Tag Archives: Hannibal

by | December 20, 2016 · 3:18 am

Episode #69 (Dudes!): Antagonists, Villains, and the Writers’ Challenge

With weeks remaining in 2016, we find ourselves hitting the show landmark that makes us both snigger like fifth graders: SHOW #69!!! We’re not talking about sex, erotica, or naughty bits. We are looking at the antagonist. Sure, the antagonist is a villain, but a villain is not always your antagonist. What are the challenges you face when developing the foil to your protagonist? Where is the line drawn between the mustache-twirler and the complicated antagonist?

Let’s talk about how good it is to be bad…

00:00 —  Introduction

  • As we have said before, we are twelve years old…
  • Can you feel the excitement over Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2?
  • Groot. The new Hodor.
  • Nobilis Reed, celebrating a new book and a new house!
  • Show #69? Do we talk about sex, baby? Do we talk about you and me?
  • No, we actually decided to take a high ground for this show, and go low…

02:28 — Episode #69: Antagonists, Villains, and the Writers’ Challenge

  • One writer’s villain is another’s antagonist…sometimes, according to Miss Fancy Pants.
  • New drop-in’s are getting a workout.
  • Tee has already talked about the importance of developing your villains, but it’s worth returning to.
  • This is Pip’s current dilemma in her new fiction coming in 2017. (Something to look forward to…)
  • If you want to know more about editor-of-infinite-awesome, Jennifer Meltzer, pay her a visit at One-Stop Writer Shop!
  • What is Pip’s villain lacking?
  • Pardon the Galaxy Quest tangent…
  • Pip can do villains and antagonists. Look at Geist and the other Books of the Order.
  • Worthy to note: Mysteries handle antagonists different than Epic Fantasy.
  • Then you got antagonists within antagonists ala The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
  • Tee & Pip audition for a Metallica tribute band.
  • Antagonists risk going neglected when “pantsing” through a work-in-progress.
  • The value of having a focus with your antagonist
  • No SPECTRE without Earnst Stavro Bloefeld
  • Lessons in antagonists from William Shakespeare
  • A turning point in the development of the game, Destiny.
    • The Fallen. Bad Guys. Eh.
    • Then we meet the Taken King…
      There’s your focus.
  • Making antagonists sympathetic
    • Done right: Loki and Marvel’s Thor
    • Done wrong: Vader and the Star Wars prequels
  • More on an antagonist’s focus
    • The lack of focus in Star Trek: The Motion Picture versus KHAAAAAAANNNN! 
    • The Phantom Menace. What was it again?
  • Antagonists as the central character of your property
    • Dr. Hannibal Lecter
    • Walter White
    • Dexter Morgan

24:57 — Writers Off the Clock

  • Pip tries to bleep herself. She fails.
  • The creepiest cover of “Edelweiss you will ever hear…”
  • Amazon Studios’ The Man in the High Castle
  • Talking about Dick
    • Lou Anders says it best…
    • Some great films coming from Philip K. Dick’s concepts
  • The details add a degree of creepiness.
  • A quick run-down of the cast form The Man in the High Castle
  • The story of The Man in the High Castle
  • It’s worth Amazon Prime just to have access to this!

34:41 — Voicemail

  • We had dinner with Nobilis…and told him “Share this with the show!”
  • Steve Saylor asks for our favorite Dungeons & Dragons stories.
    • We’re RPGing again, and you can hear all our current adventures at the Geek Wolfpack Podcast
    • Pip’s Memory: When Ashimei enjoyed her own “Leeroy Jenkins” moment…and some things still never change.
    • Tee’s Memory: When Eryk can’t hit the broadside of a barn. The next week, though, Tee goes all John Woo on the “hobogoblins” in range…
  • Nobilis Reed has a new book out…and he asks about shipping books and how you work it into the cost of a book.
    • Pip is a big fan of using Indica.com or Stamps.com, especially when it comes to shipping from our online store.
    • Flat rates are best for domestic shipping for one book.
    • Going international? More than one book? Well, there’s a grey area…

48:13 — Wrapping up

  • Not done yet with 2016!
  • We’ve got some bonus audio we are going to throw in to a feed for the holidays! Thanks for hanging out with out this year!
  • Best. Year. EVAR! For posting shows, that is…
  • ONE MORE SHOW for 2016…with K.T. Brisket. (Sorry, K.T. Bryski.)
  • What we have coming up in 2017…
  • What was your favorite or most informative show in 2016?
    • Call us at 703.791.1701 (now accessible through the Instagram app!)
    • Send Tee email — tee@teemorris.com
    • Send Pip email — pip@pjballantine.com
    • …or find us on social media everywhere.
  • Join us for our final show of the year featuring 100% MORE CANADA! 

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Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

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by | April 23, 2014 · 3:20 pm

Episode #33: Game of Thrones, Hot Buttons, and Responsibility…from a Writer’s Point-of-View

 

TSD-overtheshoulder

SPOILER ALERT!

SENSITIVE TOPIC ALERT!

PIP RAGE ALERT!

Good. I think we have covered everything.

With Tee and Pip flying solo in studio, the original topic for The Shared Desk is set aside for the controversy and the (important) debate fans, geeks, and writers of Game of Thrones have been engaging in since Sunday night. Has everything that could have been said about what happened in Westeros been said already?

Tee and Pip don’t seem to think so…

00:00 — Introduction

  • Angry drop-ins set the tone for this episode
  • Where are our in-studio guests?
  • What has Tee been working on since the last show?
  • Pip refuses to slow down after the launching of Dawn’s Early Light.
    • Pip’s Kickstarter story, Tangi A Te Ruru/The Cry of the Morepork featuring Aroha Murphy, is close to release. 
    • Her latest idea combining early Hollywood and Mesopetanian Gods has been submitted.
    • Continuing development on Immortal Progeny, and Silver Pharaoh featuring Verity Fitrzroy and the Ministry Seven.
  • There’s another idea in the mix about a social media guide for writers…

6:20 — Game of Thrones, Hot Buttons, and Responsibility…from a Writer’s Point-of-View

  • Multiple Alarms for this Shared Desk…
    • Spoilers Ahead.
    • Hot Buttons Ahead.
    • Trigger Warnings.
    • If this kind of talk bothers you, please, JUMP AHEAD TO TIME MARKER 38:49
  • THAT scene from last Sunday’s Game of Thrones from both a fan’s point-of-view and a writer’s point-of-view.
  • Jamie rapes Circe.
    • It was rape. Pure and simple. We’ve established this.
    • Since Sunday, the Internet has lost its mind over this episode…
    • …but a LOT has happened over three seasons, hasn’t it?
  • Comparing the book to the miniseries. Not much better.
  • Back on the project organization…
    • Lauren does the longhand approach.
    • Pip can’t read her own handwriting, but she still grabs random scraps of paper to get notes down.
    • Tee prefers the digital approach to notes.
  • One issue (of many) that Tee has with the scene/episode: It’s being handled by George R.R. Martin and HBO terribly.
  • Westeros — not the safest place to be…
  • Tee and Pip agree — Circe did not ask for it.
  • Is anyone really “entertained” by rape?
  • Tee (and Chuck Wendig) go on record about Jamie that few (if any) admits to with Jamie — people started to LIKE and TRUST Jamie Lannister.
  • Pip goes into the relationship of Jamie and Brianne.
  • Jamie Lannister. Not really a nice guy.
  • Jamie Lannister in the baths. Okay, we LIKE him.
  • Tee spells out Jamie’s rough and bumpy homecoming, and shows the build-up and the psychological snap that led to this moment.
  • Where did Tee get his degree in Psychology? The ID Channel, of course.
  • Comparing Jamie Lannister to Ted Bundy. (Yeah, we go there.)
  • Fans don’t understand why “good” characters make terrible choices.
  • Jamie doesn’t know what true honor is.
  • Should rape be addressed in fiction or in movies, television, and other mediums?
  • Tee really doesn’t like “entertainment” used in the same sentence as “rape.”
  • Pip echoes Chuck’s opinion while playing the Woman Card.
  • Rape as a character flaw…
  • ….and how Vikings plays rape strictly as a character flaw, and offends both Tee and Pip
  • No kidding, Pip and Tee have been talking about this FOR DAYS!
  • The difference between the Angle-Saxon Princess and Jamie Lannister — we got to know him.
  • Does this episode of Game of Thrones mean we as writers should not write about these topics? Not at all.
  • Tee lays himself on the chopping block with Legacy of Morevi…which he wishes GRRM and HBO would do.
  • If you’re going to write about ugly issues, prepare to research things you won’t like to research.
  • Showing love for Hannibal…and recognizing the difference between serial killers and rapists.
  • Be aware of your audience.
  • We love Vikings…but we didn’t care for this particular moment.
  • Take responsibility for your writing and understand the impact of your words.

38:49 — The Wrap-Up

  • That bumper music feels a little inappropriate, doesn’t it?
  • YES! We want your feedback! On this topic…or others.
    • 703.791.1701
    • Leave us comment here!
  • This podcast needed to happen. Words have weight.
  • Where will we be in the next few weeks?
  • See you in two weeks!
  • And if you’re still listening to us after this show, thanks!!!

 

Featured People in this podcast:
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Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

 

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