Episodes

Mary Sues are idealised characters with no real flaws. They are dull, irritating, and strangely prevalent. We look at what it means to be a Mary Sue, why they can be problematic, and whether they might actually work... sometimes. Full episode notes available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

Last year, Lucy was lucky enough to read an author review copy of Paige L Christie’s debut novel, Draigon Weather. She immediately fell in love with the story and what Paige was trying to achieve. We have previously had Paige on the blog answering our ‘five questions‘ but we wanted to talk to her more extensively […] The post Fighting oppression with Paige L Christie first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

We ask Paige L Christie about sacrificial tropes, using education as a kind of rebellion, and how cultural myths are used to oppress and establish social order. Full episode notes are available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com If you enjoy what we do, please leave a review!

YA author Gwen C. Katz came across a forum thread about men’s ability to write female characters. There was the usual toxicity there – brushing off any criticism as more ‘SJW bullshit’. She wanted to speak out, but she had no idea her comments would strike such a chord. Her twitter comments were retweeted over 20,000 […] The post Describing women with Gwen C. Katz first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Why is it such a problem that men write poor descriptions of women? And what makes them bad descriptions in the first place? Breaking the Glass Slipper speak to YA author Gwen C. Katz about the pervasiveness of poor descriptions of women across genres and what we can do to address the problem. Full episode notes are available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com If you enjoyed this episode, please share and leave a review!

Every few years I see articles pop up in my news feed debating the merits of creative writing courses. Can you teach writing, they ask. Writing is a skill just like any other – you might not be able to imbue someone with a sense of imagination, but you can show them how to write […] The post Jeanne Cavelos on teaching genre writing first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Can writing be taught? Why go to a genre-specific writing course? What do students learn at such workshops? Charlotte and Megan talk to writer and founder of Odyssey Writing Workshops, Jeanne Cavelos, about teaching creative writing in a genre-specific context. http://www.odysseyworkshop.org Full episode notes available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

It is very rare for Charlotte and I to agree. When we do, there’s great celebration over at BtGS headquarters. David Tallerman’s trope-inverting, Dungeons and Dragons inspired series The Black River Chronicles, is one of these rare gems (you can read my review here). So we wanted to get him on the show! Charlotte asks David about […] The post Fantasy, nostalgia, and working for hire with David Tallerman first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Charlotte interviews writer David Tallerman about writing fantasy and crime, writing-for-hire, Dungeons and Dragons, and the current trend for nostalgia in a lot of genre fiction. David Tallerman has written novels, novellas, short stories, and comics. You can find him online at www.davidtallerman.co.uk Full episode notes are available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

In this episode, Charlotte and Lucy talk to writer and lecturer Tiffani Angus. They discussed the estrangement of women’s bodies in apocalyptic fiction and the trends Tiffani discovered in her research on the subject. While there is a lot of genre fiction written about the apocalypse, many would fail a ‘realism’ test when it comes […] The post Where are the tampons? with Tiffani Angus first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

In this episode, Charlotte and Lucy talk to writer and lecturer Tiffani Angus. They discuss the estrangement of women's bodies in apocalyptic fiction. While there is a lot of genre fiction written about the apocalypse, many would fail a 'realism' test when it comes to basic bodily functions. Women menstruate. They go through menopause. They suffer from endometriosis. Both men and women urinate, suffer from diseases, age. But apocalyptic fiction would have us think humans do none of the above. It...

All stories require conflict of some kind… but does it always need to be violent conflict? There is certainly a trend in fantasy, science fiction, and horror to find narratives driving towards a massive violent conclusion. These have become set-pieces, the very things that sell Blockbuster films to audiences. We expect them in our genre […] The post Violence as climactic conflict first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Do science fiction, fantasy, and horror narratives require violence? Are there other ways of creating conflict and tension in genre stories? This week, Charlotte, Lucy, and Megan look at how violence is used in genre fiction as the default approach to conflict. Full episode notes including further reading and all texts mentioned can be found at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

Back in 1985, Alison Bechdel had the characters of her cartoon strip, Dykes to Watch Out For, jokingly make a gender equality ‘test’ for films. 33 years later, the Bechdel (or Bechdel-Wallace, to give credit to her friend Liz Wallace for the idea) test is still used to determine whether a film has any claim to […] The post The Bechdel-Wallace test first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

For over 30 years we have used the Bechdel-Wallace test to push for gender equality in film. But does it go far enough? The Bechdel-Wallace test should be applauded for getting the conversation started, but we believe it is time to move on. We should be demanding that a higher bar is set and that our media passes more often than not. But what would such a test look like? Full further reading notes available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

Charlotte takes the lead in this episode, where we chat to Jeannette Ng about her use of Christian mythology in her debut novel, Under the Pendulum Sun. From using relatively unknown elements of Christianity to developing alternate patriarchies to highlight the impermanence of our own, Jeannette is as interesting as she is educational. If you take nothing […] The post Christian mythology in fantasy with Jeannette Ng first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

We chat to fantasy writer Jeannette Ng about her use of Christian mythology in her debut novel, Under the Pendulum Sun. Full episode notes are available here: http://wp.me/p7P6my-cd

Are you ready for your to-read and to-watch lists to explode? Charlotte, Lucy, and I discuss our favourite genre pieces of 2017 and what we’re most looking forward to in 2018. We lament terrible accents and characters that have no agency, celebrate all the books, films, and TV we loved, and find common ground with […] The post 2017 in review and anticipation for 2018 first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Charlotte, Lucy, and I discuss our favourite genre pieces of 2017 and what we're most looking forward to in 2018. Get ready for your to-read and to-watch lists to explode! Full notes, including all texts mentioned in the episode are available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

Charlotte interviews RJ Barker on writing female characters, his favourite genres, and writing characters with disabilities. Full episode notes available at www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

Regular listeners will already be familiar with the fabulous RJ Barker who joined us live at Nine Worlds to discuss realistic characters. This week, Charlotte interviews RJ about writing female characters, his favourite genres, and writing characters with disabilities. RJ’s stellar debut, Age of Assassins, combines elements of traditional fantasy with murder mystery and historical fiction. […] The post Interview with RJ Barker first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Most science fiction and fantasy focus on humans – or at least societal structures that are recognisable from within cultures on Earth. Given that genre fiction is meant to be one of unlimited imagination, why do we find it so difficult to imagine societies where hierarchies aren’t defined by gender, and more specifically, where the […] The post Subverting social norms with Adrian Tchaikovsky first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Megan chats to award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky about worldbuilding and creating societies that don't regurgitate the social norms we are familiar with. Full episode notes available on www.breakingtheglassslipper.com

How important are video games in showcasing diversity? Can they do it better than other forms of media? Whether ‘diversity’ means eschewing the traditional cis white male protagonist or encountering a broad spectrum of race, gender and relationships, can gaming offer us a safe space to explore topics we might otherwise find difficult in the […] The post Diversity in video games with Emily Marlow first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.