Stories Are Soul Food

This week's episode highlights the difference between coaching and teaching, and how to do both well...especially as this applies to a novel. What happens when your novel is coming in less than half the length you wanted it to be? How do you fix that and other first-draft problems? These and other problems are taught in NDW's video course, "The School of Fantastical Wordcraft," but you get the intro here... #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #FantasticalWordcraft

Ready for the parenting advice you didn't know you needed? A #SASF mother of boys wrote in with a question about what to have her son read during a time when he had no friends. Nate and Brian launch off into a discussion of what books can do for you, along with what they can't, and what else to consider handing your son when he's struggling. What they ended up with is some great soul food for moms, particularly—although dads, there are some good points for you as well. #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #BooksforBoys #Parenting

Nate and Brian discuss whether it's possible to write a good story based on a truth you wanted to communicate. This is a key question for Christian writers / artists / movie-makers, and misunderstanding it is what makes so much Christian art bad. To be honest, misunderstanding this is also what makes so much far-left woke creative projects terrible as well. Basically, you can't write a story "top-down." Plus, the guys get into a discussion of hidden themes and Easter eggs in N.D. Wilson's works... any of the rest of you besides Ryan notice the Ruth-Boaz allusion in Ashtown?

The guys are back after a long spring break to discuss Pixar—and this episode is the cheerful story of the decline of a creative giant. You'll learn what "heart-forward" content is, why Pixar's approach won parents and kids alike, and why Cars is their most profitable and worst movie (okay, worst is too strong). You'll also track the existential dread in Pixar's films, and see how that dread gradually overtook everything...at least until Disney days, because now Pixar is just a sticker to slap on content. #TurningRed #MonstersInc #FindingNemo #TheIncredibles #Pixar #StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF Check out Canon Plus today: https://mycanonplus.com/

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Today: How to spend as much on a TV show as Russia’s GDP and end up with garbage. The guys react to the LOTR trailer. But first… Crazy ideas aren’t funny until they become reality. ND tells a story about a skeezy business. Sneak peek at Nate’s new video project he’s working on. #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #LOTR #RingsofPower

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- Are you shaped by the Psalms? SASF welcomes filmmaker and author Ryan Whitaker Smith (son of Michael W. Smith) to discuss this soul food. - They discuss the gutsiness of Ryan's new book: "Sheltering Mercy" is free verse renderings of the Psalms, through a messianic lens. - You also get a sneak preview of Ryan's directing work on the upcoming film, "Surprised by Oxford." #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #SurprisedbyOxford #ShelteringMercy

- The people have asked again and again... so the guys return to HARRY POTTER. Please drop your thoughts in the comments! - ND compliments JK Rowling and thanks her for restoring their shared genre, MG adventure. - Then Brian and Nate drill down... How good are the Harry Potter characters? world-building? Quidditch? - And of course, they revisit the notorious wish-fulfillment question. #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #HarryPotter

- This week has something for everyone:- Discussion of the fountain of youth and large turtles;- Publishing insider baseball about the release of "The Door Before";- How to blend worlds with very different flavors in writing. Enjoy! #Storiesaresoulfood #SASF #DoorBefore Get your signed copy of The Door Before: https://canonpress.com/products/the-door-before-100-cupboards-prequel/

- Last week you got a movie with major problems; this week you get a good one: American Underdog - God plays harder with His characters than human creators are allowed to. - Nate explains the "Kathy challenge" facing Christian filmmakers in America. - He also casts a vision for what kind of movies he wants to see more of. #SASF #storiesaresoulfood #AmericanUnderdog Check out more robust Christian stories on Canon Plus: https://mycanonplus.com/

- What did you think of Spider-Man: No Way Home? - This episode touches on key problems with big Marvel films that you need to know: bathos, McGuffins, pathos, guilt, villains, and much much more. - The guys devote a whole episode to this as Spiderman is one of their favorite superheroes... - ...so Brian quizzes Nate about this 1.5 BILLION dollar movie to find out why it's so poor. #SASF #Spiderman #Storiesaresoulfood Check out the Canonball Kids channel on Canon Plus: https://mycanonplus.com/tabs/discover/pages/canonball-kids

- We forgot to post that we're baaaa-aaaack. Did you miss us?? - This episode has great story content but more importantly, it's your one-stop shop for Brian and Christy's new baby announcement and the Killers. - So, do you think that "Till We Have Faces" is Lewis's best novel? - Or do you agree with Nate that it may be great -- but deeply flawed? Let us know in the comments... #storiesaresoulfood #SASF #ndwilson #bestnovel Check out the Lewis Lectures on Canon Plus: https://mycanonplus.com/

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- The SASF guys are big fans of Advent—but not Advent as a penitential season, Advent as time when make your kids eat MORE chocolate than usual. Also, ND is shocked by Brian's eggnog confession. - This is because all of human history leads up to Christmas. And all of human history since Christ's birth has happened in the glow of the first Christmas. - Every December is an opportunity to show your kids how the obscure parts of the Bible are about Jesus. - And that leads us to... the awful, gruesome story of the Levite and his murdered concubine. We'll leave the explanation to ND, but GET READY for an epic Christmas rant. #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #Christmas #Advent Check out God Rest Ye Merry: https://canonpress.com/products/god-rest-ye-merry/

- What about stories with bad endings? But enough about Nolan's Batman trilogy. - Seriously, what about stories with sad endings? What makes a tragedy well written? - ND Wilson and Brian Kohl discuss books with tearjerker endings, from Charlotte's Web to Agamemnon getting axed in his bathtub. - Real life is tragic if you zoom in. But if you zoom out far enough.... #SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #badendings #tragedy Check out N.D. Wilson's The River Thief: https://canonpress.com/products/river-thief-dvd-and-blu-ray/

Why are conservative Christians so worried about sex on the screen but not violence? Are they hypocrites? Or is violence virtuous.... The guys discuss violence in some favorite movies (and not so favorite movies). If you've seen John Wick or Nobody, pay attention. They also give some tips for watching violent movies with kids. Get Andrew of the Firedrake today: https://canonballbooks.com/products/andrew-and-the-firedrake/

Did you miss us? This episode is just a bit tardy to make sure you all cared! (emotional manipulation intensifies) This episode responds to a reader question, basically: if your daughters imitate Diana Boone, won't they be a bit...well... masculine, what with hunting rifle and leather jacket and all? The discussion takes the guys afield as they discuss heroines in the Bible, literature, and society... They also discuss the literary deceptions that are specially intended to lead female protagonists (and female readers) astray. Sorry, Thanksgiving is not mentioned, not even once. Make your own applications as appropriate, and enjoy your gratitude! Check out The Sinking City: https://canonpress.com/products/the-sinking-city/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SASF! The little fella is one year old. Listen to the guys discuss the least popular episode in SASF's storied history. The guys argue about why you shouldn't flinch when "empire" is mentioned... ...and why you might need to create one. If you feel called, you can buy the guys a coffee by Venmo-ing a few bucks to storiesasf (that's the Venmo name). No pressure though—keep enjoying the pod either way! #StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #NDWilson #Empire Check out In The House of Tom Bombadil: https://canonpress.com/products/in-the-house-of-tom-bombadil/

Did you know you can tip the guys? They do this (mostly) for fun—Venmo a few bucks to storiesasf to tip them a cuppa. Who knows, Nate might even allow Caleb to bring back faux Narnia as a reward. Today's SASF begins with a Scottish story and associated Scottish music recc—Gerry Cinnamon's "Belter." (No, we don't know what the lyrics say either.) The guys move on to Facebook Meta and the Lizard King himself, Mark Zuckerberg. They finish up with a bunch of questions about video games as a storytelling medium. In short.... another forty minutes of consuming stories with N.D. Wilson and Brian Kohl. #StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF Check out our full selection of children's fiction: https://canonballbooks.com/

- Masquerade balls, plague, magic...and monsters? What's not to love about historical-fantastic Venice! - Christine Cohen's new novel about a patrician's daughter fleeing in disguise is the springboard for this episode's discussion. - Why is "deception" a theme of Christine's books but not Nate's? - Can boys enjoy "princess" books? An action-packed episode today.... #SASF #CanonballBooks #SinkingCity #NDWilson #ChristineCohen #StoriesAreSoulFood Pre-order your copy of The Sinking City today: https://canonpress.com/products/the-sinking-city/

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Apply for New Saint Andrews here: https://nsa.edu/fall2022/

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If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

Check out What I Learned in Narnia: https://canonpress.com/products/what-i-learned-in-narnia/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

If you're invested in kid's fiction, then download the Canon app today, and subscribe: https://canonpress.com/app/

Check out Old Stories from Canon Press: https://canonpress.com/products/old-stories-bundle/ Recommendation from the episode: https://www.amazon.com/Saint-George-Dragon-Margaret-Hodges/dp/0316367958/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1617986721&sr=8-1