In this episode we dive into the final chapter of Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, titled: Zen in the Art of Writing. So what is Zen, anyway? With the help of the internet, we come up with some context.

Then it’s on to Bradbury’s three critical words to writer success:
WORK
RELAXATION
DON’T THINK
(okay, that’s four words)

We do our best to figure out what Bradbury meant and what those concepts could mean for our own writing. As a bonus, Renee reveals the not-so-secret way of getting an A in her creative writing classes.

In todays episode, Bradbury tells us how loathing Ireland pushed him to becoming a playwright/screenwriter,  why these absurdest plays are no good, and the secret to successfully turning his short stories into film.

Full disclosure, Renee and Kim pretty much disagree with these two chapters in Zen in the Art of Writing, and they have no clue what “Shooting Haiku in a Barrel means. But disagreements make for good podcasts. And if you’re into film analysis, this is the episode for you. 

No one succeeds all by themselves, and that includes Ray Bradbury.  In his book Zen in the Art of Writing, he credits several individual who were critical to his literary success.

According to Bradbury’s retelling, it took him nine days, a library typewriter, and a pocketful of dimes to crank out his first version of Fahrenheit 451. Is such a feat possible in today’s distracting world? We decide to give it a try (or at least one day of a try) and report on the results it in this episode. In another chapter of his writing craft book, Zen in the Art of Writing, Bradbury recounts how he mined his childhood memories to write his book Dandelion Wine. As a memoirist, Renee shares how she digs deep into her younger self’s recollections, which aren’t quite as idyllic.

Oh Muse, well-spring of creativity, why are you so unreliable? How can we entice you? In this episode, we discuss what the muse is and get some advice on nurturing and strengthening our own from Ray Bradbury’s book Zen in the Art of Writing. We also discuss Bradbury’s journey to becoming a writer and how it compares to our own. Finally, we put all that muse-wisdom into practice as we develop a daily “Reading Menu.”

Ray Bradbury shares his secrets for how he wrote so many unforgettable short stories in the first two chapters of his craft book, Zen in the Art of Writing.