Fiction: Ken Liu

Expertise: Brooke Macnamara

We've just finished the fiction series, so it's time for another meta episode! Dr. Brooke Macnamara is an associate professor of psychology at Purdue. She works on expertise, skill acquisition, and achievement, and we have a great conversation about how expertise research works (and where it falls short), talent identification, and much more. Links: * Dr. Macnamara's faculty page [https://hhs.purdue.edu/directory/brooke-macnamara/] * The Skill, Learning, and Performance Lab [https://hhs.purdue.edu/skill-learning-and-performance-lab/] * Deliberate Practice and Performance in Music, Games, Sports, Education, and Professions: A Meta-Analysis [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614535810] * Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550188/range-by-david-epstein/] * The Tyranny of Talent [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Tyranny_of_Talent/3jKizwEACAAJ] Credits: * Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/puzzle-pieces/]

Fiction: Gwenda Bond

Gwenda Bond has written across a range of genres and media, alone and collaboratively, and for licensed properties including Lois Lane and Stranger Things. This week, we discuss the value of constraints and the joy of finding that one reader who connects with the story you're trying to tell. Links: * GwendaBond.com [https://www.gwendabond.com/] * Gwenda on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/gwendabond/] * Gwenda on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/gwenda.bsky.social] * Gwenda's newsletter [https://gwendabond.substack.com/] Credits: * Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/puzzle-pieces/]

Fiction: Ken Liu

Ken Liu is an author of award-winning short stories and novels, and has thought deeply about what it means to write fiction well. In this episode, we talk about language as a tool, and about the author as someone with the responsibility to use that tool to help people see things in a way they otherwise couldn't. Links: * Ken Liu on the web [https://kenliu.name/] * Ken's newsletter [https://kenliu.substack.com/] Credits: * Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/puzzle-pieces/]

Fiction: Chris Huisjen (Aest Belequa)

This week, we're talking to Chris Huisjen, who writes serial fiction online under the pseudonym Aest Belequa. We discuss the difference between serialized fiction and traditional work, how he's built his writer's toolkit, the importance of receiving and, especially, providing feedback, and exploring themes and tropes. Links: * Aest Belequa on Royal Road [https://www.royalroad.com/profile/278050/fictions] * Aest Belequa on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/AestBelequa] * Magical Girl Undergrad book 1: Heroics 101 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D38TFFMP] * The Halcyon System [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/86614/the-halcyon-system-anomalous-apocalypse-litrpgb1] * Dungeon Tour Guide [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/58768/dungeon-tour-guide-a-dungeon-core-litrpg] * Scholomance book 1: A Deadly Education [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609361/a-deadly-education-by-naomi-novik/] Credits: * Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/puzzle-pieces/]

Fiction: Andrea Phillips

This week's conversation is with Andrea Phillips, novelist and storyteller across prose, games, and immersive experiences. We talk about the importance of the audience in good writing, the value of commercial speech, writing across different media, and collaboration, among other topics. Links: * Deus ex machinatio [https://deusexmachinatio.com/], Andrea's blog * A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Creator_s_Guide_to_Transmedia_Storytel/3QQ3vr6OBZoC?hl=en] * The Daring Adventures of Captain Lucy Smokeheart [http://lucysmokeheart.com/] * America, Inc. [https://deusexmachinatio.com/blog/2020/6/15/america-inc] * The "you might be the killer" Twitter thread → movie, discussed [https://reactormag.com/chuck-wendig-sam-sykes-viral-horror-twitter-you-might-be-the-killer-trailer/] Credits: * Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/puzzle-pieces/]