The Writers' Apprentice Shane Preece

Ambiguous endings, keeping your promises, and appendices.

Our last episode.

Finding plot devices in surprising places. This week, we wonder how much research Atwood did around Stockholm Syndrome whilst writing Offred.

Recommended podcast:

Sideways https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000s7n1

We explore how Margaret Atwood created complicated motivations to show the cruelty of her dystopia - rather than using boring exposition.

Recommended podcast:

How Did This Get Made? https://www.earwolf.com/show/how-did-this-get-made/

We edge into the world of non-fiction today, looking at the importance of getting your readers to trust your narrator - and the times when you want to tell them to not trust you.

Recommended podcast:

My Dad Wrote A Porno https://www.mydadwroteaporno.com/

How should you go about making you characters relatable? Let’s take a look at how The Handmaid’s Tale does it.

Podcast recommendation:

Limetown https://twoupproductions.com/limetown/podcast

We consider if I’ve been setting my expectations in a direction in a way The Handmaid’s Tale never decided it would reach, and the impact that had on my reading.

Recommended podcast:

Writing Excuses https://writingexcuses.com/