Episode 5 - How to Force Lucid Dreaming

Lucid Dreaming is a skill that can be learned. Laura has intentionally developed this ability and uses it to explore the depths of her subconscious—and has gotten some wild stories of out it.  She shares 5 easy steps for cultivating deeper dreams and remembering them.

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Episode 6 - Pacing

13-year-old novelist prodigy Hannah Crenshaw asks her hardest questions about pacing. How can you control story pacing? How do you tell when pacing is off?

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Episode 7 - Overused Actions

If your characters weep, chuckle, or grin too much, listen in for tips on livening things up.

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Episode 8 - Inventing Biomes

Turn your cobweb-infested backgrounds into riveting habitats that amplify your story. In this episode, we explain the inspirations behind the Habitats deck, how to use it like a genius, and where it falls short.

Episode 9 - Cosmeres

Occasionally, a mad genius like Terry Pratchett decides to spend their whole writing career in one universe. Get the inside scoop on why, and how to create the right setting for all your stories—if that’s what you want.

Episode 10 - Limitations of Mythulu Cards

Mythulu won’t answer all your questions. Laura discusses a new project she’s writing entirely without Mythulu cards, and why she decided to do so.

Episode 11 - Screwing with Readers

Harassing readers is awesome, but what are the boundaries? In this episode, we discuss Obligatory Scenes by genre, why they matter, and how to subvert expectations while also satisfying your audience.

Episode 12 - Writing the J’Accuse

The critical obligatory scene of every genre—the J’Accuse—is the confrontation between the Protagonist and the Problem. We discuss how awareness of this idea changes our assumptions about Climaxes.

Episode 13 - Deciphering Campbell

Campbell had exotic and overly specific names for story moments. Most of us are guilty of skimming the titles but never figuring out what Campbell really meant. So here is Campbell’s full theory in everyday English.

Episode 14 - The Journey of Re-enchantment

Now that you’ve mastered Campbell, let’s talk about where he fell short. In this episode, we discuss Craig Chalquist’s Journey of Re-enchantment, using it to understand a critical audience disconnect in Lord of the Rings.

Episode 15 - Mythulu Boot Camp Review

Hannah Crenshaw was the guinea pig for Mythulu's very first writing boot camp. For 6 weeks, she edited her 100K novel, studied storytelling, and went on kick-butt adventures. She talks about her experiences.

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Episode 16 - The Life and Health of Charles Darwin

After assuming we knew who Darwin was, one of our teammates looked him up – and discovered we were totally wrong. Here’s a lighthearted discussion of biases, assumptions, and what it means to be open-minded.

Episode 17 - Ghostwriting Do’s and Don’ts

Ghostwriting is generally a really, really bad deal. Here’s the pro’s and con’s, how to survive a ghostwriting contract, and boundaries you should put in place before you take the job.

Episode 18 - Losing Your Audience

Not every story is meant for every audience---but usually a disconnect between author and audience is the author’s fault. Here are 3 obscure but critical storytelling rules that changed almost every word we type.

Episode 19 - Perfect Stories

Perfect stories have been told before, and they will be told again. Mythulu is working to become a publisher of new genres. In preparation, we’ve developed 12 guidelines to help us find the best stories. Here’s what we’re looking for and why.

Episode 20 - Author voice

Lately, we've encountered several respected professional writers that have given up on explaining author voice.  Really, guys? Here’s exactly what author voice is and how to improve yours.

Episode 21 - Mommy, where do ideas come from?

We believe in original ideas…. sort of. Here’s a detailed discussion on immaculate conception VS. progressive improvement, with insights from neuroscience, chemistry, hypnosis, and more.

Episode 22 - Borrowing Ideas

Most serious writers start with fan fiction—and there’s serious power in that. Here’s how to borrow brilliantly, and how to transition from borrowing to personal discovery.

Episode 23 - Webs We Weave

Relationships are the most difficult story facet to add something new to—you either fulfill or disappoint. But we’re not satisfied with that. In this episode, we brainstorm ways to make emotional bonds unique.

Episode 24 - No More Kittens

"Save the cat” theory is overused and incomplete. We looked at characters we loved and hate… and developed a new 3-point sliding scale for controlling character likability.

Episode 25 - Write Like a Man

The current presentation of men in media doesn’t feel right. When you take away money, muscles, power, and trophy wives… what’s left? What does it mean to be a man, really, and how can writers write male characters that uplift and inspire?

Episode 26 - Sex in Story

Sometimes authors use sex as the climax of their story, using it as a shortcut for meaningful plot. Don’t get us wrong, we love sexy stories, but sideboob without substance pisses us off. Our 7 Unforgivable Sins of Romance come with 7 suggestions to deepen your scenes. NSFW, duh.