Radio FreeWrite

This week we’ve got a special author episode, exploring the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We explore alternate cultures, get meta with it, and discuss Adichie’s work and how it influenced our own writing. Stories feature memories of a scarf; a case of missing identity; a girl like all the other girls; and a trip to a foreign land.  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  Aigrette...

This week the Cru look forward to a life well-lived; look backward in a vivid memory; and contemplate the meaning of the Curse of the Fire Ants.  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:   The (Cruel) Fates.  The Greeks and Romans supposed there were three Parcae or Fates, who arbitrarily controlled the birth, life, and death of every man.  They were Clotho (who held the distaff), Lache...

The Cru's stories this week feature a life of poetry; a misty dance; a meditation on nutmegs; and the call of the void.  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable :  Birds of Paradise  are described by old naturalists as being destitute of feet, dwelling ever in the air, wafted about in the bright sunbeams without the mechanism of wings, nourished on dew and the odour of flowers, lik...

Calamity Jane is back for Part II, featuring stories and poems from The Cru about calamitous dates, uncertain relationships, and a Hero of Earth.  John McWhorter was mentioned on this week's episode. His podcast Lexicon Valley can be found here . Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from t...

And now for something completely different: this episode features works created by YOU, our listeners! Happy Assassin, Kadon, and former guest (and fan favorite) PC Nottingham submitted stories inspired by Calamity Jane , the Wild Wild West's preeminent HBIC. The Cru discuss the ways that writing a story with the intention of reading it aloud affects the creation of the story itself. From Bre...

Krispy and Murph provide excerpts and updates from their respective novels. WebEater reads from his current project, continuing his story from episode #25: Empyromancy. Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!   Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that&apos...

This week the Cru discuss the Russian master of short fiction, Anton Chekhov.  From dancing rivalries to the shadows of war, our stories abide by no laws as imagination flies and flourishes in homage to a man who is truly the greatest of all time.  Be sure to keep an eye on our social media accounts for a writing challenge! The prompt drops 3/25/22. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fabl...

This week the Cru is inspired by the fairy-tale prompt, Swan Maidens, to write prose, poems, and even ranting conversations. You won't want to miss this week's stories featuring multiple fantastical animal-human transformations, wars, and strange therapy sessions. We also discuss the writing craft and the inspiration behind each of our pieces. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and...

This week the Cru bring you terrifying tales of pagan temples; the enthusiastic embellishments of old men; platitudes turned on their heads; and an archaeological dig that promises to be so much more. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Janus . The ancient Roman deity who kept the gate of heaven; hence the guardian of gates and doors. He was represented with two faces, one in front...

This week the Cru gets experimental! We try out different styles of literature as we explore fortune and fire (and cooking as it’s own kind of magic).  Stories begin around the 10 minute mark.  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable :  Empyromancy. An ancient method of divination by observing the behaviour of certain objects when placed on a sacrificial fire (Greek empurous , 'fie...

The Cru take a trip through the sands of time to experiment with hieroglyphic mysticism in this week's episode.  Stories feature a boy yearning for freedom (no matter the cost); a timeless cruise on the Nile; adventures along the border of this world and the next; heritage in the desert; and... a Led Zeppelin song?  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:   Scarab.  A trinket in t...

This week the Cru explores the concept of the Carpet Knight! From doomed quests of old to modern day carpet installation, we’ve got a great lineup of four stories to satisfy your thirst for a good tale. We also discuss Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian and the use of violence in literature.  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Carpet Knight.  A knight dubber at court by favour, not...

This special author episode focuses on the writing of Virginia Woolf (1882 - 1941). We try to capture her essence in our own works, featuring stream of consciousness feats from the Cru.   From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable : Tantalus .  In  Greek  mythology,  the son  of  Zeus  and  Pluto  (daughter  of  Himantes). He  was  a  Lydian  king,  highly  honoured  and prosperous;  but, ...

Zounds! This episode we've got shipwrecked deities; villages composed of sound; rhymes galore (zounds and hounds abound); and pleading with God in the realm of dreams. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Zounds! A minced oath, euphemistic for 'God's wounds'.  Listen to our storytelling sounds in this episode of zounds! Like this weeks episode and wish you could r...

The Cru had a rough day. A hide-under-the-covers-with-a-dram-of-whisky kind of day.   Instead, they got together for fellowship and literature.  Ain't that what it's all about?  From Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy:   I believe it's 'jogging' or 'yogging.' it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time! It...

The Cru tackle an unusual prompt- the currency of colonial India.  Word repetition and intentional word choice are  discussed as essential tools for the craft of writing. From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable : R.A.P.  Rupees, annas, and pies, in India; correspinding to £. s.d. in Britain. Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for...

Enter bat country! The Cru take inspiration from the work of the late great Hunter S. Thompson this episode. A mouse's journey, a bad trip involving orcs and elves, drunken deep sea fishing, money galore, and many more adventures await for the intrepid listener. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Tune in and freak out with the Cru this week in this special writer-inspired episode. From Brewer&apo...

The Cru add their own contributions to the Man, the Myth, the Legend: Tarzan.  Stories feature meditations on our modern world; gossip columns; the Kinks; and Tarzan learning how to smile without starting a fight to the death. :) From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  Tarzan. The foundling who was reared by apers in the Aftican jungle was created in 1912 by the US writer Edgar Rice Bu...

We bring you nothing but holiday tales on this Christmas Eve edition.  The Cru is joined by B52 for his first regular episode (he appeared on FreeWrite#1, our little Thanksgiving interlude).  B52 is a local engineer who wrote with us during the early days of the pandemic, but has not written much since.  He is girding up his loins and joining us once again, using the Radio FreeWrite method to impr...

The Cru are joined by writer PC Nottingham for an evening of long distance hiking, prehistoric sword and sorcery, a nutty professor, and more await in this episode's stories!  From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  To do something completely and thoroughly, without compromise or reservation: to go the whole way.  Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen?...

The Cru chat Vonnegut's style and thematic preferences, then attempt to write a story in his voice.  We encourage you to read some Vonnegut before writing , and to shamelessly steal his style in your own work this week.   From  Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  Hogmanay (hog ma na/). The name given in Scotland to the last day of the year, also to an entertainment or present given...

The Cru grapple with some deeper questions this week. What is the spirit of our era? Is it even possible to define the zeitgeist of a current era? How are such things decided, anyway? Each story tonight is the author's attempt to capture what he or she sees as the spirit of our modern times.  Banter@1:27, Murph@19:11, The Lotus@31:05, Krispy@43:55, and WebEater@54:00 From Brewer's Dictio...

The Cru got together before the holiday for a FreeWrite session: no prompt, just hanging out with friends and writing our current projects.  B52 returned from a long hiatus (he hasn't participated in a published episode yet!) to share a RFW story from over a year ago that he is growing into a novel.  Krispy read from his novel-to-be, an adventure story about a girl who strives to live among t...

The Cru have an in-depth discussion on creating empathy for characters who do awful things, like fathers who abandon their children.  Krispy adds some levity with an anthropomorphized Wind, equal parts trickster and temper-tantrumy toddler.   And, to make it a true grab-bag type episode, there are farts. From Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Caurus. The Latin name for the northwest wind: Th...

Murph's out of town this week (well, further out of town than usual).  The rest of The Cru get a little... hare-brained in his absence.  Stories run the gamut from crazy cat ladies to Joan of Arc, with a healthy does of Stepford disturbia for good measure.  IF your podcast provider does not support chapters, you can skip to 1:33 for the banter; 11:03 for Krispy's story; 24:48 for WebEate...