Kind of a jabber episode this week, we start out talking about bookstores, specifically Books-a-Million, then talking about new trends in printing!

Will the smartphone aspect ratio become the new shape of books?

Then, we talk about book covers, including a bunch of talk about Terry Pratchett and Paul Kidby, who did a bunch of amazing covers and artwork for Pratchett's books.

Check out some of Kidby's amazing art here:

https://www.paulkidby.com/paintings/

Then, we move on to a discussion of animation, including old-school Simpsons, Gintama, and Mike Judge!

Listen to some of our old, hilarious stuff here:

https://www.youtube.com/@muppyheingardt8597

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠

Today we're talking about one of my favorite fantasy author's first novel: Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist.

The early books by Feist are really great because they're actually low-magic fantasy for the most part, with a lot of cool politics (plus I really love the Kingdom's mix of honorable and dishonorable people--it's not too idealistic, but not too dark) and machinations.

Check out Justin's story Outpost Battalion Attachments, referenced during this episode:

https://muppy.substack.com/p/outpost-battalion-attachments

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠

Today we're starting out by covering the "advice" to not start your stories in the middle of an action scene. Some publishers give this advice, but others go 100% in the opposite direction!

We talk about possible ways to edit a story to move that initial action scene inward a bit, if you need to.

Then, we kind of evolve into a potpourri episode, covering a big variety of topics!

Check out some of our older funny stuff at:

https://www.youtube.com/@muppyheingardt8597

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠

Today we're talking about the new Alien movie!

Apparently it's not horrible!

Check out our old Covenant review for some hilarity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBMC_KwNKE

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today we're talking about the character and plot developments in the popular visual novel that spawned two animated series: Steins; Gate!

There will be spoilers!

Some fun links:

Akihabara Radio Kaikan Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_Radio_Kaikan

John Titor on Art Bell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-viB_iEm0ms

Read Justin's book The Good Guy:

https://a.co/d/8j1qcxk

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠

We've got a great potpourri episode for you this week! We start by talking about characters turning from bad to good and the reasoning behind this trope, and then we expand into a variety of related topics, like overly worrying about including tropes and watching as new owners destroy old properties!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠

Hoooo, boy... have we got something for you today.

Imagine a blogpost that looks like a basic writing tip... Now imagine that the "tip" comes all the way at the end, and is preceded by a bunch of crazy, awful nonsense that makes you think it was written by AI.

...Bad AI. Maybe the internet really is dead.

Behold! The Uncanny Valley of Blogs!

https://medium.com/educreation/unpacking-engagement-in-reading-and-writing-through-storytelling-and-mastering-context-cues-532f3c3e4324

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This week, we're talking a bit more about common obstacles for the writer. Everything from tracking (or not tracking) word counts to worrying too much about reader reviews is covered!

Check out our fiction at:

(Justin)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://muppy.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(Rudy)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rnkfiction.blogspot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And follow us on Twitter at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/NinjaMouseChu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

and

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/Rudolph_Kohn⁠