Are you planning on doing a QnA thing with TMAGP like you did with TMA??
(sorry if this has been asked before) :)
Yes.
What kind of hammer did Colin get? Like, small general woodworking hammer, or the thing with one pointy end, or a small sledge?
Are you planning on doing a QnA thing with TMAGP like you did with TMA??
(sorry if this has been asked before) :)
Yes.
Do you think you’ll have a Rusty Quill Gaming and Giving this year, or is RQGG a thing of the past?
So that isn’t really my call but I would say very unlikely.
We do have other charitable stuff in the pipeline but for now I would personally be surprised if we saw a return of RQGG any time soon.
Hello Mr Bossman! (and possibly anyone else who reads this)
Its an honour to be here, I have a few questions. First i appologise for the long paragraph, you may dismiss it for the questions at the bottom.
For context, i am here after finishing TMA and being up to date with TMAP, i then went over and listened to RQG, and have just finished listening to Epilogue 3 and might i just say, good sir I am grateful for your podcasts. I am currently just a few months away from my final exams of High School, and as someone who even just 1 year ago was very lost, struggling with school and being just overwhelmed. TMA isnt exactly comforting, but the characters and plot managed to serve as a good form of escapism while sorting myself out. I found my self engaging more in creative things that i had originally put aside in favour of maths and science (which i hated but thought i needed to do). I started drawing again, even if just fanart. and i found things going well. By finding podcasts, story telling and these communities have helped me in my own understanding of what i want in life. I got an ADHD diagnosis earlier this year, and almost directly after started RQG and as my first hyperfixation (that i was aware of as an hyperfixation) gosh dang it hit hard. (in a good way). Ive been able to do so much more creative writing and drawings, and got re-involved with a small dnd group with some friends who i played one game with almost 4 years ago now. So overall, inspirational sounds cringe, but it was. Im doing my best with the upcoming exams, but trying to get in to Medicine is not my only prority, and the fact ive been re-introduced to my first love (Literature and story telling), im planning to go do an Arts degree and i know i wouldnt have been able to confidently make this decision, or even have survived this long in the school system without the work you and your coworkers do.
Now the sap is out of the way, Question time! (if you could answer even just one of these questions it would be so cool)(they go in order of RQ relevant to random stuff)(dont feel pressured to answer all/any. i know i wrote alot):
1. what would you say is the best way to draft out a long-form story. (with "Erasing the Line" as an example) Did you start at the end, with the links to the overarching plot.
2. When working with the players (in a form of TTRPG), what did you do to make sure you didnt miss relevant timing of plot points/ avoid creating spoilers while still giving enough detail?
3. What are good places to start with making a job out of storytelling/voice acting/audio etc. In the case of RQ, how is this a job and where do i sign up please! /j (what i mean is, how is best way/how did you find all the people involved and was there a common path that you were all on before getting to where you are now?)
4. Do you have recommendations for Terry Pratchett Books, i may be an literary-leaning student, but it seems i have never actually properly read any of his books. so where is best place to start?/What did you read first?
5. Similar authors or similar inspirations? Did you have a favourite podcast you listen to in your free time that you havnt had a hand in producing/directing/working on.
6. Favourite song/album/artist. And more specifically, what you like listening to in background when doing either writing or (for ttrpg) character research/game planing.
7. Since the olympics are on at the moment, what has been your favourite sport to watch, if you have been watching at all.
Thank you for your time :)
Thankyou for all the kind words. Knowing our work is helping people really keeps our engines fired up. Let’s see if I can’t answer your questions:
1. I “sandbox” which is where I just shove everything I can think of into an unorganised bullet point list. Characters, setting, plot, all of it in one big mess. Then I decide what type of story you want to tell, copy and paste to a new document and then start to organise the thoughts (with the sandbox on standby if new stuff comes in I don’t know what to do with). I think of it like scultping, you cut away bits and reshape until something comes out the other end that is story shaped. Only then do I attempt to build the sandcastle and put something coherant together like a synopsis or scratch draft etc.
2. Very tricky. I did a complete review and update of all notes after each recording session and don’t forget the audio eas edited. I made lots of gaffs that you never heard as audience.
3. I contacted anyone I could convince to take part and just proved I was serious by overworking. I don’t reccomend that route. Unfortunately it really is “who” you know. That doesn’t mean chase established professionals as much as it means you need to get out there and associate with other up-and-comers who match your vibe. For me the route was long and windy and not a particularly good example.
4. I normally recommend people do not read his books in publication order. Don’t get me wrong, its wonderful watching his craft grow from one title to the next but I would recommend new readers tip their toe into his later works to see if they like where he ended up before committing the time. I often recommend ‘Monstrous Regiment’ as people’s first one. My favourite though is 'Thief of Time.’
5. I don’t get much time to listen to podcasts in the last couple of years. I used to listen to a lot of non fiction. 'Stuff you Should Know’ and that ilk. I also read a fair amount of classic YA fiction to unwind (Windinsger trilogy, Bartimeous, stuff like that.)
6. Paul Simon’s Graceland but when working I assemble a playlist for each seperate project that is tonally appropriate. If I really need to focus I listen to Classical Minimalism. Or the Old School Runescape soundtrack. I’m allowed to be ecclectic.
7. I am actually in an incredibly busy work crunch at the moment so haven’t seen any of it!
A couple of odd questions I hadn't seen asked previously:
Alice references a manual in the first episode of TMP. Did you actually create the manual, or just the rules the manual follows?
The Case headers used to include source information (999 call, Email, Magnus Statement) but stopped at Episode 14 - will they be coming back, or are they gone forever? (I quite liked them.)
Bonzo? Bonzo bonzo?
I Mr. Knowall Sir! I’m finally up to date on MagP and I a d o r e d Mixed Signal. I’m curious to know how much research went into writing it or if that was pre-existing knowledge on brain anatomy/function?
I am a nerd and honestly a sucker for anything looking like an experimental report.
Delicious. Good fucking food. Thanks to both you and Jonny, I am well fed.
So I do have a Biology A level so know a minor amount about the Corpus Collosum and how severing it can affect behaviour etc. What I didn’t know was the historical elements of the case. All of that is 100% research and fun research at that!
What kind of hammer did Colin get? Like, small general woodworking hammer, or the thing with one pointy end, or a small sledge?
Re: you having written bits of the Manual
Do you think after tmagp ends (as in, season 3 episode 30, not season breaks or anything) you’ll release what you have of the manual on Patreon, maybe as an extra perk for Nobles only? I know I for one would definitely pay to see it
Oh yeah almost certainly. We just can’t yet due to spoilers. I suspect most of the series bible will be available to Patrons too but weirdly not my call any more!
Hello sirrr,
I was just wondering if as a child you knew you wanted to do what you do now or something close to it, or what kind of career paths you thought you'd take? Any you'd still like to try?:Dd
Have a great day and hope you get better soon! (Assuming you're reading this the same day i wrote it, cause you tweeted about it?)
ALSO I JUST NEED TO KNOW: WHEN IS THE TMA TTRPG COMING OUT:DD?
So as a kid I day dreamed a lot. (still do).
Realised the closest I could get to entering a fantasy world was as an actor.
Started acting. Saw Lord of The Rings on release. Realised I actually wanted to direct movies.
Started podcast portfolio piece as the only thing I could afford.
Accidentally became an expert.
And that’s about it. I have always had a destination in mind but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
gravity falls? ive been rewatching it and a lot of it makes me go hmm the magnus archives🤔🤔🤔 love yr work king get better soon
Absolutely. Spoilers for Magnus but Jonny reccomended it to me and then we actively referenced the wierdocalypse when planning.
Okay, in the wake of the Gravity Falls question, I gotta ask: how would the Pines family fare against the fear entities? Interpret the scale of that as you see fit
I’d say about the same but would be more fun than Archives.
can a kiss only happen if alice gets to say magnussing in the same episode?
follow up is alice the only one with magnussing rights?
I am on a quest to arbitrarily normalise feeling magnussy as one is magnussing but so far no luck.
Hi! I’ll preface my saying that I was born and raised in Savannah, Missouri. So imagine my SHOCK when, in episode 58 of The Magnus Archives (Trail Rations), when my hometown was mentioned. When I heard it that first time I immediately screamed and ran to my mom to show it to her. It was so exciting for my home’s existence to be acknowledged, especially by an England-based story such as TMA is.
So, I was wondering if you would know why Savannah (and St. Joseph) were chosen as the initial setting for this episode?
(Or if it was just a randomly chosen area with no real meaning LOL)
That’s a Jonny question I’m afraid. :)
Hey there boss man, I hope you are having a good day.
I was wondering if there are any horror movies or books that influence your writing on both archives and protocol?
If not, then what are your top 5 horror movies of all time!
Give the RQ team my love!
So I have a full research list and bibliography for the story bible and episodes I write. I can’t share it yet as people may use it to reverse engineer spoilers but I believe there is a plan to provide the complete list to backers/patrons as part of the bonus features but don’t hold me to it.
this episode was a LOT but most importantly
who came up with magnussing and was it made for the fans to use cause we absolutely will
I’m not sure. I think Jonny came up with the word first and then I ran with it in edits? I’d have to check the receipts. And yes we absolutely knew it would get used by fans.
Hello!
I’ve been wondering how y’all go about researching things for podcasts? Specifically this is about the 1920s and episode 22 of Protocol, but also in general.
Where do you look? What’s important to know? Is there such a thing as too much research?
Been working on my own ‘20s story and I would love to know about how you guys do it.
Thanks!
So I tend to hit up Wikipedia first for inspiration as to what interests me. Then I will hit up original document archives rather than historical accounts. This I will then supplement with deeper dives on anything I still need clarification. Google scholar is your friend.
My mum is visiting family in the Schwarzwald this week. Any tips on how she may stay safe from creepy eyeless men and cursed mausoleums?
Spend the entire time hangliding. Fair warning though, the sky might eat you.