Fantasy Writers Weekly

The Show

Fantasy Writers Weekly is a podcast dedicated to providing inspiration and insight for fantasy writers. Each week, I begin by sharing my recent writing experiences, whether I’m reveling in the week’s high word count or lamenting my writer’s block and procrastination.  In the show’s main segment, I deal with a challenge specific to the craft of writing fantasy, explore how other authors have overcome it, and take a crack at suggesting ways to surmount these challenges.  In the final segment, I respond to listener feedback.  That’s thirty minutes a week towards better fantasy writing.

The Host

Hello, I’m Seth, your steadfast and spirited, though occasionally bumbling, guide through the pathless meads and marshes of writing fantasy.  I have written several short stories, and a novel is well underway, but none of these have yet seen publication.

At the age when most children are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Dr. Seuss books, I was devouring the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien with the aid of my faithful parents.  The seeds of fantasy were sown in my consciousness at a very early age.

In college, I put my energy into exploring the roots of traditional fantasy literature, which primarily meant learning about the Middle Ages.  I mostly studied history, but I also made forays into medieval literature, philosophy, art, and music.  I met some success in my academic endeavors, and through a combination of hard work and good luck landed in a Masters programme at Oxford University in England.  I was following in my footsteps of my childhood heroes.  I completed my Masters and was welcomed to stay on as a doctoral student.  I continued my academic work, but a malaise began to gnaw at me.  I loved the material I was working with, but I felt I was squandering it.  What I really wanted to do was tell stories of my own.

So two months ago, early in 2008, I withdrew from the doctoral program and returned to the United States to pursue writing full time.  In some ways I feel like a fledgeling who has just left the nest.  In other ways, I feel like I’m coming home to roost in my life’s passion.

The Site

The site, hosted by DreamHost, runs on a lovingly crafted WordPress 2.5.1 installationn. As the podcast grows, I hope to both expand the site and create other homes for Fantasy Writers Weekly on the web.