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 “Redemption” by John Gardner . What can we learn from this story based on true events from the author’s childhood? How important is it that depictions feel real? How can we very quickly int...

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 Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri . What can we learn from this story with such a simple premise? How can memory inform a story? How does memory differ from flashback? How can a story be driv...

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 Worshipful Society of Glovers” by Mary Robinette Kowal . What can we learn from this historical fantasy story? Do fantasy stories have a steep learning curve? How can we quickly build an alt...

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 “To Build a Fire” by Jack London . What can we learn from this classic, straightforward story? How can immediacy drive a story? How can the story’s setting be an intrinsic part of the narra...

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 our one-hundredth episode, we discuss “The Lady with the Pet Dog” by Joyce Carol Oates . What can we learn from this retelling of Anton Chekhov’s story “The Lady with the Little Dog” ? How does the rete...

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 “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl . What can we learn from this classic story? How versatile can a story’s point of view be? How can subtle shifts of point of view change how we see a c...

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 Father” by Raymond Carver . What can we learn from this very short story? How much needs to be explained? How do we know where to end a story? How can we layer character reactions and motiva...

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 “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes . What can we learn from this classic science-fiction story? What happens when a story is driven by plot over character? How does the changing diction help...

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 “Incarnations of Burned Children” by David Foster Wallace . What can we learn from this work of flash fiction by a master writer? Does it matter what “really” happens at the end? How...

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 “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” by Haruki Murakami . What can we learn from this simple tale? How can a story be driven by hypotheticals? How can a feeling drive a s...

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 Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway . What can we learn from a Hemingway story? How can we depict a character who isn’t experiencing reality as it really is? How can this help us...

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 “Dinosaur” by Bruce Holland Rogers . What can we learn from a 300-word piece of flash fiction? How does a story so short manage to depict an entire lifetime? How does it invoke such a complex emo...

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 Venus Effect” by Violet Allen . What can we learn from this work of metafiction? How can metafictional elements help a story accomplish its effects? What function can an author construct ser...

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 Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald . What can we learn from this story built around the strange premise of aging in reverse? How can a single concept be the seed for a s...

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 “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor . What can we learn from this classic story from a great writer? How does its structure work? How are background and flashback handled? How does t...

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 “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders . What can we learn from yet another great story from Saunders? What is voice, and does an author have a voice separate from the characters? How much 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 “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0” by Caroline M. Yoachim . What can we learn from a “Choose Your Own Adventure&#822...

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 Swimmer” by John Cheever . What can we learn from this fantastic story? What can we say about the point of view? How does Neddy’s journey drive the way we understand the story? Does 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 “Wikihistory” by Desmond Warzel . What can we learn from this story set on an internet forum? How can we be creative with pseudo-paratext? How can we rely on a reader’s understanding of for...

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 Black Phone” by Joe Hill . What can we learn from a story by one of Stephen King’s kids? How does horror work in written form? How can we craft prose that lets the reader zip through t...

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 “Referential” by Lorrie Moore . What can we learn from a story inspired by another famous story? What can we learn from the changes Moore makes in the story? What about the story elements and eve...

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 “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx . What can we learn from the quiet voice of this story? How does the narrative voice represent the characters? How can the setting determine the voice of the...

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 Future is Blue” by Catherynne M. Valente . What can we learn from this cli-fi story? What makes a great prose style? How can we make our prose fun to write and fun to read? How can sentence...

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 Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber . What can we learn from this happy little story and its main character’s vivid daydreams? How does the literary form help us create this...

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 “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid . What can we learn from this little story? Is it flash fiction? What is it? How can we create rich characters by presenting only what they say? For daily writing tips,...