This season I’ve been on a narrative podcast kick. Mostly because my son loves them and rather than sticking an iPad in his face for long car rides—or even long car rides to daycare—we listen to a podcast.
So what we’ve been listening to is Story Pirates, which is a great show about a group of musical theatre types who adapt kids’ stories into sketch comedy and songs. It’s hilarious, with great guests, and totally random stories that make you shake your head and say, “What is happening?”
The show has also introduced us to other great fictional shows like The Two Princes, written by Mimi O’Donnell. It starts out as a standard medieval quest story about two princes who are supposed to meet in the center of the forest and do battle to free their separate kingdoms from the curse their fathers set upon their lands. Here’s the synopsis:
Galvin stars as Prince Rupert, who embarks on a quest to defeat a mysterious evil that has plagued his kingdom for 18 years. Along the way, he encounters another prince—the handsome Amir (Stachel)—who’s on a similar mission himself. As they team up, feelings that arise only add to the uncertainty that surrounds them.
In the meantime, personally, I’ve been listening to two main fictional podcasts. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by Julian Simpson and the Wolverine series of podcasts written by Benjamin Percy.
The biggest lessons from a writing standpoint since listening to these podcasts is focusing on sound, and how voice and dialogue are critical in conveying emotion and story. Letting characters tell their story and be their quirky selves, and how sound is a great device to convey suspense.
David Press 