Why Is This Good?

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 is the spare writing achieved? How much ca...

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 co...

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? How can we develop good tension for a stor...

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 story? How can we establish character? For daily wr...

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/group...

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 is a first-person...

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 the story? How can ruminating on...

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 twists? How can we use unconsciou...

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? How can commo...

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 intricate near-future setting...

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 the action? How can elevated language drive a story and help th...

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 tension? How can a story explore an idea wi...

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 there ambiguities in this story that sugges...

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 story provide for the overall effect? What d...

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 we write for adults when we write about kids? What...

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 find the “meaning” o...

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 confront...

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, symbolism, theme, and other story elements work toget...

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 excellent characterization? For daily writin...

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 work here? How do character and plot w...

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 confidently refuses to acknow...

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 glean any ti...

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 does fiction help us dig deeper into our...

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 like a Greek Tragedy? How can we use the form of a...

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 the reader and create a memorable story? Wher...