If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian . Is it okay to ignore the advice to “show, don’t tell”? Why does this story succeed when it “tells” so much, and what lessons can we take from that success? How does a character’s shifting motivation propel a story? How does a story about two people getting to know one an...
Mar 15, 2020•28 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode we discuss “Baader-Meinhof” by Don DeLillo . How can characters that misunderstand one another help drive our fiction? How can both meeting a stranger and looking at art change how a character sees the world? How can we use this to improve our own fiction? What can we learn from DeLillo’s stylistics? For daily writing...
Mar 01, 2020•29 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode we discuss “Sweet on the Tongue” by Roxane Gay . What can we learn about characterization from subtly drawn characters? How do relationships help develop character? What can we learn about structure from a non-linear story? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http...
Feb 15, 2020•27 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison . What can we learn from a story that depicts some of the most horrible things we might imagine? How can we quickly set up a story’s situation? How do we distinguish a situation from a story? How can we quickly introduce a group of characters and keep ...
Feb 01, 2020•21 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “To the Measures Fall” by Richard Powers . What can we learn from a story written in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style? What can we learn about character from a story whose main character is “You”? How can a narrative be driven by the way a character continues to find new meaning in her long relationship...
Jan 15, 2020•22 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury . What can we learn from a story with no apparent characters? How can we establish a POV without characters? How does language introduce hidden personifications? How can we use these hidden metaphors to pump up our prose? Alternate version: “August 2026: There W...
Jan 01, 2020•20 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Black-Eyed Women” by Viet Thanh Nguyen . What can we learn from a story that features a ghost? What function can a ghost serve in a narrative? How can a strong central metaphor inform the shape and details of a story? How do our cultural conventions inform the metaphors of our stories, and can close exami...
Dec 15, 2019•25 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Goodbye and Good Luck” by Grace Paley . How can a strong character voice drive a story even without a complex plot? Can a character sketch or portrait of an attitude be a complete and fulfilling story? How can we inform the first person narration by considering the occasion of the telling? Why is such a s...
Dec 01, 2019•23 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Gender Studies” by Curtis Sittenfeld . How can a stereotype become a nuanced and unexpectedly deep character? How can a character who doesn’t understand their own desires affect or drive a story? Why do we write in the present tense? We also mention (and spoil) “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian . For dail...
Nov 15, 2019•29 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we read “Lady Tigers” by Nick White . We discuss what we can learn about the all-too-familiar writer’s advice to “show, don’t tell” and how this story helps us understand that advice. When should we show and not tell? Also, how can we structure the deployment of background information that is necessary for the reader...
Nov 01, 2019•30 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Babysitter” by Robert Coover . What lessons can we take from such a unique piece that takes so many chances and nevertheless succeeds wildly? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also sub...
Oct 15, 2019•22 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Closer” by Greg Egan . What can we learn about writing fiction in general from a “Hard” Science Fiction story? How can philosophical questions influence our fiction? Find Egan’s paper about superpermutations here: “Superpermutations” by Greg Egan . For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fi...
Oct 01, 2019•28 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Girls, At Play” by Celeste Ng . What lessons can we draw from a story with such a startling premise? Is there more to learn about perspective and point of view? How do our intentions for a story affect how the story ought to unfold and what readers are meant to care about? How can paying attention to how ...
Sep 15, 2019•24 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Only Tourists Remember the Alamo” by Alicia D. Ortega . How can a specific, real-life setting influence a story? How does a non-linear structure that allows you to quickly slip in and out of scenes give you more freedom in your story? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join ou...
Sep 01, 2019•22 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Victory Lap” by George Saunders . What can we learn about writing character and stream of consciousness and point of view from a master of characterization and perspective. For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswrite...
Aug 15, 2019•26 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore . What lessons can we learn about fiction, about being a writer, and the craft of point of view from Moore’s “second-person mock imperative” parody of a self-improvement manual for fiction writers? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join...
Aug 01, 2019•24 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “When They Came to Us” by Debbie Urbanski . What can we learn about fiction by looking at a story about aliens? We also briefly discuss Nathan W. Pyle’s “Strange Planet” For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswriterswo...
Jul 15, 2019•20 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Voices” by Alice Munro . We find lessons about the pace of description and how the struggle of remembering can create drama in a memoir, among other things. Here is a good list of Munro stories available online: “25 Alice Munro Stories You Can Read Online Right Now” For daily writing tips, industry news, ...
Jul 01, 2019•22 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Now We Are Five” by David Sedaris . What can we learn about writing fiction by examining memoir? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.na...
Jun 15, 2019•28 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode of Why Is This Good , we discuss Raymond Carver’s story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” We explore what we can learn about dialogue, among other lessons. Read the story here: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver We apologize again for the audio issues in this episode. The good ...
Jun 01, 2019•25 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss Miranda July’s story “The Boy from Lam Kien.” Read it here: “The Boy From Lam Kien” by Miranda July Apologies again for the quality of JC’s audio. For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also sub...
May 15, 2019•18 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Flood” by Megan Baxter, which you can read here: “The Flood” by Megan Baxter Apologies for the sound quality on JC’s track. It sounds like he was on the wrong end of his microphone—not sure what happened there. For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at ...
May 01, 2019•16 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Now I Make My Own Bread” by Elle Wignall. Read it here: “Now I Make My Own Bread” by Elle Wignall During recording, it seems as if something happened with Rob’s microphone. Apologies for the quality of the audio. For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at ht...
Apr 15, 2019•20 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Read it here: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe This episode contains a passing spoiler for the Black Mirror movie Bandersnatch . For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com...
Apr 01, 2019•17 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode of the podcast, we discuss “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff. Read it here: “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http:...
Mar 15, 2019•18 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Lie” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, available online in the New Yorker. Link: “The Lie” by T. Coraghessan Boyle For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at ...
Mar 01, 2019•21 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In our second episode, we discuss “The Balloon” by Donald Barthelme, which is available online here: “The Balloon” by Donald Barthelme For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http...
Feb 15, 2019•19 min
If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In the first episode of our new podcast, we discuss “The Midnight Zone” by Lauren Groff, which is available online through the New Yorker here: “The Midnight Zone” by Lauren Groff At the end of the episode, we mention Lauren Groff’s book, Florida , which also includes this story. It was published last year. For daily writing tips, in...
Feb 01, 2019•23 min
