The Writerly Bites Podcast

This week, stuff was going on at your school that you didn't know about at the time. Write your way back into the memories and the discoveries.Reading recommendation: ORBITAL, by Samantha Harvey.

This week, you've got to write about what wakes you in the night, even if it's difficult.Reading recommendation: BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2024.

This week, a way to re-discover your novel, and plan for the future of completing it.Reading recommendation: THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, by James McBride.

This week, don't delay any longer. Send your friend a draft and get some feedback.Reading recommendation: ELEVEN HUSKIES by Philip Schott.

This week, make a plan for some special writing time. Tips and thoughts about building your own writing retreat.Reading recommendation: THE COMEDIANS, by Graham Greene.

This week, get your character to tell a story about themselves, and discover what's truly on their mind.Reading recommendation: REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong.

This week, find the person who is going to keep you to your writing and help you accomplish your goals. They're out there!Reading recommendation: WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange.

This week, I catch up on my reading and pick my favorite reads of 2024.Please like and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, don't let the holiday season interfere with your most fundamental creative task.Reading recommendation: THE HUNTER, by Tana French.

Get back to the joy this week with your writing.Book recommendation: BEAR, by Julia Phillips

This week, find the threads of your story, pick them all up and weave them together.Book recommendation: NORTH WOODS, by Daniel Mason.

I'm back, writers! The Writerly Bites Podcast is resuming its weekly tips for making your writing life better, and I'm starting with the power of beginning again.Reading recommendation: THE GOD OF THE WOODS, Liz Moore.

Use an old riddle to ratchet up the conflict in your story this week.Book Recommendation: THE GUEST, Emma Cline.

This week, I'm talking about the wonderful, weird, magical re-boot that second person perspective can offer a story.

This week, the perils of third person. Every tool that gives you power and control is suspect.Please leave a review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, the power, beauty, and control of writing in the third person.Book recommendation: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

Part of a mini-series about the joys and pitfalls of point of view. I'm talking about the dangers of first person perspective today.Please rate and review on Apple podcasts.

In this week's episode, I'm beginning a short series on choosing the right point of view for your story.Please leave a review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

Writerly Bites is back and I'm thrilled to post this interview with novelist Rachel Cantor!Rachel Cantor is the author of the novels Half-Life of a Stolen Sister (Soho Press 2023), Good on Paper(Melville House 2016), and A Highly Unlikely Scenario (Melville House 2014). Two dozen of her stories have been published in the Paris Review, One Story, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review, New England Review, and elsewhere. She has written about fiction for National Public Radio, the Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she is writing a series of middle grade and young adult books set in Manhattan's Lower East Side.Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

I read the first page from the novel, and leave you with a writing tip for the week. Tune in for the regular return of the podcast in weeks to come.

For the last podcast episode of 2022, my favorite reads of the year. Happy holidays and see you in the new year, listeners!

Back after a hiatus, and I'm talking about the magic of showing up for yourself and your writing.Book recommendation: BLISS MONTAGE by Ling Ma.

This week, write about home: all the fraught feelings and complex associations of home.Book recommendation: CITY OF INCURABLE WOMEN, by Maud Casey.

Getting into the mood for halloween this week with tips for what makes ghost stories great — and why non-ghost stories can benefit from them.Book recommendation: THE LITTLE STRANGER by Sarah Waters.

Even stories that start with "Once Upon a Time" are playing with time in bold ways. Try some new ways to shake up time this week.Book recommendation: VERY COLD PEOPLE, by Sarah Manguso.

Try breaking all the rules of form and function in your story this week.Why not leave a review on Apple Podcasts? It really helps the podcast grow.

This week, make a surprising odd couple with your words.Book recommendation: INTIMACIES, by Katie Kitamura.

Put two things together that have never been smashed together before this week.Book recommendation: INTIMACIES, by Katie Kitamura.

We're back for the fall with new weekly tips, interviews, book recommendations, and thoughts about what you can do today for your writing. This week, consider an alternative story structure.Book recommendation: DISORIENTATION, by Elaine Hsieh Chou.

Pay attention to the physical in your writing this week.Book recommendation: The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco

Write a draft this week that's all about discovering what you want to write about.Please leave a review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week I'm interviewing author Valerie Lute for her favorite writing tips.Valerie Lute is a writer whose short stories have appeared in Arts & Letters, Literary Orphans and Contrary Magazine, among others. You can find her kayaking on the Charles River, attending Shakespeare productions in Greater Boston, or online at valerielute.com.Please leave a review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

In part II of this two-part episode, I talk about finding just the right ending for your story.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

In this two-part episode, I'm talking about finding the ending for your story.Book recommendation: SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, on comic book hero storylines and the problems of the origin story.Please drop a review in Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

I'm highlighting two of my favorite episodes from last summer this week. Enjoy the summer season, writers, and see you back here in a couple of weeks!

I'm talking about the radical possibilities of revision this week.Book recommendation: Exhalation, by Ted ChiangPlease rate and review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, we're searching for the dark dark room in the center of our story.Book recommendation: ALL'S WELL by Mona Awad.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, talking about why a good story is like a dress on a dress form.Book recommendation: A GHOST IN THE THROAT by Doireann Ni Ghriofa.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week's episode is for the hand-writers out there, but it also has tips for if you write on the computer.Recommendation: HOUSEKEEPING, by Marilynne Robinson.Please leave a review at Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow!

We're talking about the difference between a great concept and a great story this week.Recommendation: Atlanta (TV series)Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, on casting a spell, building your story's vibe, and understanding the limits of atmosphere.Book recommendation: THE SWIMMERS by Julie Otsuka.

Stuck in a writing rut, or traveling in loops? This week, tips for breaking out of it.Book recommendation: TOKYO UENO STATION, by Yu Miri.

I had the pleasure of speaking with author Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan for this week's episode. Cheryl is the author of several books; most recently, she is the co-editor and contributor of ANONYMOUS SEX. Learn more at http://cheryllulientan.com.Please rate and review on Apple podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, get out your red pen and try some concrete exercises to make five pages of your story better.Book recommendation: ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, by James HerriotPlease leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

Hillary Jordan is the author of the novels Mudbound and When She Woke as well as the digital short "Aftermirth," all published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. She also co-created and co-edited, with Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, the groundbreaking erotica anthology Anonymous Sex, forthcoming from Scribner on February 1, 2022. Hillary's stories have been translated into 15 languages. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts; it really helps Writerly Bites grow.

This week, face the story that scares you.Book recommendation: BUNNY by Mona Awad.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm thinking about showing the big loves and little loves of your character in your fiction.Book recommendation: LOOKER by Laura Sims.Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

This week, I'm admitting the best kept secret of many writers.Book recommendation: MIDDLEMARCH, by George Eliot. Join me in reading Middlemarch in 2022!

This week, take a small step in the other direction and look around you.Book recommendation: FIGHT NIGHT, by Miriam Toews.Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it really helps the podcast grow.

Today's tip: you don't have to be every kind of writer.Book recommendation: MILK BLOOD HEAT by Dantiel Moniz.