There's no denying that parent characters suffer at the hands of authors, particularly if we're talking about MC's parents in SFF. Aside from the obvious reason (ie if a character is young enough for parental presence to impact on whether they fulfil their narrative destiny) there's really no reason for the casual removal of parents from a story. This week the dragons look at how and why parent characters are removed and why this can have a negative impact on the story. Weeding through the usual parent tropes, Jules and Madeleine discuss how the same stories can be told differently. On the slab this week; Game of Thrones, Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 213: That's Just Not Literature - the Myths of Fantasy Writing
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 212: I'm the Bad Guy (or am I?) - Morally Grey Characters in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 211: Write What You Know & Other Pearls of Wisdom - the Worst Publishing and Writing Advice
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 210: Toss a Coin to Your Fantasy Author - When Epic Fantasy Hits the Screen
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 209: Bring On the Heartbreak - When Romantic Subplots go Wrong in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 208: Welcome to the Multiverse - Alternate Realities, Evil Twins and Unmade Choices in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 207: Nervous Timid Goth Boys vs Manic Pixie Dream Girls - How a Single Trope can Shift Narrative Preference
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 206: Devilish Dogs and Last Unicorns - Traumatic Moments in Children's Animated Feature Films
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 205: Guardians of Knowledge - Magical Libraries in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 204: Good Hearted Rogues to Xenomorphs - the Dragons' Formative Films
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 203: For the Dead Travel Fast - Monster Hunters in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 202: 2019 - Marvels and Oddities
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 201: It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas - Our Favourite Festive Scenes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 200: The F-word Revisited - Faeries in Urban Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 198: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey - Time Travel in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 197: The Trouble with the Victorians - How a Single Era Influenced Our Opinions
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 196: Tale as Old as Time - Why Fairytales Endure
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 195: Key & Codex - Secret Societies in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 194: Creaky Floorboards & Locked Doors - Learning Tension and Suspense from Gothic Fiction
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