Posts Tagged: ‘tropes’

Trends and Tropes of Our First 25 Episodes

August 29, 2012 Posted by Dave Robison

statisticsFriends, this is just fabulous. Peter Ellis – whose name you may recognize from the many insightful comments he’s contributed to various posts – has indulged in some statistical research and presented us with an intriguing gift: A breakdown of the stories that we’ve workshopped!

With Brion and I having our heads “deep in the weeds” and focusing on individual episodes, we can’t always see the trends and cycles of the stories we’re engaging with each week. It’s enlightening to be provided with a birds-eye view of the genres, themes, and tropes that have been workshopped on the show.

In the first 25 episodes, we have workshopped: (more…)

Workshop Episode 2 (Guest Host: Nathan Lowell)

March 13, 2012 Posted by Dave Robison

Workshop Episode 2 with Nathan Lowell and Tristan GregoryThe quest for literary gold continues, and this time we have the pleasure of sharing the mic with Guest Host (and confessed “binge pantser”) Nathan Lowell.  Joined by writer Tristan Gregory sharing an epic scifi story idea, the dialog spans such intriguing topics as aliens embodying the human condition, pacing, and finding the smaller story. (And don’t miss Nathan’s Showcase Episode)

PROMO: The Flash Pulp Podcasthttp://flashpulp.com/

Workshop Episode 2 (Guest Host: Nathan Lowell)

[warning: contains mature language]

Play

Hey! You can check it out on iTunes, too! (more…)

Don’t Let Tropes be Traps

January 21, 2012 Posted by Dave Robison

“If we let the tropes and set-pieces of our chosen genre define and limit our work in it, then we’ve surrendered the only real power we have as writers and artists… to CREATE!  The best works of fiction don’t just affirm our beliefs and awareness, they expand them.”

“Trope” is a word that has seen a major spike in usage recently.  Its strict definition is “a figure of speech” but it’s taken on a much larger scope of late, expanding to encompass “theme” or “set piece” or even “cliché” and is applied to film, television, literature, and any other storytelling medium.  I prefer “genre archetype” but that’s just me.

But readers have a love-hate relationship with tropes.  (more…)