Howard Loring and the Elastic Limits of Time: Building Epic Fables That Bend Reality

The 30th episode of the pod features Mookie and Howard after connecting the way many indie sci-fi writers do—through an anthology collection. Both landed stories in S.A. Gibson’s 2026 sci-fi collection, turning a cold submission into a creative collision and, now, a deep dive into how they each approach the genre.Loring’s method strips the language down, leans heavily on dialogue, and avoids overbuilt worlds. His “epic fables” are simple on the surface but layered underneath, driven by myth rather than mechanics. The plot takes a back seat. What matters is transformation—who the characters become, not just what they do.Time travel is the backbone that holds it together. Not as a gimmick, but as a structural tool that lets him fracture narrative and reconnect it across eras, characters, and ideas. His stories eventually lock into place, revealing a larger design where history, identity, and knowledge all intersect. We get into myth, minimalism, and why most storytelling fails without knowing it—and Loring’s core rule: keep it clear, keep it moving, and don’t bore the reader.The GuestHOWARD LORING employs HISTORY by including known figures and documented events, and by discussing true cultural change and collective innovation, yet all EPIC FABLES on the ELASTIC LIMIT of TIME are also redemptive tales, directly dealing with basic theoretical concepts employing universal human themes such as personal choice and the resulting effects, knowledge gained through mutual connections, changing social customs and expanding philosophical strides.https://www.howardloring.com/Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text!Support the show