350: Voice, Emotion, and Metastory in a "Mistopia" - Interview with Simon Stephenson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Simon Stephenson.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, Simon is a writer and screenwriter now living in LA (with stop-overs in London and San Francisco along the way). </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His first book was the memoir</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let Not The Waves Of The Sea</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, about losing his brother Dominic in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. It won Best First Book at the Scottish Book Awards in 2011. His most recent novel,</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Set My Heart To Five,</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">was released in summer 2020 and this is what we’ll be discussing today.</span></p> <p> </p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Simon and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">His method for writing a “mis-topia” future and how that differs from a dystopia.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why writing a character without feelings allows you to explore feelings more.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">What role movies played in developing his protagonist and the plot.</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, his #1 tip for writers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes: <a href="https://diymfa.com/podcast/episode-350-simon-stephenson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diymfa.com/350</a></span></p>