Releasing your inner dragon

Marie Mullany & Maxwell Alexander Drake

Maxwell Alexander Drake and Marie Mullany talk about story creation. Contact them at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)com. Drake, in addition to teaching creative writing around the world, is an award-winning novelist and former Lead Fiction Writer for Sony’s EverQuest Next. He's also written for other game properties like Shadowrun, written comic books, stage plays, musicals, sold movie scripts, and is currently producing an animated TV show that he's written and directed titled GUARDS! Marie Mullany is the author of Sangwheel Chronicles and YouTuber of the fantasy world building channel, Just In Time Worlds. We hope you enjoy this episode! Connect with Drake at www.MaxwellAlexanderDrake.com or https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com. Connect with Marie at https://www.mariemullany.com/ & YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds. read less
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Mistakes writers make in creating tension and how to fix them
1w ago
Mistakes writers make in creating tension and how to fix them
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss the different kinds of tension you can use in a story, in a scene or in a chapter. They cover the common mistakes both plotters and pantsers make and how to fix them. Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Mistakes writers make in creating tension and how to fix them
1w ago
Mistakes writers make in creating tension and how to fix them
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss the different kinds of tension you can use in a story, in a scene or in a chapter. They cover the common mistakes both plotters and pantsers make and how to fix them. Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Unresolved themes are a problem
Nov 15 2023
Unresolved themes are a problem
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss the problem with accidentally introducing very heavy themes into your world and then just not addressing them. Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Plotting a novel - Sometimes the better ending requires major changes
Nov 8 2023
Plotting a novel - Sometimes the better ending requires major changes
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss plotting the second book in the Skies of Destiny series. In this episode, they hit their heads against a wall of disagreement multiple times... Until suddenly....magic happens :D Check out how they do it and learn by example.Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
The problem with inflicting nothing but misery on your characters
Nov 1 2023
The problem with inflicting nothing but misery on your characters
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss why they've stopped reading some of the grimdark authors out there and why readers lose faith with authors who just hurt their characters and never pay it off. Learn how to pay it off when you do terrible, terrible things to your character and leave the reader satisfied with how the book turned out. Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Plotting a Book - Make Sure you like your tropes!
Oct 25 2023
Plotting a Book - Make Sure you like your tropes!
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss plotting the second book in the Skies of Destiny series. In this episode, they explore various potential overcomes and endings. They talk about the tropes that would result in and if that is the tropes they want to use. Check out how they do it and learn by example.Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Making believable fantasy worlds & characters
Oct 18 2023
Making believable fantasy worlds & characters
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss what believability in fantasy and sci-fi.  Follow along as they plunge into rabbit holes about building characters and how to keep the reader's trust. Marie's IndieGoGo Campaign: https://igg.me/at/the-lion-vessel/x/27732935#/Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Plotting a Book - Transitioning from Act 1 to Act 2
Oct 11 2023
Plotting a Book - Transitioning from Act 1 to Act 2
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss plotting the second book in the Skies of Destiny series. In this episode, they focus on what you need to make Act 2 work and the importance of thinking about the type of characters you want to include. Check out how they do it and learn by example.Also includes a discussion on how awesome Ted Lasso is :DWriter's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/ Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Writer's Craft - Chapters, Scenes and Dialogue
Oct 4 2023
Writer's Craft - Chapters, Scenes and Dialogue
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss what makes a scene, what makes a chapter and how to punctuate dialogue. Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
One hundred hours spent on the craft of writing
Sep 27 2023
One hundred hours spent on the craft of writing
Edit: Had a snafu with the upload (because of course), if you're hearing the previous episode repeated, try to get the episode again. Join Drake and Marie on the 100th episode of Releasing Your Inner Dragon where they discuss the journey of the podcast, the technical production of the podcast and what they've learned from the last two years. Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Writer's Room: https://writersroom.mn.co/Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Writer's Craft - Punctuation for Prose (because it is important)
Sep 20 2023
Writer's Craft - Punctuation for Prose (because it is important)
Join Drake and Marie as the discuss punctuation including commas, semi-colons, em-dashes, sentence structure, paragraph structure and capitalization! Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Plotting a Book - Character Motivation and Story Threads
Sep 13 2023
Plotting a Book - Character Motivation and Story Threads
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss plotting the second book in the Skies of Destiny series. In this episode, they focus on the call to adventure, building story threads into the world for future use and most importantly, character motivation. Even the motivation of secondary characters are important to make your plot robust! Check out how they do it and learn by example.Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Writing a story: But why do I have to do that?
Sep 6 2023
Writing a story: But why do I have to do that?
Join Drake and Marie as the discuss the orphan trope, how to write dialogue and when to summarize. They don't just list the rules, but plunge into the reasons why those rules exist in the publishing industry and when to break them.Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Plotting your Second Book - Magicfall 2
Aug 30 2023
Plotting your Second Book - Magicfall 2
Join Drake and Marie as the discuss how to plot a sequel to your first book. This is done by means of plotting Skies of Destiny's book 2, the sequel of Magicfall!Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Live Edit: Attach the reader to your character and theme delivery
Aug 23 2023
Live Edit: Attach the reader to your character and theme delivery
Join Drake and Marie as they edit a piece of flash fiction sent in by a regular viewer. They'll discuss the theme of the piece, and the importance of attaching the reader to the character... Even when it's a weird character!And of course, there will be some line editing discussions. Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Starting a Story - Plots and Characters
Aug 16 2023
Starting a Story - Plots and Characters
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss where plot ideas start, how to refine them, deciding on characters and other elements of storytelling. Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Advanced Writer's Techniques: Filtering & Disguising Info-dumps
Aug 9 2023
Advanced Writer's Techniques: Filtering & Disguising Info-dumps
Join Drake and Marie in discussion of providing information to the reader in a way that feels organic and keeps the threads of immersion going! They discuss the importance of how to take information back to the point of view character and the plot so that the reader doesn't realize it's an info dump. They also talk about filtering and how to keep the reader from getting whiplash by jerking them between ideas. Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Live Edit: Your Point of View
Jul 19 2023
Live Edit: Your Point of View
Join Drake and Marie as they edit a brave soul's submission to the podcast! They discuss the importance of choosing the right point of view and grounding the reader into the point of view character. Then they branch off into paragraph structure and word choices for a little bit of line editing.Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Leading a project and other musings
Jul 12 2023
Leading a project and other musings
Join Drake and Marie as they talk about working with other writers, how to lead a project, and how to be a good team member. They'll also wander down rabbit holes and explore Ted Lasso and Afterlife and the importance of characters earning their happy endings.Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Scenes, Hooks & Selling your Books!
Jul 5 2023
Scenes, Hooks & Selling your Books!
Join Drake and Marie as they discuss the most requested user topics: How to hook a reader, how to construct a theme and how to go to conventions and sell your book!Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1
Live Edit: Set the Scene (and magic bread)
Jun 28 2023
Live Edit: Set the Scene (and magic bread)
Join Drake and Marie as they edit a brave soul's submission to the podcast! They discuss setting the scene and using ticking clocks. They also talk about characters earning their victories and the problem with magic bread! Give us feedback at releasingyourinnerdragon(at)gmail(dot)comMagicfall: http://magicfallnovel.com/Drake's Contact Details:Starving Writer Studio: https://www.starvingwriterstudio.com/Drake-U: https://class.drakeu.com/  - Use RYID25 for 25% off!Marie's contact details:Books: https://mariemullany.com/workJust In Time Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds?sub_confirmation=1