XXIII: Writing Realistic Children w/ Dylan O'Neal

This week we talked to Dylan O’Neal, author of the first short story submission accepted by Synthesized Sunsets, Snowlight. In addition to the story, we discussed what got him into writing, how to write compelling children in stories, lucid dreaming, Game of Thrones, and the book he is working on currently, “Orange Sky, Dark Sun”.Similar to the last couple episodes this one was recorded a long time ago, but in the backstage portion was recorded more recently we discussed Kevin’s recent article in Republic of Letters, “Ah, The Nerdish Joys Of Quizbowl.”We hope you enjoy!TIMESTAMPS:0:12 - Introduction0:52 - How did you get into writing?4:40 - Everyone reads in elementary school7:17 - After a certain amount of reading you will probably feel compelled to write8:26 - What is the starting point for your writing?13:31 - Discussing Dylan’s story “Snowlight”17:31 - Kids are often not believable in fiction22:27 - Kids often don’t think about what they are capable of doing27:20 - Lucid dreaming32:42 - How do you create a dreamlike register?36:06 - Many of Dylan’s favorite authors are Sci-fi adjacent (Kurt Vonnegut, George Saunders, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King)37:45 - Do you see yourself as or becoming a sci-fi author?40:06 - It’s hard to make phone usage seem beautiful42:37 - Kurt Vonnegut and “Shapes of Stories”45:26 - Stories with pretty much any shape can work well if executed well50:08 - It’s hard for short stories to compete with other more attention grabbing forms of short media53:29 - Screenwriting57:03 - It’s tough to read a lot if you do not read primarily for entertainment1:00:33 - A Song of Ice and Fire improves reading other fantasy series by raising the stakes1:01:35 - Game of Thrones was the first fantasy book to really successfully break from the Lord of the Rings mold1:04:38 - Dylan pitches his upcoming book “Orange Sky, Dark Sun”1:10:11 - Conclusion and Short Story Recommendations: “The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King, “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and “Two Talented Bastids” by Stephen King.1:11:45 - Start of Synthesized Sunsets Backstage1:12:13 - It’s cool to have a compulsion to write1:15:15 - Children are often far more one-dimensional in stories1:16:34 - Kids have agency1:17:48 - Discussing Kevin’s Quizbowl article for Republic of Letters “Ah, The Nerdish Joys Of Quizbowl”1:19:03 - Quizbowl is standardized academic trivia1:21:54 - Quizbowl is mechanism for turning abstract knowledge into usable knowledge1:26:33 - Gordon reads Kevin an example Quizbowl tossup 1:30:04 - What did the process of grinding for Quizbowl in high school look like for Kevin?1:34:22 - Quizbowl is really good for learning history1:35:49 - Math classes teach you application not just knowledge1:37:31 - Quizbowl is an experience which burns knowledge into your mind1:38:24 - Knowledge feels more real if you are able to apply it1:40:25 - Conclusion and Short Story Recommendation “Call Girl” by Tang Fei This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit synthesizedsunsets.substack.com/subscribe