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PT Hylton

Author of the Storms of Magic, The Savage Earth, and The Deadlock Trilogy

Podcasts

Fiction Unboxed

P.T. Hylton · Jun 6, 2014 ·

fictionub

 

Fiction Unboxed  is a project from Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright (hosts of the Self-Publishing Podcast and authors of ‘Write, Publish, Repeat’ and a load of novels). They are pulling back the curtain and broadcasting their story meetings, posting their raw, unedited drafts, and letting the world in on their process as they write a novel in thirty days.

To view all the content, you need to pay, but you can get the rundown on what they are doing each day for free at www.fictionunboxed.com.

I subscribed, partly because I was curious about their process and partly as a way of saying thanks for all the free content on the podcast. I also truly enjoy their novels, and I was interested to see one come together from scratch.

While I was happy to pay the cost to subscribe in order to support the project, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We are five days in and, so far, it has been utterly fascinating.

Here are a few observations thus far:

  1. It’s pretty inspiring how authentic and real the guys are in revealing their process. Case in point: on day two, the story timeline Sean brought to the table wasn’t working for the other guys. After the meeting stalled, they agreed to take some time to clear their heads, rethink the ideas, and reconvene later. The second story meeting of the day was much more productive. I love that we got to see that, warts and all.
  2. The way they collaborate is different than I expected. I think Johnny pointed it out of day three, but in their story meetings they rarely change each other’s ideas. It is more about building on each other’s ideas.
  3. It really makes me want to collaborate with another author at some point. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a few great creative collaborations in my life (Six-String Bliss, Real Dad Fitness, etc). When I was in my early twenties, two friends and I started a production company called Plethora Films. Those were fun, crazy times, but my favorite memories are the story meetings. Sitting in a room with Jonathan and Greg for hours discussing story. Those were some of the most creatively fulfilling times of my life.Watching Sean, Dave, and Johnny has brought those memories back in a powerful way.

    So, someday I intend to collaborate on some fiction. I’ve even got a pretty neat idea for a unique method of collaboration (I think). There are some things I want to do before I get to that, but it’ll happen eventually.

 

Something to Love: Filmspotting SVU – A Podcast by Allison Willmore and Matt Singer

P.T. Hylton · Sep 18, 2013 ·

FSVU

  1. I listen to a lot of podcasts. Most of them are entertaining. Some are educational. A few are a combination of both. But only Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit (SVU) is actually useful .
  2. The original Filmspotting is one of the best movie review podcasts out there. I’ve listened to Adam and his co-host (be it Sam, Matty, or Josh) for many years. Filmspotting: SVU is a brilliant spinoff in which film critics Alison Willmore and Matt Singer review movies available for online streaming.
  3. Chances are good that you subscribe to some sort of video streaming service. Netflix. Hulu Plus. Amazon Prime. Whatever. Maybe you have even dropped or reduced your cable service in favor of online streaming. If so, you probably find yourself occasionally scrolling through the ‘New Releases’, ‘Suggestions for You’, and ‘Because You Watched My Little Pony’ sections in a haze of indecision. These online services provide thousands of movies, which means it takes forever to shift through the garbage and find the good stuff. That’s where Filmspotting: SVU comes to the rescue.
  4. Each week Alison and Matt have one in-depth review as well as several other shorter reviews. They always point out which streaming services carry the movies they are discussing. Make sure to have a pen and paper handy while listening – I’ve never come away from an episode with less than three movie recommendations that sound interesting.
  5. Filmspotting: SVU covers a wide variety of genres. Whether it’s a horror film like ‘The ABCs of Death’, an indie flick like ‘This is Martin Bonner’, or a blockbuster like ‘The Avengers,’ Matt and Alison are there for you. Whatever types of movies you are into, Filmspotting: SVU will help you discover more of them.

Check out Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit here.

Something to Love: Sawbones – A podcast by Dr. Sydnee McElroy and Justin McElroy

P.T. Hylton · Aug 14, 2013 ·

Something worthy of your attention, and five reasons I love it.

Sawbones

 1. Sawbones is a podcast by Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her definitely-not-a-doctor husband Justin McElroy. You may know Justin from the great modern advice podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me.

Sawbones is funny, informative, and it will give you lots of cool facts to share at your next dinner party. If you get invited to those sorts of things. Unrelated note: I am free most Friday and Saturday nights.

2. On Sawbones, the hosts discuss some of the most misguided medical practices in humanity’s long history of trying to understand the human body and how to fix it. Recent topics include bloodletting, hysteria,  and lobotomy.

3. It makes you wonder which of our current medical practices future generations will laugh at and/or be revolted by.

4. They keep it tight. As a podcaster myself, I know far too well the temptation to let your podcast creep upward in duration with each subsequent episode. The first episode of my guitar podcast Six-String Bliss lasted about 30 minutes. Some of the later episodes pushed the 90 minute mark. The McElroys keep things to a wieldy 30-40 minutes. Perfect for listening to during a short morning workout.

5. The hosts seem like cool people. In the very personal medium of podcasting, the importance of likeable hosts cannot be overstated. It is a pleasure to hang out with Justin and Sydnee for a half hour each week.

Did I mention that I am free most Friday and Saturday nights?

Where to begin? Start with Episode One: Trepanation. Otherwise you won’t understand Justin’s signature sign out: “Don’t drill a hole in your head.”

Check out all the episodes of  Sawbones here.

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