Gary J. Martin and Alan McNevin share personal experiences, practical observations, and closing thoughts on how to use writing groups for encouragement without letting them define your writing path. Join us for a frank, friendly conversation about finding the right community for your work.

Welcome to Fictional Problems, the Speculative Fiction Ireland podcast. In this episode Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin debate who writers actually write for—themselves, specific audiences, critics, or idealized "phenotypes." They discuss using personal experiences, emotional motivations, plot logic, and the influence of reviewers when crafting characters and stories.

From writing as therapy to the fuel of rejection and the trade-offs between traditional and self-publishing, the hosts explore how motivations shape storytelling and what readers expect from plot, character realism, and narrative surprises.

This episode of Fictional Problems (with Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin) examines nostalgia in storytelling and why audiences often prefer worlds that feel constant — from Middle Earth to Star Trek. The hosts discuss how stagnant or slowly changing universes shape fan comfort, worldbuilding, and storytelling choices.

Using examples like Lord of the Rings, Star Trek (including Enterprise and DS9), Rings of Power and other nostalgic media, they explore the creative trade‑offs between historical gravitas, authenticity, and audience expectations.

This is Fictional Problems, the podcast where we discuss all things writing, in association with Speculative Fiction Ireland. Join hosts Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin as they return to tackle more fictional problems.

In this episode we discuss plagiarism in movie and TV adaptations of literary works—focusing on Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher—and debate the importance of respecting the source material when creating adaptations. Join us.

Hosts Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin explore how personal philosophies, morals, and ethics shape the stories writers tell. They discuss moral complexity in fantasy, the tension between individual and group identity, and how authors hope their work affects readers.

The episode covers examples from Tolkien to role-playing, the power of found family, fame and remembrance, and whether fiction can leave the world a little better than it was found. It balances entertainment with the idea that stories can prompt reflection and change.

Join the conversation and listen as the hosts unpack how real-world influences and personal values filter into character choices, plot design, and the themes writers choose to emphasise.

This is Fictional Problems, the podcast where hosts Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin discuss writing, politics, and freedom of speech. In this episode, they debate political alignments, cancel culture, and the moral limits of political expression in the wake of recent violent events.

They also examine how contemporary narratives—false-flag tactics, crafted outrage, historical parallels, and genre examples like Star Trek—influence speculative fiction, character creation, and the choices writers make when reflecting politics in their work.

This episode of Fictional Problems explores bad story ideas, how flawed concepts can be mined for better work, and examples from pop culture — including Tolkien’s abandoned sequel 'The New Shadow' and the 2017 film Bright. Hosts Gary J. Martin and A.R. McNevin discuss problematic premises (like racist 'ancient alien' notions), discarded drafts, worldbuilding missteps, and how to salvage or learn from discarded concepts.

Fictional Problems, in association with Speculative Fiction Ireland, explores how to handle action on the page. The hosts discuss choreographing fights, making violence necessary and consequential, and balancing realism with imaginative elements like magic, super science and healing.

They also talk about systemising your magic and power rules so stakes remain meaningful, and have a longer conversation about the movie Old Guard and how immortality, worldbuilding and character choices affect believable action scenes.