Easier Said

Chekov's Gun. 

Three-Act Structure.

The crew returns to discuss the power of story structure. We also ask - what's the best theory of story structure? How do you reach satisfying setup and payoff?

Host-notes: Always remember. It's like poetry. It rhymes.

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NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

Soundwright Spotlight is a new show from Conceit Media looking at the art of audio drama. 

In this episode, we talk to the creators of the Victorian Sci-Fi/Steampunk sage, the Tales of Sage and Savant.

Creators Eddie Louise and Chip Michael share what that led them to create the Tales of Sage and Savant. 

They also share their advice to writers, audio dramatists, and all creators working right now. 

For more, follow the show on its own channel!

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NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

A look at season 2 of Easier Said is now here! Get ready for new conversations about story structure, the influences on Star Wars, storytelling in music, and film adaptations of video games and theme park rides!

Follow us on Facebook and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Not just movies but TV as well is up for grabs in an episode that is sure to provoke thought, if not fury. The gang ambles around a bit with the vast, encyclopedic wealth of knowledge in the world these days, but ultimately gets back on track with a discussion of techniques, ideas, and innovations in the history of visual media. Included in this is film, TV, and video games, and the worlds they explore and the genres they do it through. Are Seinfeld and My Name Is Earl two halves of the same coin? What is the beauty of Bioshock, and is Fallout's music uninspired and unrealistic? Should we clone John Lithgow? Is Shrek about the freedom of man before the institution of government? Will our grandkids be cyborgs? Can movies be both meaningful and entertaining? 

These are the questions we answer authoritatively and conclusively in the latest episode of the Easier Said podcast.

Host-notes: A goose only has violence in its heart, and man-flesh in its mouth.

Food-for-thought: What are you putting in your soup? Hopefully not rocks, right?

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

Director's cuts. 

Various versions of Justice League.

Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, the Coen Brothers.

How does the sausage get made? The process of making art is different in both film and literature, of course, but how does the end process turn out differently between one person's singular vision vs. a creation that can be broken down into various contributions? Both involve writers, editors, and creators working together for the purposes of achieving the end goal. Is there a superior route between the two? How is theme and consistency affected?

And a more important question:

Are you contributing to our puppet fund?

Let us know if you want to help us build a wonderful day in the neighborhood in our After-Show by emailing us at easiersaid.podcasting@gmail.com.

Latest musings: Should you kill your darlings? And can you get away with it in court?

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

Have you ever wondered what our art says about the times we’re living in? Or what the art of our forebears said about their day and age? In this episode of the Easier Said podcast, we travel the highways and byways of interpreting stories, literature, movies, propaganda, and paintings as they interpret the past.

Host-notes: So… was Rome founded by demigods?

Writing a book is a long struggle into a realm of possibilities, dead ends, and misguided dreams. It's like taking a nose dive into a briar patch, but somehow rewarding. That being said, this episode begins with the simple question: for all of our favorite authors' struggles to craft their work, how could they have done better? We'll answer that question with all the hubris we can muster in the latest episode of Easier Said.

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

The gang gets into a bout of fan commentary on improving favorite movies with great potential - while sporadically going on tangents about the Platonic forms.

We’re ready to lay it out there discussing Treasure Planet, Star Trek, and Harry Potter, to name a few.
Needless to say, when talking about fixing movies, you know what we’re going to talk about. We’re gonna top it all off with a healthy discussion of fixing Star Wars.

Content warning: Zardoz is discussed in this episode. You’ve been warned. It’s your life.

Host notes: Memes aren’t about the senses, they’re about the soul.

In the words of Doctor Nuvo Vindi, “Yah yah yah!”

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

The world is full of variation after variation of fairy tales. Yet in a way, today, we take the Disney versions to be the definitive versions of the stories. In this episode, we go into the techniques and ideas behind rewriting stories from the past, and how their adaptation shapes our culture. 

Quote of the day: "The NCR could just defeat Caesar and going on living its happy little, California, two-headed bear life."

Gone is the age of truth. Now is the age of memes.

What stories would make great adaptations that remain unadapted? Let us know what you think: easiersaid.podcasting@gmail.com

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!

In our inaugural episode, we discuss what film series have continued for too long, and which ones there have not been enough made of. Which franchises have endured for too long, and which franchises have gone away too soon? We’ll discuss!

Join in the discussion by emailing us:

easiersaid.podcasting@gmail.com

Host-notes: Clayton makes the case to cast Nick Offerman as Mr. Beaver in the Netflix Narnia series.

Remember:

Maybe the real stink was the friends we made along the way.

________________________________________________________________________

NEW — Become a Renaissance Writer

renaissancewriters.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Clayton is organizing a writers group and class centered on bringing together novelists, short story writers, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and more to break down the barriers between story forms and spark insights.

Come think outside your toolbox with us! Sign up now for the newsletter and get the course overview ahead of time!