TIH 134: Stephen Volk on The Parts We Play, Filmmaking, and Writing Short Stories

TIH 134 Stephen Volk on The Parts We Play, Filmmaking, and Writing Short Stories

In this podcast Stephen Volk talks about his latest short story collection The Parts We Play, filmmaking, writing short stories, and much more.

About Stephen Volk

Stephen Volk is probably best known as the BAFTA-winning writer of ITV’s paranormal drama series Afterlife starring Lesley Sharp and Andrew Lincoln, and the notorious (some say legendary) BBCTV “Halloween hoax” Ghostwatch, which spooked the nation, hit the headlines, and caused questions to be raised in Parliament.

His first collection of short stories, Dark Corners, was published by Gray Friar Press in 2006, from which his story ’31/10′ (a sequel to Ghostwatch) was short-listed for both a British Fantasy Award and a Bram Stoker Award.  His stories have been selected for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Best British Mysteries, and Best New Horror—with two stories appearing in the inaugural edition of Salt’s Best British Horror 2014. His second collection, Monsters in the Heart (Gray Friar Press) was published in 2013 and his third, The Parts We Play, in 2016 with an accompanying exclusive volume called Supporting Roles.

Show Notes

  • [04:35] Interview start/first experiences with story
  • [13:45] Lessons learnt making films as a kid and at art school that were transferrable to writing
  • [19:25] If you can’t write a good scene, write a bad scene
  • [24:05] Forthcoming novella, The Little Gift 
  • [29:00] Paul Feeney, via Patreon, asks about Stephen’s Black Static magazine column and what makes for a horror film and what doesn’t
  • [54:10] Write what you know vs. write what you don’t know
  • [56:05] The Parts We Play—themes explored and the importance of story order
  • [01:07:25] Paul Cutting, via Patreon, asks about story ideas and factors for determining media: film, long form or short form fiction
  • [01:11:00] If forced to write in just one medium which would you write in for the rest of your life
  • [01:13:00] Jake Marley, via Patreon, asks about outlining vs. discovering the story
  • [01:14:20] Dos and Don’ts of writing short stories
  • [01:18:00] Connect with Stephen Volk

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