Words to Write by
What to do when your Novel is a Beautiful Mess
Even published authors have problems getting the magical stories in their heads into finished manuscript. But Anne Lamott’s account of how, over the course of three years, she completely...
Getting Your Novel Right — Scene Setting and Reworking
We’re covering two different topics from Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First off is scene setting, both its importance for your characters and how to get all the...
Character Driven Plot, plus Dialogue!
We’ve gotten to some hearty chapters in Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First up is plot, which “grows out of characters.” We discuss what this means and if...
Tilling Your Characters’ Emotional Acres
So you’ve committed to Anne Lamott’s daily writing practice (as discussed in our previous podcast), good for you. Now let’s find out how to turn those embarrassing word scribbles...
Shitty First Drafts and Beyond!
How does one write an entire novel? It’s a bit like the advice for eating an elephant, one bite at a time. In this episode we cover Anne Lamott’s...
And now for something completely different … Bird by Bird
It’s time for a new season and it’s time for a new book! We’re starting Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. This is the writing process book that everyone has...
ChatGPT, Write me my Novel
Think ChatGPT can finish your creative writing exercises? Let’s find out! In this episode we’re testing the cutting-edge artificial intelligence on some old school writing prompts. We dug out...
Bend It Like Bickham (the scene, that is)
We’re on our penultimate episode for our reading of Jack Bickham’s Scene & Structure. So, what does the bullet point Meister have to squeeze into an end of a...
Dramatic Principals & Devices FTW
Every composition teacher will draw out a rising action graph on the board (yes, we’re old school). But how do you translate that diagram into the sentences and...
Common Scene Errors
Today we tackle Jack Bickham’s Common Scene Errors, and boy, are there a lot of them, 14 to be precise. According to Scene and Sequel, these simple problems will...
Dispatches from a DIY Writing Retreat
What writer hasn’t dreamed of leaving behind the stress and obligations of their day-to-day lives for a quiet, secluded space where they can just write? This past October, we...
The One Where We Go on a Writing Retreat
In this episode, Kim interviews award winning science fiction author, Charlie Jane Anders about her recently published craft book, Never Say You Can’t Survive! After the interview, we take...
Getting Wild with Scene and Sequels
After 70 pages of Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure we feel we’ve got a pretty good handle on how to break our stories down into action-packed, disaster-ending scenes and...
Speeding Up and Slowing Down your Novel
Chapter 8 – Scene & Structure Subscribe to our Newsletter How do you take a ponderous story into a page turner? How do you take a Michael Bay paced...
Sequels: the Glue that Holds Scenes Together
When you’re bored with action-packed scenes and want to dive deep into the mind of your protagonist, maybe you should try a Sequel. In today’s episode, we explore Bickham’s...
Tactical Disasters, Meaningful Change, and More Scene Rules. Oh, My!
After last episode’s deep dive into scene structure, we thought we’d ask a few published novelists and professional editors if they use scene goals in their writing/editing. Then, for...
Making a Scene
If stories are made up of scenes, what are scenes made up of? According to Jack Bickham in his book, Scene & Structure, scenes start with a character’s stated goal...
The Cart Goes After the Horse – Getting Cause and Effect Right in your Story
This episode is all about cause and effect, what it is, why it is critical in fiction despite being largely absent in real life, and how it works line...
Starting Your Book Off Right
In this podcast we give our first impressions of our new book, Jack Bickham's Scene and Structure, and, being the enthusiast students that we are, we begin by identifying his...
Auf Wiedersehen, Bradbury, and on to Scene & Structure
In this episode we bid a fond farewell to Bradbury with one last conversation about his book, Zen in the Art of Writing. We discuss what’s in the book,...
What We're Reading
Zen and the Art of Writing
Bradbury…(yes, that Bradbury!) wrote a writing craft book. Together, we’ll test his promise to “release the creative genius within you.” Join us as we pick apart the process (and–dare we say– hubris) of this lovable sci-fi author as he tells us what to do, but not always how to do it. Stay tuned!
Bird by Bird
We know you own it. But have you read it? Like really, really read it? It’s time to crack that spine and delve into the depths of your perfectionism, mental hang ups, and neuroses and get that butt in the chair. At least, a writer can dream, can’t she?
The Writer's Journey
Does a plot formula a good novel make? Let’s find out! You know it by many names: The Hero’s Journey; The Monomyth theory; Jungian Archetypes, etc. But Vogler deliver on his promise? By the end of this book, will you, too, be able to write a plot and craft well rounded characters everyone will love? Only one way to find out (sans reading). Good thing you have us. Right, Dear Listener?
Authors & AI
Oh Snap, we’re tackling the beast that is AI HEAD ON! No covering your eyes! No head in the sand! We’re going to look this beast in the eye and tell it who’s boss. . .unless we’re not the boss. Wait? Whose in charge here?
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And now for something completely different … Bird by Bird