Dissecting Dragons

Episode 455: Tangle Bottles & Bone Charms - Everyday Magic in Folklore & Fiction

It's time for episode three of the dragons' spooky season extravaganza and don't be deceived by the title. Folk Magic can go to some pretty dark places... This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at a magic system that relies on mundane objects and folk knowledge. In fact this type of magic is, on the surface, so mundane that many people would argue that it's more superstition than a magic system. It forms a backbone in many folk horror and dark fantasy stories and even creeps into sci-fi and urban fantasy. So where does the magic of the mundane originate from? What is its logic? And how do you incorporate it in your own world building?

On the slab this week - October Daye - Seanan McGuire, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Practical Magic and many more.

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Episode 544: The Uninvited Guest - Unseen Entities and Invisible Fear in Myth and Modern Horror

Continuing their spooky season, this week the dragons pose a question: what's more frightening? The object of terror can see or the entity you can't?

A fear of non tangible threats is baked into the essential human make up - we would hardly have survived to evolve as we have if our ancestors had not had the capability to 'what if' about predators concealed in shadows or long grass. This is reflected in fairy tales, folklore, gothic fiction all the way up to modern horror. Jules and Madeleine delve into how this trope hits the fear centres in the brain and how you as a writer can use it. On the slab this week - The Invisible Man - H G Wells, The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters, It Follows and many more.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Episode 453: The Outsider - When the Gothic meets the Contemporary

The dragons are back just in time for spooky season. They are naturally kicking off their favourite season with a new slant on and old favourite subject - the Gothic. But what exactly do 'outsiders' have to do with Gothic literature? As it turns out, quite a lot. Jules and Madeleine take a joyful autumn romp through this little mentioned but essential ingredient of the genre from it's literary inception up to its quirky, spooky modern day equivalent.

On the slab this week classics such as Dracula, Frankenstein & Jane Eyre, as well as Penny Dreadful, the Addams Family and Wednesday.

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic.

 

 

Episode 452: A Bull on the Tongue - 10 years of Writing

Approximately ten years ago, both dragons signed their first publishing contracts. Since then it's been a riotous series of highs and lows and new adventures - including the creation of this podcast. This week, Jules and Madeleine look back over the last decade. Would they have written their first books the same way if they'd been writing them now? What is the relationship between writing and creativity and where does creative inspiration come from? Where do they see themselves going in their writing from here? And just what is good etiquette around reviews? Join them for a semi- biographical episode about the ups and downs of being a writer.

(Please note this is the last episode of this season - the Dragons will be back in October for spooky season)

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

 

Episode 451: The Work place dystopia - The soul crushing reality of the modern workplace in SFF - part 2

Part Two of a Two Part Episode

 

Continuing on from last week's examination of how depictions of the work place in fiction have transitioned over the decades from daily grinds where hard work will reward the worthy to places where you can find fun and family (if you're a team player) to recent depictions of bleak office hellscapes where baffled, exploited employees are required to perform a series of increasingly bizarre and senseless tasks (Severence - we're looking at you), this week Jules and Madeleine delve into the archetypes of this genre. Why might you want to write an anarchist or a saboteur? Why is sci-fi such good fit for telling workplace stories and why might you want to write one? And just what can we learn from these stories?

Under the microscope this week: Severence, Fight Club, Squid Game and many more.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Episode 450: The Work place dystopia - The soul crushing reality of the modern workplace in SFF

Part one of a two part episode

Sci-fi and fantasy have portrayed many workplace settings over the decades - engineers and pilots on space craft, for example, or fairy smiths and kitchen witches in fantasy. However while fantasy has been leaning into the idea of leaving unfulfilling work and finding a perfect cosy profession, sci-fi has been delving into the nightmare of the bad workplace. This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at the common criticisms and fallacies of the workplace highlighted by  fiction, and just why this is finding an avid audience now.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Episode 449: The Crumbling Castle - Disney's Downward Spiral

Disney, purveyors and creators of magical family friendly (mostly) entertainment have existed through an interesting and checquered 9 decades. The company is responsible for some of the most beloved fairytale retellings and pioneered the animated feature film. However, it's not all magic kingdoms and pixiedust. As with all multi billion dollar corporations, there's a dark side.

The company has shapeshifted several times over the decades and interestingly, it seems to be undergoing a change again right now. Whether that will be for good or ill remains to be seen. This week the dragons look at why Disney might have a creativity problem and why the family friendly image is more of a facade than ever. 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Episode 448: Unbelievably Popular - why do bad books become best sellers?

Have you ever picked up a book, full of anticipation, only to quit 100 pages in? Or maybe you read the whole thing and were left annoyed and baffled when you reached the end? Welcome to the baked in cognitive dissonance of the bookish community. Uber hyped books can turn out to be...bad. Not just bad in your opinion but objectively bad when employing the metrics of writing skill, storytelling and production values. So why exactly are they selling millions of copies? This week, Jules and Madeleine delve into the roots of this question. Is it really a matter of opinion? Can you measure the fitness of a book based entirely on measurable considerations? Is it ever fair to call any book bad? Join the dragons as they interrogate their own beliefs on the subject.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic 

Episode 447: Wit & Readability - 250 years of Jane Austen

If you've noticed all the celebrations, new editions of Austen's work, new adaptations and not a few arguments over issues which seem to amount to 'who's the biggest fan?' then you may have an inkling that it is a major Jane Austen landmark this year. 

Celebrating the 250th year since Jane Austen's birth, the dragons have decided to do their own thing and judge a pageant of Jane Austen adaptations in film, TV, theatre and book form, in an effort to find their own favourite adaptation of Austen's work.

Under the magnifying glass this week - 1995 Pride & Prejudice, Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility, Bridget Jones' Diary and many more. 

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

 

Episode 446: Getting Your House in Order - Writing as a Career or a Serious Side Gig

Making a living from writing comes with practical considerations which the actual creative process doesn't prepare you for (probably). This week Jules and Madeleine delve into how to be a healthy creative ( spoiler alert: sleep is really important), what you need to consider when planning your finances, what legal considerations you need to bear in mind and a variety of other issues which writers often blithely ignore. We know. We did.

Join the dragons as they talk candidly about the less glamorous side of being a writer. 

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic