Why Do You Write?
Well, why do you? The answer for most authors is to get published. But is that the only reason, or even the best reason? As we near the...
Writing the Memoir
What To Do When You Have Writer’s Block
Anne Lamott (in her Bird by Bird book) says the dreaded writer’s block isn’t about being blocked, it’s about being empty. In today’s podcast we discuss Lamott’s approach to...
Writing Groups: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Behind most successful authors there is a writing group (at least according to their novel's acknowledgment section). But how does one find a writing group, and how do you...
Writing Advice from the 90s
Some advice is timeless, some is not. In this episode, we evaluate writing techniques from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and see if they still have value...
Shut (those voices in your head) Up & Write
Sometimes just showing up isn’t enough. You’ve set time aside for writing and instead of your story unfurling on the page (or screen) other things come out. In this...
Beyond Butt In Chair
We’re onto the second section in Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird — The Writing Frame Of Mind — and it’s getting a bit nebulous folks. In “Looking Around,” Lamont...
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...
So You Want to be a Screenwriter
In todays episode, Bradbury tells us how loathing Ireland pushed him to becoming a playwright/screenwriter, why these absurdest plays...
Five People a Writer Needs in their Career
No one succeeds all by themselves, and that includes Ray Bradbury. In his book Zen in the Art of...
Writing Marathons and Playing with Memories
According to Bradbury’s retelling, it took him nine days, a library typewriter, and a pocketful of dimes to crank...
How to Feed and Care for your Muse
Oh Muse, well-spring of creativity, why are you so unreliable? How can we entice you? In this episode, we...
Writing with Gusto
Ray Bradbury shares his secrets for how he wrote so many unforgettable short stories in the first two chapters...
Goodbye Gardner, Hello Bradbury
Thinking of reading The Art of Fiction, "Young Writer?" Listen to this podcast first. Despite dying in a motorcycle...
Come for the Plot. Stay for the Stripper
Wow! We've gotten to the final chapter of John Gardner's book, The Art of Fiction and it's all about...
Techniques
Gardner promises to show us the proper way for the young writer to achieve artistic mastery. Doesn’t that sound...
Common Errors
Enough with the theoretical, in this episode we get some practical advice out of Gardner's book, The Art of...
Metafiction, Deconstruction, and Jazzing Around
After last episode’s mother of all chapters, we get a reprieve – a much shorter and lighthearted chapter...
Interest and Truth
Moving along to Chapter 3 in The Art of Fiction. We go to war over the various dichotomies that...
Basic Skills, Genre, and Fiction as Dream
Onto Chapter 2 of John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction. We begin with Gardner’s opinions about grammar, and our...
Aesthetic Law and Artistic Mastery
We’re starting our first book – John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction. Let’s find out why writing instructors...
What’s on our bookcase?
Welcome to Words to Write by – a podcast where we discuss, chapter by chapter, those wonderful writing craft...
Bye Bye Birdy
How do you tackle one of the most famous writing craft books, you take it “Bird by Bird.” That’s what we’ve done with Anne Lamott’s book over the past...