Speculative Sandbox

Fantasy author and Shakespeare teacher David Hopkins joins the podcast to talk about the twisted paths of succession. From George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” to HBO’s “Succession”, what makes an effective succession story? We’ll discuss the types of characters that make good contenders, real-life succession stories, and the ways writers can make the succession journey as messy as possible.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

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Continuing our talk from our episode "Madness", Ian Young returns to the podcast to talk about "Mass Hysteria." What did the term "hysteria" originally mean? And does a panic on a large scale always have a scientific explanation?

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

What is scifaiku and astropoetry? Wendy Van Camp, Poet Laureate for the City of Anaheim, CA, joins the podcast for a poetry reading and lesson. Participate in the lesson! Read the words submitted by our listeners below, write your own scifaiku, and send it to vickielan@gmail.com or direct message Speculative Sandbox on Instagram. We'll share your poem on social media!

Sci-fi trope:

• Cybernetic implants

• Aliens are humans

• Time travel

• AI goes rogue

• Fish out of water

• Robots

• Evil aliens

• The ghost in the machine

Emotional words:

• Tearful

• Distraught

• Horny

• Anxiety/Anxious

• Somber

• Exhausted

Season/time:

• Serendipity

• Birth

• Spring

• Winter

• Autumn

• Dusk

• Crack epidemic

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Could we one day customize our own bodies? Author and podcast host Jordan Griffin joins Speculative Sandbox to talk about gene-editing. How close are we to science fiction? We break down the science, including CRISPR technology, genetically-modified foods, and the ethical concerns of human experimentation.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

From combatting systemic oppression to leaning into gender stereotypes to solve the case, female sleuths tend to find themselves in interesting situations. Author Brittany Sweeting joins the podcast to talk about female sleuths! We discuss famous characters like Nancy Drew, Enola Holmes, and Jessica Jones, as well as break down the difference between an amateur sleuth and detective. Finally, we explore real-world sleuthing, including social media and safety in the age of modern dating.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Author and robot enthusiast Mara Lynn Johnstone joins Speculative Sandbox to unpack the character development opportunities of fictional robots. From killing machines to tools and the childlike mind, what kind of character arcs can authors explore to give their robots depth? And does a self-fulfilled robot serve humanity's needs?

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Can we always trust what we read? Author and podcaster Garrett K. Jones joins Speculative Sandbox to unpack the unreliable narrator. Whether it’s due to exaggeration, madness, naivety, lying, or having an outsider’s perspective, the unreliable narrator will leave the reader guessing and, to some extent, questioning their own sanity.

Memory lapse: Which book did Vickie have to stop reading because it was so triggering? It was #fashion victim by Amina Akhtar!

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Author Matthew C. Brown returns to the podcast to discuss the redemption character arc! We cover the important characteristics of a redeemable villain using examples in fiction, as well as discuss characters who didn't deserve their redemption arc and characters who should've been redeemed, but weren't.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Author Neal Holtschulte returns to the podcast to discuss the latest developments in artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT and its impact on writers and industry professionals, how A.I. is portrayed in speculative fiction compared to real life, and whether or not A.I. has actual feelings.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

The butler did it! Or...did they? Author Gabrielle Chmilar joins the podcast to investigate the usual suspects in a "whodunit" mystery, as well as the plot structure that allows authors to truly surprise their readers in the second-half of the story.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Whether you're writing about paranormal investigations or are simply curious, author and paranormal investigator Daniel Bautz joins the podcast with a wealth of information that will inspire even the non-believer. We'll walk you through the investigative process, including what to expect when you're on a haunted site, the best tools to use, and the types of encounters. Daniel even assesses a ghostly encounter that Vickie Lan had in her childhood home, with chilling results.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Fantasy Author and Podcaster Richie Billing joins Speculative Sandbox to talk about music and storytelling, where we cover musical history, character leitmotifs, genre sound coding, and the psychological benefits of music.

MUSIC NOTE: It wouldn't be an episode about music without music! As much as we would love to feature the actual music mentioned in this podcast, we simply don't have the licensing :) Thank goodness for stock music. Music credits: Soundstripe, Motion Array.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

[Originally published March 30, 2022] Ghostwriter and editor Leslie Hinson joins Speculative Sandbox on the search for immortality. Like Dorian Gray and his aging portrait, how do different characters avoid death? How does legacy building ensure our future? And what happens when someone else takes control?

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

[Originally published April 20, 2022] Greek mythology set the standard for many story tropes and character archetypes seen in today’s fiction. From tragedies to triumphant battles, petty arguments to unrequited love, the Greek Gods continue to leave a lasting impression because they are undeniably relatable. USA Today Bestselling Romance Author Carly Spade joins Speculative Sandbox to talk about the allure of the greek gods, their shadier pasts, and her approach for retelling their stories to a modern audience.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

[Originally published September 13, 2022] Author Rob Hart explores the horrors of working in an Amazon-esque corporation in his dystopian thriller “The Warehouse”. Learn about the real-world conditions and events that influenced this book, Rob’s world-building strategies, and how to create a complex billionaire villain. How far away are we from a corporatocracy? And...how can we prevent one? 

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Author John James Minster takes over the podcast this week to examine Edgar Allan Poe. 

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

[Originally published April 6, 2022.] Thomas More coined the term "Utopia" in his 1516 book of the same name, but is it really the ideal place to live? Author Jacob Devlin joins Vickie Lan in a discussion about fictional utopian societies, what makes them wonderful at first glance, and what makes them terrifying once you read between the lines. 

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

What does the High Evolutionary and Nazi Germany have in common? The "playing god on society" trope is prevalent in both fiction and real life, and for speculative fiction writers, it's an opportunity to examine the systems and world-building that enables such villainous acts. Disclaimer: this episode briefly summarizes some of the horrifying events that happened during the Holocaust.

Speculative Sandbox is for entertainment purposes only. This is a volunteer-run program. Opinions expressed by individuals on the podcast are their own.

Main cover art illustrated by Sofia Hansson

Individual episode covers feature royalty-free photography from Pexels.com or Canva. 

Links:

Got a graveyard of WIPs in your Google Drive? #WriterProblems

Caitlin Fisher first came on the show to discuss time travel tropes and is back again to talk about the process of writing a first draft and how they help coach beginner writers to finish their first drafts in the face of imposter syndrome, comparison, and self-doubt. 

Listen in to learn: 

• How to stop being an "aspiring" writer and claim the title of writer 
• The change to their writing routine that allowed them to write 104k words in a year, up from approximately 0
• When to stop learning HOW to write and learn BY writing
• How to shift from hustling perfectionist to balanced storyteller
• The importance of taking breaks for integrating your new skills