest news and entertainment across film, books, television, games, music, and more.

InBetweenDrafts

How to avoid writing clichéd main characters

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians, Jon talks about the frustrating gap between recognizing that your work could be better and actually knowing how to improve it. He breaks revision down from the scene level to the paragraph and sentence levels, explains why developing an “ear for story” differs from polishing prose, and makes the case for learning storytelling while you draft instead of blindly assembling thousands of words.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians,&nbsp;Jon talks about the frustrating gap between recognizing that your work could be better and actually knowing how to improve it. He breaks revision down from the scene level to the paragraph and sentence levels, explains why developing an &ldquo;ear for story&rdquo; differs from polishing prose, and makes the case for learning storytelling while you draft instead of blindly assembling thousands of words.
Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com&nbsp;or&nbsp;join our Discord (<a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)">https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)</a> and let us know what's on your mind.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians&lsquo; host is&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>, author of&nbsp;The Pixar Theory,&nbsp;Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on <a href="https://ceteramagazine.com">Cetera Magazine</a>. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/in-between-drafts/playlists/fantasy-writing-for-barbarians">here</a>.
Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>

“Just Finish the First Draft” Is Usually Bad Writing Advice

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians, we unpack what happens when you approach a novel like a TV show that hasn’t been filmed yet. Jon digs into “TV brain prose,” a common problem among aspiring fiction writers whose scenes rely on camera-like description, character blocking, visual information, and dialogue that sounds better with an imaginary actor performing it.

Here's a link to the reddit thread referenced in this episode. Special thanks to listener Matt who shared this with us.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians,&nbsp;we unpack what happens when you approach a novel like a TV show that hasn&rsquo;t been filmed yet. Jon digs into &ldquo;TV brain prose,&rdquo; a common problem among aspiring fiction writers whose scenes rely on camera-like description, character blocking, visual information, and dialogue that sounds better with an imaginary actor performing it.
Here's a link to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/1rr46ku/i_suffer_from_the_tv_brain_prose_problem_and_im/">the reddit thread </a>referenced in this episode. Special thanks to listener Matt who shared this with us.
Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com&nbsp;or&nbsp;join our Discord (<a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)">https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)</a> and let us know what's on your mind.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians&lsquo; host is&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>, author of&nbsp;The Pixar Theory,&nbsp;Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on <a href="https://ceteramagazine.com">Cetera Magazine</a>. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/in-between-drafts/playlists/fantasy-writing-for-barbarians">here</a>.
Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>

The Problem With “TV Brain Prose”

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide.

On this week’s Mad Men Men podcast, we dig into “Commissions and Fees.” A.K.A. the devastating penultimate episode of Season 5. Yes, it's the episode where Lane’s financial crisis reaches its breaking point. Meanwhile, Don rediscovers his appetite for the work, and Sally takes another painful step toward adulthood.

If you’re new here, Mad Men Men covers Mad Men from three angles. First, we have a first-time watcher (Will Ashton). Then, we have a first-time rewatcher (Mike Overhulse). Finally, we have the guy (Jon Negroni) who watches Mad Men often enough to understand commissions. Though the fees remain a mystery...

EXTRA CREDITS

Matthew Weiner created Mad Men, which aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015. The show stars Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Robert Morse, and many more. Our intro music is “Mad Men Men” by Tom Davidson, which is an original remix of the show’s opening theme “A Beautiful Mine” by RJD2. Podcast illustration is by Jon Negroni. Our podcast hosts include Jon Negroni (Podcast Editor of InBetweenDrafts), Will Ashton (cohost of the Thank God For Movies podcast), and Michael Overhulse (a guy who’s addicted to working at startups).

We’ll be back soon to discuss Season 5 Episode 13, titled “The Phantom.” Subscribe to Mad Men Men on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever else podcasts are, ahem, advertised.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide.
On this week&rsquo;s Mad Men Men podcast, we dig into &ldquo;Commissions and Fees.&rdquo; A.K.A. the devastating penultimate episode of Season 5. Yes, it's the episode where Lane&rsquo;s financial crisis reaches its breaking point. Meanwhile, Don rediscovers his appetite for the work, and Sally takes another painful step toward adulthood.
If you&rsquo;re new here, Mad Men Men covers Mad Men from three angles. First, we have a first-time watcher (Will Ashton). Then, we have a first-time rewatcher (Mike Overhulse). Finally, we have the guy (Jon Negroni) who watches Mad Men often enough to understand commissions. Though the fees remain a mystery...
EXTRA CREDITS
Matthew Weiner created&nbsp;Mad Men, which aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015. The show stars Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Robert Morse, and many more. Our intro music is &ldquo;Mad Men Men&rdquo; by Tom Davidson, which is an original remix of the show&rsquo;s opening theme &ldquo;A Beautiful Mine&rdquo; by RJD2. Podcast illustration is by Jon Negroni. Our podcast hosts include <a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>&nbsp;(Podcast Editor of&nbsp;InBetweenDrafts),&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/iamwillashton/">Will Ashton</a> (cohost of the Thank God For Movies podcast), and <a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/moverhulse/">Michael Overhulse</a>&nbsp;(a guy who&rsquo;s addicted to working at startups).
We&rsquo;ll be back soon to discuss Season 5 Episode 13, titled &ldquo;The Phantom.&rdquo; Subscribe to Mad Men Men&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mad-men-men/id1631961565">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4Fz9ohgwzqZDWS1PTDSI4F">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNjJhOTUxMTAtMDQ5My00MDg2LWJmOGUtYTcwOTAxNmNmMDY1LzVhMGY2MTljLTY1NjktNGQwMS1iNDcxLWFlYzIwMDEzNTdmNC9iYTE0YmFkNS1hNmVmLTRkZDMtYTY2MS1hZWMyMDAxNjE1MjkvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M%3d">Google Podcasts</a>, or wherever else podcasts are, ahem, advertised.

How to avoid writing clichéd main characters

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