Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko, a semi-retired nurse, long-time student of Writing Class Radio, and hilarious person. Maxine is a master at writing humor and writing the truth. Of course someone can learn the craft of writing, but there might be some debate about whether you can learn to write the truth. Maxine shows us it's possible. She's been writing with Writing Class Radio for the last five years and we have seen her writing transform. At first her writing stayed o...
Jan 10, 2024•19 min•Ep 171•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show we’re talking about the writing process and how getting rejected is just part of the fun. After our own Andrea Askowitz takes a class on rejection taught by Elissa Bassist , she develops a new way of thinking about failure. If you are not getting rejected, you’re not in the game. You will hear the story Andrea wrote after her 643rd rejection. Andrea’s story is called, “I’ve Been Rejected 643 Times. Here’s Why I Resolve to Fail More." Writing Class Radio is hosted by Allison Lan...
Dec 27, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we’re talking about structure and planting seeds. You’ll hear a story by Claire Tak called The Unopened Letter. Claire is a freelance writer and editor living in Denver. She has a column in PrisonJournalismProject.org called Outside/In , where she writes about her brother’s incarceration. Claire is currently writing a memoir. As a child of Korean-American parents, her book deals with the “immigrant guilt” she faced growing up. For more Claire, subscribe to her Substacks:...
Dec 13, 2023•25 min•Ep 169•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we are talking about hot topic/cold prose and when and why to write in the present tense vs. past. The story we share is written in the present tense, which gives readers the feeling that they're going through the situation with the narrator, in real time. Today’s essay is by Dr. Colleen Arnold who is a physician and freelance writer in Lexington, Virginia. Dr. Arnold has written for Insider, Wall Street Journal, Chicken Soup for the Soul among others. She is a mom to th...
Nov 29, 2023•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we’re talking about writing with personality and being vulnerable. And when we say vulnerable, we mean including the hard things, good and bad, about ourselves. You’ll hear a story by Dr. Jane Marks , who is a conservation ecologist and professor of Aquatic Ecology at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Jane has been taking classes with Writing Class Radio (WCR) for three years including hiring team WCR to help craft and produce a night of live storytelling at NAU. The show was...
Nov 15, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Kimberly Elkins . Kimberly is the author of the novel, WHAT IS VISIBLE , which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and named to several Best of 2014 lists. She’s written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Glamour, Slice, The Cincinnati Review, and Best New American Voices. She was a Finalist for the National Magazine Award, and has also won a New York Moth StorySlam. ...
Nov 01, 2023•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is about how to write a near perfect essay. The story was written by Banning Lyon who writes about a harrowing childhood experience in a psychiatric ward. His essay was previously published in The Washington Post. After we discuss Banning’s story, you’ll hear an interview with the author on what his process was like, the difficult emotions writing the memoir brought up, and the cold call he made to find his agent. Banning Lyon is the author of The Chair and The Valley, which will be...
Oct 18, 2023•30 min•Ep 165•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Amy Paturel , which is a great example of how to write about someone else while still including the narrator in a big way. Paturel incorporates her husband’s late wife’s writing into a story that is both emotional, tender, and beautifully composed. She answers the question: Can we live on through writing? She shows us that we can live on through the notes in the margins even if those notes are never published. This story was originally published in Lit ...
Oct 04, 2023•20 min•Ep 164•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we bring you a story by Ken Guidroz . Ken’s story shows us the importance of writing and sharing stories, especially with people we either don’t understand or who don’t understand us. Ken says writing to his son in prison ignited an honest exchange he never would have had without writing. This exchange changed their relationship forever. Ken Guidroz served in the ministry, leading the Santa Clarita Church of Christ and designs specialty retirement plans for companies. He is the ...
Sep 20, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, you’ll hear a story by our own Allison Langer . You may have read her story in HuffPost , where she was published on Jan 16, 2023. The story ran with this title: People Say I'm A Grief Expert, But When My Friend's Husband Died, I Did Something I Deeply Regret. If you are wondering how to help a friend who is grieving or have ever felt like you don't know what to say or do when someone dies, this episode will help. After you hear the story, we’ll discuss one of our biggest writin...
Sep 06, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we bring you a story by our own Andrea Askowitz . A version of this essay was published April 2023 on CNN and titled What Justine Bateman Gets Exactly Right About Beauty. You’ll hear tips on how to bring in outside evidence for a more effective opinion piece and how to use the news stories, popular in the media, to create a personal essay. Andrea Askowitz has been published in The New York Times , Salon , The Rumpus , Huffington Post , Glamour , AEON , The Writer , Manifest-Stat...
Aug 23, 2023•19 min•Ep 161•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Emily Henderson. The story is called Cliches Saved My Life. The whole story is 354 words. It’s a lesson in going huge by going small. It’s also inspires a discussion about when and when not to use cliches in your writing. Emily Henderson has been featured before on Writing Class Radio: Ep 144: When Is a Gift More than a Gift? That story is about living through Xmas after the death of a child. It’s a beautiful and sad story and one of our be...
Aug 09, 2023•13 min•Ep 160•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by student Kim Costigan. Kim wrote this story while on our December 2022 writing retreat in Key Largo. This story crushed us and made us love Kim even more. What I want you to listen for is the anecdote at the end. This is one of our favorite ways to end a story. It shows how the narrator has been impacted by the situation in real time. Kim has been writing with us for a few years now, and Kim is the perfect example of someone who started green and p...
Jul 26, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Maxine Poupko. Maxine’s story is a great example of character development, showing the tiny details in a complex relationship, and bringing the reader into a different world. Maxine wrote this story for the Writing Class Radio retreat in February 2023. The story was workshopped and refined with feedback and encouragement from the group. If you have a strained relationship with a member of your family, this episode is for you! Maxine Poupko is a wri...
Jul 12, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Corey Devon Arthur . Corey has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder and is currently housed at Otisville Correctional Institution in New York. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project , among others. Corey’s stories have aired on Episode 120: My Pen Uncovers the Real Me , Episode 128: My New Manifesto , and Episode 143: Cutting Needless Words. This story is a great e...
Jun 28, 2023•25 min•Ep 157•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Jenny Powers . Jenny is a New York-based freelance reporter. She writes for HuffPost, The Cut, Business Insider, Fortune, and more. She is working on a memoir called, "Smooth Operator: Confessions of an Accidental Phone Sex Vixen." You can see more of her work at https://www.clippings.me/jpowers . Jenny’s essay originally appeared in The Cut and is titled “Outsourcing My Orgasm.” We trimmed just slightly for the podcast. We love so many things about Jen...
Jun 14, 2023•26 min•Ep 156•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Laurie Eynon. This story is a behind-the-scenes Jeopardy! audition revealed and a good lesson in how every word matters. And the voice of the narrator is amazing. So good!!! Laurie takes us through her one chance at becoming a Jeopardy! champion and what happened. Laurie Eynon is a hospital and hospice chaplain in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was a regular contributor to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Sunday section, wrote a play that was produced off...
May 31, 2023•17 min•Ep 155•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Sari Botton . Sari’s story is a great example of how to tell a story that encompasses your whole life. It is also a great example of how to end a story while you are still living with a situation. Sari has been featured before on WCR. Check out Episode 80: You Have Permission to Write or Not Write. Sari Botton (sounds like Larry Cotton) is the author of the memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo . A diffe...
May 17, 2023•32 min•Ep 154•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode features a story by one of our favorite students, Margery Berger . She has been taking classes with us since way before the pandemic. Margery has told stories on our podcast twice before. Episode 46: An Object Is not Just an Object aired in 2018 features a really compelling story about Margery’s obsession with her scale. On Episode 95: What Did It Take to Finally Get Published? Margery told a story about the time her boyfriend said she has ugly hands. That episode is great becaus...
May 03, 2023•44 min•Ep 153•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Danielle Huggins . Danielle has been featured twice before on WCR. In Episode 105: Teach Us Something We Don’t Know where she shared her experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Danielle was also featured in Episode 139: This Is What Mania Looks Like where she takes us through a manic episode. If you haven’t listened to those episodes, definitely check them out. Today’s story was written for our December 2022 writing retreat in Key Largo, edited...
Apr 05, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode showcases the effectiveness of using the story spine structure. The story spine is a story structure as old as time. It’s the model every fairytale follows. It works really well for all stories because it’s intuitive. It’s in our collective unconscious. You will hear three prompt responses from Writing Class Radio’s First Annual Key Largo Writing Retreat. We told our students to think about a time everything changed and then we walked them through the story spine. Kim Costigan...
Mar 22, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we’re talking about how to write about a situation that is ongoing. Typically, at the end of an essay, the narrator writes about what they learned or how they changed. But what if transition IS the change? What happens if there is no happy (or sad) ending…yet? On this episode, Ariane Malfait writes about her transition–-one that is still in progress and may always be. Ariane tells the story of shedding the masculine body she felt never fit. At 19, after bottom surgery, she exp...
Mar 08, 2023•26 min•Ep 150•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, we bring you a story written by Dr. Jane Marks , a conservation ecologist and professor of Aquatic Ecology at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Jane came to Writing Class Radio with the goal of making her academic writing more personal. What she didn’t realize is that writing class, specifically writing personal essays, forces the narrator to go deep and ask the question WHY? Why am I writing this? Why does anyone care? Why is this important to me? Why do I care so much a...
Feb 22, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Pamela Druckerman that has voice, laugh out loud humor, and self knowing, which makes for a reliable narrator. The best part is the narrator doesn’t wait until the end to give a status report. We feel like we are on the adventure with her. There are so many things the narrator does well in this essay including normalizing a threesome. She does this by using language and humor to bring the listener into her adventure with her husband. You do not want to ...
Feb 08, 2023•28 min•Ep 148•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Sally Quon called Finding Home. Sally’s story is an exercise in restraint. Andrea tried a little experiment with Sally’s submission in order to make the story more powerful. She asked Sally to cut all seven mentions of the word, a buse . Andrea learned of this technique while taking a course with Dan Wakefield who assigned the book Name All the Animals by Alison Smith. The book is about grief and yet, the word grief is mentioned only once. Listen and le...
Jan 25, 2023•22 min•Ep 147•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we bring you a story by Terry Barr with a secret he’s kept most of his life. This story highlights the importance of telling the truth and letting go of shame, in this case, about sexual assault. You’ll also hear Terry’s pitch when he submitted his essay to the podcast. AND, we discuss structure. Terry’s structure is exactly what Allison loves. If you want to hear your own stories on Writing Class Radio, this is a great episode to hear. This episode will help you understand what we look f...
Jan 11, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast On today’s episode, we’re bringing you an old episode that’s still relevant and awesome, in case you missed it back in season one. You’ll meet a bunch of students from season 1: Frenchie, Tobi Ash, Cynthia Castillo, Bo, and Nicki Post. You’ll also hear a brief interview with each and the epic talent of Patricia Carlin, aka Frenchie, singing, playing piano, and whistling the tune of Auld Lang Syne. For the in-class prompt, Andrea played Auld Lang Syne. Listen to this episode to see what our...
Dec 28, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we bring you a story by Emily Henderson titled After Our Son Died, My Husband Gave Me The Most Meaningful Christmas Gift Of My Life . Emily workshopped this essay in our Final Draft class and then the Huffington Post published it on December 25, 2021 . This story is an excellent example of using an object to convey emotion, details, and telling in addition to showing. Emily tells us how she’s feeling the entire story which intensifies her vulnerability. To hear another of Emil...
Dec 14, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we’re sharing another story by Corey Devon Arthur. Corey’s stories have been aired on Episode 120: My Pen Uncovers the Real Me and Episode 128: My New Manifesto. Corey Devon Arthur has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder and is currently housed at Otisville Correctional Institution in New York. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project . The story Corey wrote for this episode was in response...
Nov 30, 2022•25 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast Today on our show, we’re talking about beginnings and endings. What is an effective way to begin a story and a satisfying way to end? The story we bring you on this episode is an amazing example of how to start with appropriate grounding and how to land/end the essay like a gymnast. The narrator isn’t just a beginning and ending genius, she also uses lingo associated with her theme. This style is effective, because the reader feels more drawn in. Another example of that same type of inclusive li...
Nov 16, 2022•20 min•Ep 142•Transcript available on Metacast 
