Dissecting Dragons: Episode 23: Genius Loci - Writing Real World Places in Speculative Fiction

Episode 23: Genius Loci - Writing Real World Places in Speculative Fiction

We've all read books that are set around a place you can visit in real life. A lot of Speculative Fiction hangs together so well because it uses elements of the mundane as a structure on which to hang the fantastical. So what exactly separates the mediocre offerings from books that evoke a place so vividly, you feel you were there? SFF authors M.E.Vaughan and J.A.Ironside settle in for an examination of what makes 'the spirit of the place' and how do you evoke it in your own writing. On the slab this week Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkin's Series, Tales of the Wyrd Museum by Robin Jarvis and good look at why London is such a difficult yet rewarding beast to write.

Title music: 'Ecstasy' by Smiling Cynic