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 “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. What can we learn from this complex and heart-wrenching science-fiction story? How can we use very specific ideas from specialized fields […]
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 Girls in Their Summer Dresses” by Irwin Shaw. What can we learn from a story driven by dialogue? How does a story like this generate momentum? How […]
In this episode, Anna talks to eminent novelist and prolific short story writer Richard Bausch. They discuss his short story, “Isolation,” his novella, “Donnaiolo,” and what it’s like to have one’s work optioned and filmed in Hollywood. Richard will also read his recently published short story, “Trigger Warnings.” If you enjoy this episode, please consider […]
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 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. What can we learn from this timeless story? How can we handle dialect in our stories? […]
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 “Herman Wouk is Still Alive” by Stephen King. What can we learn from a short story by a master storyteller? How can we develop plot in a short […]
In this episode, we interview Benjamin Percy. Find out more about Benjamin Percy here: https://benjaminpercy.com/ Buy The Ninth Metal here: https://www.contentbookstore.com/ If you enjoy this episode, consider subscribing to our newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/napleswritersworkshop
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 Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. What can we learn from a 19th-Century Feminist short story? How does the diary-entry structure inform the way we read? How […]
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 “With the Beatles” by Haruki Murakami. How does structure help move the story forward and inform its themes? How do the three phases of the structure function in […]
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 Prairie Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld. What can we learn from a story that unspools like a stone tumbling down a hill? How can we accomplish such mind-blowing […]
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 “Wake for Susan” by Cormac McCarthy. What can we learn from a well-known author’s first publication? How can daydreams or telling stories to ourselves help drive a narrative? […]
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 “Items Awaiting Protective Enclosure” by Téa Obreht. What can we say about a cli-fi (climate-fiction) story told with a second person point of view? How is such an […]
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 Comet” by W. E. B. Du Bois. What kind of science fiction did Du Bois write? How can the pace of the prose reflect the pace of […]
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 Art of Losing” by Yoon Choi. How does point of view help reveal a character’s mental state? How does point of view in this story help build […]
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 Saddest Case of True Love” by Simon Van Booy. How does a story within a story within a story function? What effects can this structure create? Are […]
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 Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen. What can we learn from this timeless story? How can a situation drive a story? What does the structure of the […]
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 “Gryphon” by Charles Baxter. How does a character telling a story as a memory color the way we read it? How do we write about children? How do […]
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 “Symbols and Signs” by Vladimir Nabokov. Can a simple story be a vehicle for beautiful presentation? What is the hidden story embedded here? What does it mean to […]
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 “Trilobites” by B. D’J. Pancake. How can a character’s preoccupations and thought processes help build the fictional dream? How do we understand that a character isn’t confronting what’s […]
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 “Cougar” by Maria Anderson. How does a mood help drive a story? How can we create a symbol? Why are so many stories so sad? How do mood, […]
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 “White Noise” by Emma Cline. How can you write fiction about a real person? How true to life should a fictional portrayal be? What can we learn about […]
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 “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. Why is this story so good? How does the ‘we’ point of view work? What kind of narrative structure is at […]
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 Feminist” by Tony Tulathimutte. What can we learn from a story that delves so deeply into contemporary social issues? What can we learn from a protagonist that […]
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 “God’s Work” by Kevin Canty. How can a character’s internal struggle drive a story? How can a story driven by a character’s internal struggle be structured? Can we […]
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 Fifth Story” by Clarice Lispector. What can we learn from a piece of metafiction? What can we gain by telling a story in several different ways? How […]
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 “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. What can we say about a story with so much already written about it? How is this story […]
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 “River of Names” by Dorothy Allison. What can we learn from this dark story? How do lists help develop the mood? How does a strong mood help capture […]
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 “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer. What can we learn from such a strongly character-driven story? How does story relate to character? How can we create engaging and […]
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 are joined by our friend and author, Karl Luntta. Karl is the author of the novel Know it By Heart (Northwestern University Press/Curbstone) and short story collection Swimming (SUNY […]
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 are joined by our friend and author, Karl Luntta. Karl is the author of the novel Know it By Heart (Northwestern University Press/Curbstone) and short story collection Swimming (SUNY […]
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 “Girl Alone” by Sallie Bingham. What can we learn from this tightly packed feminist story? How can quickly drawn and distinct characters help a story? How can character […]
