Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.

19.31: A Close Reading on Character: Tying it All Together

Today, we’re taking a higher view on the techniques we’ve been talking about over the last four episodes and focusing on how you can use our takeaways in your own writing. We’ll go over our final thoughts on C.L. Clark’s short stories (until next week’s episode, when we interview them!).…

19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs External Identity

Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s  “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it’s a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by…

19.18: How to Build Fictional Economies

Sometimes we know the action and themes of your story, but you don’t know how to build an economy that supports those. Well today, we explain just how to do that! What are some questions you can ask yourself about the worth of certain goods and services in the world…

19.10: Introducing Our Close Readings Series

You’ve probably seen us posting about our Close Reading Series, and in his episode, we finally officially introduce it!  For most of the remainder of 2024, we’ll be diving into five core elements of writing by focusing on five different literary texts. We’ll spend five episodes on each one, and…

19.09: LIVE Recording – Rituals, Rites, and Traditions

Hosts Erin and DongWon are joined by Fonda Lee and Mahtab Narsimhan for a special episode about creating traditions in your fictional writing. In this episode, we’ll explore some of the following:  -How do you build traditions and rituals in your fictional world (choosing what becomes a tradition or ritual…

19.04: LIVE Recording – Pacing with Guest Fonda Lee

Pacing is one of the most subjective and difficult aspects of storytelling to get right. What is pacing? How do you know what the right pace is for a story, and what techniques can you use to speed up or slow down your narrative? Homework Assignment from Fonda Lee:  Take…

19.01: Interview with Abraham Verghese

In our first episode of 2024, we interviewed author and physician Abraham Verghese, who most recently published “The Covenant of Water.” We talked with Verghese about how to convey technical information in fiction. Verghese explains how he shares medical and world-building details in the most engaging way. We also asked Verghese…