Words to Write by

Is nothing sacred? After exploring how AI might steal our writing jobs, we're now testing whether these digital usurpers can replicate our podcasting chemistry too. Google's NotebookLM claims to transform documents into conversations between virtual "hosts," setting up the perfect showdown with our human-led book discussion format. For this AI vs. human battle royale, we revisit our podcast roots with James Gardner's "The Art of Fiction," specifically tackling that mind-exploding (and not in a good way) final chapter on plot. With words like “profluence” and “picaresque” not to mentions some painfully retrograde sexual politics, this chapter is a doozy. Listen as we compare the artificial hosts' takes with our own snarky comments (er…insights) and decide for yourself: can cold, calculating algorithms somehow make Gardner's impenetrable prose not just comprehensible, but actually entertaining? (Spoiler: the results will surprise you.)Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We've explored AI as brainstorming allies, critique partners, and research assistants. Now we're tackling the most contentious question: should writers use AI in the actual writing process? Not the "generate a novel in a week" approach (both ethically dubious and creatively hollow), but rather using AI as an editor whose word and phrasing suggestions you might incorporate into your novel. Is this approach effective? And even if it is, is it ethical?Join us as we navigate these thorny questions at the intersection of creativity and technology.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

In the current publishing industry, authors are expected to handle their own social media. If we wanted to be out there interacting with people, we probably wouldn't have picked artforms that have us sitting alone for hours everyday. What writer hasn't wished for an assistant to handle their social media? How about assistants we don't have to pay? In this episode, Kim and Renee explore how AI can lighten authors' marketing burden. They demonstrate AI tools that create marketing checklists, research Amazon keywords, build reader personas, and develop social media strategies that won't leave authors exhausted or creatively drained. Also, Renee, without any AI assistance, goes on a great rant.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Can AI truly enhance your creativity without taking over? Our previous episodes left us wondering, but in this episode of "Words to Write by," we interview educator Kate Scott of the "AI for Squishy Humans" newsletter who offers some refreshing answers.Kate reveals her practical framework for taming AI's "enthusiastic toddler" tendencies and transforming it into a genuine creative partner. Drawing from her own experience with her just-published indie fantasy novel, Kate demonstrates how she leverages AI for targeted marketing strategies and discovering innovative ways to connect with potential readers. She shares unexpected ways AI can serve writers beyond just generating content—from personalized writing coaches to creative problem-solving tools that actually strengthen your unique voice.If you've been curious but cautious about AI in your creative process, this conversation with Kate on "Words to Write by" explores approachable methods for conquering blank page syndrome and organizational hurdles that might be exactly what you need to hear.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Submitting work to your first workshop or critique group is nerve-wracking - these aren't your supportive friends or family, but strangers with opinions. Yet honest feedback is the lifeblood of growth for writers. The problem? Workshops are expensive, inflexible, and the quality of feedback varies wildly.What if you could get thoughtful critique on your terms, anytime day or night? That's the promise of AI writing assistants. In this episode, Renee is the guinea pig as she submits a chapter draft from her memoir to Claude and compares its insights against feedback she previously received from human critics.The results? According to Claude, they are “Surprising, illuminating, and potentially game-changing for writers everywhere.” We'll let you be the judge of that. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Can writers harness AI ethically without surrendering the soul of their craft? In our provocative new mini-series, we're not just theorizing about AI's role in creative writing—we're putting it to the test.Picture this: You're staring at a blank page. Your protagonist is trapped, your love interests are stubbornly avoiding each other, or your climactic scene lacks the perfect setup. We've all been there. Could AI be the brainstorming partner that breaks through these creative walls?To find out, we challenged Claude (our AI of choice) with a classic writing exercise from John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. The results? Let's just say they left us speechless—and not for the reasons you might expect.Whether you're an AI skeptic, enthusiast, or simply curious about the future of storytelling, this episode is for you.Tune in to discover if AI truly empowers the creative process—or if it's leading writers down a dangerous path.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

In this episode, we're finally putting the Hero's Journey to rest and bidding farewell to Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey." And by "putting to rest," we mean cramming the entire second half of this doorstop of a book into one episode. Renee takes one for the team by distilling each chapter down to its least painful bits. Then we'll zoom out to discuss what we actually found valuable in this tome and offer our candid recommendations on how to approach reading it.For the second half, we're pivoting to something that won't collect dust on your shelf—our new mini-series on AI and its invasion of the writing world. Do chatbots mean the end of the craft of writing, or can we humans somehow incorporate the AI's as tools to improve our stories? Today, we're just examining how alarmingly far AI has advanced since our last tech episode two years ago (spoiler: it's terrifying).Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey insists all stories follow the Hero's Journey template—but does this actually work for romance novels? I mean, we know they have climaxes... just not necessarily the kind Vogler was talking about.In this workshop, we corner romance author Lia Riley - creator of the time travel regency hockey romance Puck & Prejudice - who's happy to geek out about the structure behind those steamy page-turners. Lia discusses the essential structure, beloved tropes, and what she playfully calls "the butter"—those deeper emotional truths that give romance its irresistible flavor.We chat about the weird contradiction at the heart of romance: how do books where everyone knows the ending somehow dig deeper into who we really are? Lia breaks down how characters fumble through their emotional baggage to find real connection, basically becoming their best selves by falling in love.And because we couldn't let her go without some fun talk, Lia tells us about her own podcast obsessions—Afternoona Delight, where she goes all-in on K-drama analysis, and Afternoona Army, her unapologetic haven for fellow BTS fans.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Just when you thought you had the Hero's Journey all figured out, we're back with a surprising twist! In our previous episode, we confidently declared that the "Road Back Home" stage was the climax of the journey. But according to Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey," we may have jumped the gun. It turns out that the true climax lies in the "Resurrection" stage.Confused? Intrigued? You're not alone! Join us as we try to untangle the differences between the two stages. We'll explore what makes the "Resurrection" stage so pivotal and how it serves as the ultimate test for our hero.But the journey doesn't end there. We'll also shed light on the final stage, the "Return with Elixir," where our hero comes full circle, bringing back the hard-earned wisdom and rewards to share with the world. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Remember family road trips? When you're finally past the halfway point and it's nothing but "Are we there yet?" from the backseat? That's where we are in Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey" - four more stages to go on his Hero's Journey roadmap, and in this episode we're hitting two big ones. First up is "Rewards," where our hero catches their breath after surviving Act 2's major crisis. But don't get too comfortable, because "The Road Home" is anything but a peaceful cruise. Think less scenic route, more high-speed chase, as old enemies pop up in the rearview mirror. Some call this the climax - we sure do. Buckle up!Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Horror stories and the hero's journey - a match made in hell? In this insightful workshop episode, we talk with award-winning horror writer Tim Waggoner to explore his plotting techniques. Tim shares strategies for keeping everyday protagonists actively engaged during the challenging Ordeal stage as they fight for survival. As a bonus, Tim discusses his other cool writing gig: adapting horror movie screenplays into page-turning novels. Whether you're a hardcore horror writer or looking to add more suspense to your next book, Tim has some great ideas and tricks to share. Tune in now and elevate your storytelling!Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Think you know where your hero's journey is headed? Think again. We're diving into the Ordeal - that gut-punch moment some people still confuse with the Climax (spoiler alert: they're not the same thing, folks). This episode had us playing cartographer through the wonderfully labyrinthine (read: headache-inducing) chapters of Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey. Because apparently, writing about story structure needed its own plot twists. After untangling Vogler's literary maze, we tackle the burning questions: When should your protagonist's world implode in Act Two? How do you make readers lose sleep over your crisis scene? We put our hard-earned wisdom to work by dissecting John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society, proving that even giant monster books need their big moment perfectly timed.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

How do you craft a journey worthy of an apocalyptic showdown? Epic Fantasy author Summer H. Hanford reveals the art of preparing characters for those fate-of-the-world battles that define the genre. Through insights from her Summer God Adventure series, Hanford uncovers the delicate balance of building tension, raising stakes, and keeping readers riveted as heroes ready themselves for their ultimate challenge. Plus, discover why choosing teenage protagonists isn't just a trope – it's a strategic storytelling decision that shapes these epic confrontations.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Remember how we've occasionally side-eyed Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey? Well, today we fully roast this bewildering mess, starting with his "Approaching the Innermost Cave" stage, which is the part of the story where the protagonist(s) prepare to face their greatest order (Which is somehow not the story's climax... we're as confused as you are.)Despite Vogler's best efforts to perplex us all, we actually crack the code on how to prep your characters for their big adventure while keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Plus, we dissect John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society to see how his characters approach their 'cave'—which isn't actually a cave at all, because you can't exactly land a helicopter in one of those. Speaking of disappointments: remember Renee wanting more action in Kaiju? She got her wish, and somehow that made it worse.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Looking for help with your novel's middle section? While countless craft books offer guidance on crafting gripping openings and satisfying endings, the challenging second act often gets overlooked. In this workshop episode, we dive deep with freelance editor Kristen Tate, author of the new craft book Novel Study, who reveals why middles become "saggy" and explains why so many writers struggle with this section. Whether you're a meticulous outliner or a spontaneous discovery writer, Kristen shares invaluable strategies to keep your story's midsection as compelling as its beginning and end.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

What really happens between "accepting the call" and facing the big bad? Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey skims through this crucial story phase with vague talk of Tests, Allies, and Enemies. But Kim and Renee aren't settling for that. Armed with John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society (and ditching those tired old Hollywood examples), they'll show you exactly how to craft a story's meaty middle. Whether that alone is enough to keep your readers hooked is up for debate.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

After the hero finally accepts the call, it's onto the next stage, crossing the threshold, provided they have some helpful mentor guidance.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

In today's episode we take a break from discussing and analyzing creative fiction to examining possibly one of the most important, and certainly most stressful, nonfiction projects in a young person's life: writing their college application essay. Our guest, journalist Martha Mendoza, has been helping high school seniors with these essays for over a decade and is one of the organizers in her local school district's annual essay mentoring program. In our discussion she talks about what makes these essays so difficult, gives advice for how seniors might choose topics and how we, as writers, might help a student out.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

How do you shift your book's hero from their nice, cozy ordinary world into the adventure. According to Christopher Vogler in his book, The Writer's Journey, you have them answer the call. In this episode we discuss the various forms that the call stage can take, and also why, even the most willing hero must "refuse the call." To illustrate how this works in a non-movie example, we turn to John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society that fulfills both these requirements in clever and witty ways.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Does the mystery genre follow the Hero's Journey? According to historical mystery writer Colette Clark. Not so much. Join us for our discussion about how Colette structures her novels and figures out who the murder is (sometime just before she finishes her first draft). Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

If you have read even just the first part of a blog post on the hero's journey, you know the hero starts off in the ordinary world before embarking on their epic adventure. But the ordinary world is more than a boring place the hero is itching to leave. According to Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer's Journey, there's a lot of that needs to be included in the ordinary world section of the story. The writer must establish an interesting and sympathetic main character, set the mood and expectations, establish what's at stake, and squeeze in backstory (using graceful exposition) and theme. That's a lot to unpack, bur we somehow manage in this podcast episode! There are many, many more subheadings in this very loooong chapter, but as we point out, most don't need to be there. Vogler finishes up the chapter with examples from The Wizard of Oz (the movie, not the book) Rather than rehash that, we picked a better book: John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society and boy does it ever have on heck of an ordinary world for the hero to leave behind.Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

In our regular podcast, we've successfully made it through all of Vogler's archetypes (from his book, The Writer's Journey). Armed with this knowledge we decided to see if we could identify the archetypes in Kim's novel, What our Comeback Tour is Slaying Monsters (coming out this October). Along the way, Renee “learned more about boy bands then I've known in my whole life!”Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Are we done with archetypes now? Almost!There are just three more archetype chapters in Christopher Vogler's book, The Writer's Journey, and we have issues with two of them. The Shadow feels more like a force than a character and anyone from a legit supporting actor to unnamed gofer can be labeled an Ally. The one archetype we did like was the Trickster, whose actions and words can bring much needed chaos to your story. They all make for great discussions in this episode.For literary examples we turned to Howl's Moving Castle and The Witcher (books, video game, but NOT the show)Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Send us a Text Message.What if writing the first draft was the easy part? Every week on serial writing websites like Royal Road, hundreds of authors will upload 5, 10, 20,000, or more words of their latest saga. Many of these magnum opuses are LitRPG, a genre that's huge on Kindle Unlimited but pretty much unknown to most readers.In today's workshop we talk to LitRPG author and podcaster, Madix, about LitRPG, what makes it so popular with readers and writers, and his own decision to rewrite the opening book in his Torchbearer series. And if you want to know more, check out his LitRPG podcast - CritRPGRemember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Send us a Text Message.Everyone who's read a blog post on the Hero's Journey can spot the Hero and Mentor archetypes, but what about a Threshold Guardian, or Herald, or elusive Shapeshifter? Are these actual story archetypes or just personifications of the early stages in the Hero's Journey? Do they play a significant role in modern narratives? And just how sexist is Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer's Journey, going to get in his descriptions of the femme fatal/temptress Shapeshifter? Find out what we have to say about these three archetypes in this episode---and boy, does Renee have things to say.As a bonus, we draw upon Diana Wynne Jones's book, Howl's Moving Castle, for examples.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Send us a Text Message.In response to Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousands Faces, aka The Hero's Journey, folklorists and academics (many of them female) countered some of the major steps and archetypes that Campbell claimed were universal. In today's workshop we explore the some of the ideas of The Heroine's Journey with author and academic, Elana Gomel. Using her just published dark fantasy Nine Levels, Elana shows how her book doesn't follow the Hero's Journey, somewhat follows the Heroine's Journey, and eventually takes it's own path entirely.Check out her book here.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

The Mentor -- Arguably the second most identified archetype from The Hero's Journey (after the eponymous hero). In his book, The Writer's Journey, Christopher Vogler has a lot to say about the mentor: why are they important, what do they do, what kinds of mentors are there, and do you actually need one in your story (okay, the last one might just be us).In this episode, Kim and Renee discuss these points using examples from Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Last episode we explored the concept of the hero archetype as presented in Christopher Volger's The Writer's Journey. But analysis is one thing. We wanted to see if we could use the ideas to create/develop an actual protagonist.Renee's has a Frankenstein story idea that she so badly wants to read that she's willing to write it herself. In this workshop she applies Vogler's hero archetype concept and prompts to develop her protagonist and plot points. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Whether every protagonist is a hero is open to debate (and debate it we do in this episode) but it we can agree that the vast majority of protagonists in genre fiction are heroes (if not always heroic). In today's episode we go deep into Christopher Volger's chapter on the hero archetype from his book, The Writer's Journey. To explore his ideas in we're referencing The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Despite being written almost sixty years ago, Beagle's fairytale feels modern and makes for an excellent sandbox to dig around in for support and opposition on whether the story's hero (It's the Unicorn, obviously) conforms to Volger's hero profile, and also if his Hero's Journey is a good framework for understanding her quest.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Last episode we mapped all 12 steps of Christopher Volger's Hero's Journey (as presented in his book, The Writer's Journey) to J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit. As you can see from Renee's show notes, they lined up pretty well. But what about a story not written by a British scholar steeped in mythology and folklore? For this workshop, we put Kim's soon-to-be-published novel, Our Comeback Tour is Slaying Monsters, through the same analysis, to mixed success.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We've officially started our new book, Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey. And boy is there a lot in the first two chapters!First (or first after Kim's rant) is an overview of the Hero's Journey, yes, dear listener, we cover all twelve steps. And as examples for those steps we turn to... The Hobbit (the OG book version, not the movie). After that, we move to archetypes, what they are and what they mean for your story. It's a very informative episode. Also, check out our show notes.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We're on the last chapter of Judith Barrington's book, Writing Your Memoir: practical advice on critique groups, plus the dos and don't of giving and getting feedback. It's practical and useful and everything thing we've come to expect from Barrington.  And before we close the book on memoir, we give our final takes on the book along with what chapters we think are mores useful.And then .... something new.Our new book is Christopher Volger's The Writer's Journey. Written back in the 90's this book brought the Hero's Journey mainstream for scriptwriters, and also, as the subtitle promises, for writers. Before we jump into the book proper, we take a moment to consider its introductions (there's two of them) and the promises they make. Get ready for the snark, but also an examination on the mythic structure plotting approach to your writing. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Your memoir is about you (obviously) but it's not just about you. In this episode we cover Judith Barrington's chapter on how (and why) to bring events from the real world into your memoir. And in our writing exercise we try it out by remembering our own lives during a moment in history.Then it's on to the penultimate chapter in Writing the Memoir  where Barrington has some writer self-care advice. Who can disagree about self care? Well… Also in this episode Kim interviews a poet who left the Plain community about how she navigates revealing true details when writing about her experiences from that time.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

For this week's workshop episode, Renee wrote about the brief time she spent as a child in Pacific Grove, CA, taking care to identify specific streets and locations as recommended by Judith Barrington in her book Writing the Memoir.  We discuss and analysis this technique to see how it can improve our memoir writing.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Writing (and publishing) a memoir can be nerve wracking. What if the people you're writing about don't like your portrayal of them? What if they hate it? What if they decide to sue?In this episode we discuss the chapter (and appendix) that cover this memoirist's fear in Judith Barrington's book, Writing the Memoir — both from an emotional and legal perspective. We also talk about the importance of using place names in your memoir and practice the technique in our writing exercise.And, check it out, we have a new intro (same music of course)!Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of hyperbole, but not by much. In this stand alone episode we talk with Erik Klass, the entrepreneurial editor behind the submission service Submitit about what literary journals are looking for in short stories and creative non-fiction.  He also discusses how his company evaluates and chooses particular journals for their client's stories.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Last week we covered time in memoir, specifically how the writer can jump back and forth in time and the reader can follow along easily.  In this episode, we identify signposts and time jumps in two short memoir pieces. One by one of Kim' s favorite science writers, Rebecca Skloot.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Memoirs are rarely straight chronological narratives, what with the musing we talked about last episode, and they almost always jump forwards and backwards in time. We discuss Judith Barrington take the mental Time Machine from her book Writing the Memoir, specifically the idea of the “Now” and how with a little signposting, readers can follow along. We also do a bit of grammar review (just a little) and how we use tenses in our own books.Then it's onto the nearly ubiquitous chapter that every writing craft book has on sensory detail. We cover the difference between concrete and abstract detail and the best practices for describing characters. This week's exercise is some text analysis where we pick apart a short memoir timeline. Time to get our literature geek on.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We've gotten to the part of Judith Barrington's Writing the Memoir  where she covers the actual writing of in a memoir, the words on the page. In addition to scenes, which we've covered in our fiction writing podcasts, Barrington says memoirs contain summaries and musings. In this episode, we discuss all three (with examples!) and talk about how they fit together. And if you're still not clear about the musing, check out our writing exercise where Renee writes about an awful Great America experience, with and without musings.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

Readers seek out memoirs because they want true stories. But the truth, according to Judith Barrington in her book Writing the Memoir, is more than using Google to fact check. There are also emotional truths, which are harder than factual truths due of our imperfect memories, because they might offend our friends, families and communities, and because they can be painful, both to write, and to read. All of these ideas made for a fascinating podcast conversation. Also in this episode, we interview Raime Liddle, whose on-the-road life adventures with her mother-in-law went viral and led to a her writing Driving Miss Norma. And then in our writing exercise, Kim recounts a harrowing bike accident she had as a teen. Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

Chronological, essays, skipping through time, interspersed non-fiction — there are so many forms that memoir can take. Judith Barrington covers several in her book, Writing the Memoir, and in this episode we discuss the options, and why you might choose one for your memoir. As a bonus, Renee shares an exercise she's come up with for finding your memoir's theme. Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

Baring one's soul in a memoir is hard work. Convincing others to care, to engage in your life story may be even harder. In her book, Writing the Memoir, Judith Barrington says the first step is getting ourselves to care about our memoir. In this podcast we discuss both her philosophical reasoning and practical advice. In this week's writing exercise, Kim tries to come up with what her memoir should be about.Iit does not go well. Thankfully Renee is there to pep-talk Kim off the edge. Fun times! Plus we have two short interviews with memoirists, Marlene Bumgarner and Janice P. Kehler,  about how they included self analysis and judgement in their memoirs.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

We're starting a NEW BOOK - Judith Barrington's Writing the Memoir. And what better place to start than by discussing what a memoir is, and what memoir isn't, and just how truthful do you need to be, important questions that are addressed in the book's first chapter. But that's only half the episode. We once again have a book with writing prompts at the end of the chapters. We might be a bit rusty at following instructions, but the results are a hoot to listen to.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 12 episodes and in this final episode we cover her end of the class advice, along with how to avoid libel (not sure why that got placed there) and give our opinion about the book as a whole. And then, because there's always another writing craft book, we reveal what we're reading next … Judith Barrington's Writing the Memoir. Finally, we have a great discussion about memoir writing classes with one of Renee's favorite memoir writing instructors, Joselin Linder.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 end of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird we investigate other rewards for writing, like to to find ones voice, or as way of giving. And then we get back to publishing (this is a writing advice podcast) and discuss Lamott's opinion that it's not all that it's cracked up to be. We also check in with writers Patrick Dugan and John Gibson about how they deal with writers block. And for our writing exercise, Kim takes a stab at writing a page of her humorous fantasy in the voice of George R.R. Martin.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 writer's block, as well as her technique of letter writing to get at the heart of your story. We also have an insightful conversation on exactly why memoirists (or at least Renee) want strangers to read about their lives.But before that, we have an interview with Kerry Muir from the The Writing Salon on what makes a workshop successful. Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 get the most of out of one once you're in? In todays episode, we discuss the chapters "Writing Groups" and "Someone to Read your Drafts" from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird. We also recall some WTF moments from our own writing workshops and address the dangers of toxic beta readers.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 in our current Information Age. Specifically, Lamott writes about capturing one's thoughts on index cards, and how to use a telephone to get information and also, to get a larger sense of people's views. Although we now use our phones for much more, there's still some nuggets of inspiration in these chapters of the book.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 episode, we'll discuss author Anne Lamott's struggle and solutions to this problem from her book Bird by Bird. First we'll tackle the good voice, the inspiration that we keep ignoring, Lamott calls this the “Broccoli” then the bad voice “Station K-FUK” and finally that thing that will tear you apart, jealousy. And, as a bonus, Kim talks about the highs and lows from her trip to Japan (check out our show notes for a very scary video of mountain leeches)Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 encourages us to see, truly see, the world. That sounds like mindfulness training to Kim, it sounds like something else to Renee. And then it's onto The Moral Point of View which brings out an even more heated discussion. In the end, we're not sure if we learned anything, but we definitely got some stuff out of systems.On a practical useful note, we have a great interview with editor Kristen Tate about how developmental editing can be used to save a novel, with some excellent advice about how she does this with her clients.Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*

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 rewrote what would be her second novel several times, probably deserves a prize for perseverance (or stubbornness). In this podcast we discuss what was wrong with each of those drafts and the techniques she used to fix them. We even try her idea of writing a plot treatment for our own chapters.  Also in this episode, we have an interview with Catherina Hill about how she researched a largely forgotten dark moment of American history that personally affected her family and how she used research for her historical-fiction novel. Want to hear more of our exercise workshop? We post the bonus podcast, SnarkNotes, and detailed write up of the exercises on our Words to Write by Patreon account.*Support this podcast on Patreon*