Rationally Writing

Rationally Writing•daystareld.com

Webserial authors Daystar Eld and Alexander Wales talk about the craft of writing stories that make sense, and examine writing tropes and media through the lens of the Rational and Rationalist genres. Intro and Outro music is G.A.T.O. Must Be Respected, by Tim Yarbrough To contact us, please email daystar721@gmail.com

Last refreshed: October 27th, 2025 at 3:21 PM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Episode 8 - Types of Conflict

Daystar and Alexander describe five of the major types of conflicts in storytelling, and the pitfalls and strengths of each. Timestamps: 00:30 Why do we need conflict? 02:05 Man vs Man 05:54 Man vs Society 14:28 Man vs Nature 21:27 Man vs Self 28:32 Man vs Technology

Aug 27, 2016•44 min

Episode 7 - Magic Systems, Part 2

Daystar and Alexander continue discussing magic systems, including advice on constructing one that's rational and compelling. Timestamps: 1:10 Sanderson's Second Law: Limitations 8:25 Sanderson's Third Law: Expand before adding 15:05 Exponential complexity and "Why didn't anyone think of X?" 21:15 Designing Magic Resources 24:41 Designing Magic Power Levels 27:15 Ways to Limit Magic 29:20 Magic shouldn't make your job easier as a writer. 32:51 Diversity in magic systems 39:20 Characters Have to ...

Aug 20, 2016•46 min

Episode 6 - Magic Systems, Part 1

Daystar and Alexander discuss what makes a magic system, what their purpose and function is, and some of the pitfalls and challenges to creating effective ones that enhance storytelling rather than distract from it.

Aug 13, 2016•42 min

Episode 5 - Rule of Cool

Daystar and Alexander discuss the Rule of Cool trope, and how rational fiction tries to create organically cool moments without sacrificing the story's integrity. Timestamps: 0:40 What is the Rule of Cool? Is it inherently good or bad? 5:45 Swords vs Guns, Lightsabers, Waif-Fu 11:07 Why avoid it in Rational Fiction? 13:00 Ways to minimize negatives of Rule of Cool 19:20 Breaking the world 26:40 Is it better to fully explore an idea, or minimize its role so as not to "cheat" the plot? 29:40 When ...

Aug 08, 2016•39 min

Episode 4 - Fanfiction

What are the pros and cons of writing fanfiction, and what types of fanfiction work best to inspire rational fiction? Timestamps: 0:40 The Three Types of Fanfiction 3:13 Examples, and where Rational Fiction falls 5:27 What are the pros of writing Fanfiction? 7:38 How do Daystar and Alexander find it useful? 9:25 Con 1: Limited Audience 12:18 Con 2: Expectations from Canon 14:39 Con 3: Lack of Profit 16:18 Genres that are easy and hard to rationalize. 19:55 Genre Ghettos 21:15 Daystar rants about...

Jul 31, 2016•39 min

Episode 3 - Originality

In a world where "everything is a remix," what's so important about originality, and how can you help your writing be original?

Jul 24, 2016•38 min

Episode 2 - Tropes

Daystar and Alexander delve into the world of storytelling tropes, explaining their nature as narrative grammar and their emergence from audience expectations. They distinguish between culturally specific and universally recognized tropes, discuss the importance of understanding their purpose, and highlight problematic tropes like the "Idiot Ball" to avoid. The conversation also covers unique challenges in rational fiction, such as sidestepping "soapboxing" and developing complex characters beyond the "Mary Sue" archetype, ultimately encouraging creative engagement with established narrative patterns.

Jul 16, 2016•39 min

Episode 0 - History

A brief history of the Rational and Rationalist fiction genres, their roots in the LessWrong community, and the influences from flagship authors of HPMOR and Luminosity.

Jul 10, 2016•26 min

Episode 1 - What is Rational Writing?

Webserial authors Daystar Eld and Alexander Wales share their thoughts on what rational writing is, and describe the Rational and Rationalist writing genres.

Feb 13, 2016•34 min

← Prev

Hosted on Spotify for Creators (Anchor)

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android