Most writers are driven to write when they strongly feel they have something to say or a story to tell. This is a good thing - readers can always tell when a writer is phoning it in. However, if you have strong opinions on various subjects and you're tackling them in your work, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that story is king and deliver your themes with more zeal than nuance. This week, the dragons look at books and films which have unfortunately strayed into preachiness as well as those who have handled their themes in a more balanced manner, before delving into how to avoid preaching in your own work. On the slab this week: Imaginary Friend - Stephen Chbosky, The Stand - Stephen King, The Black Magician Trilogy - Trudi Canavan, Shadow and Bone and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 113: Decoy Ducks & Red Herrings - Sayings, Urban Legends and Aphorisms
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 112: Spies, Traitors & Turncoats - Informants in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 111: Larger than Life - The Fictional World of Giants
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 110: Saying What You Really Mean - The Importance of Theme in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 109: Into the East - Fantasy Settings Tolkien Never Used
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 108: It Must be the Weather - How Nature Reflects Art in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 107: The Balance of Power - Sexism and Sexual Harassment in the Publishing Industry
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 106: Kali-ma, Inanna & Anath - The Creator-Destroyer in Myth and Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 105: The Book Hangover - Fictional Worlds that won't Let You Go
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 104: Bones, Boyd and Cottle - The Physician Archetype in Speculative fICTION
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 103: Best Served Cold - Revenge Arcs in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 102: Squibs and Mundanes - Representation of Disability in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 101: Back on the Broom - More Enchanting Children's Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 100: So You Want to Be a Writer? - Celebrating 100 Episodes of Dissecting Dragons
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 99: Long Live the Resistance - The Problem of Magical Revolution in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 98: In Review: 2017 - the Good, the Bad and the Weird
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 97: Cheese and Crackers - Our Favourite Bad Christmas Films
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 96: Fanfiction Revisited - Cassie Clare, 50 Shades and the Next Top Seller
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 95: The Horse's Point of View - Gender Politics in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 94: Inner Space - Altered Realities in Speculative Fiction
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