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 “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer . What can we learn from such a strongly character-driven story? How does story relate to character? How can we create engaging and believable characters?...

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 are joined by our friend and author, Karl Luntta.  Karl is the author of the novel Know it By Heart (Northwestern University Press/Curbstone) and short story collection Swimming (SUNY Press) , and has published fict...

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 are joined by our friend and author, Karl Luntta.  Karl is the author of the novel Know it By Heart (Northwestern University Press/Curbstone) and short story collection Swimming (SUNY Press) , and has published fict...

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 Alone” by Sallie Bingham . What can we learn from this tightly packed feminist story? How can quickly drawn and distinct characters help a story? How can character interactions help develop...

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 Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin . What can we learn from a non-traditional story that is not driven by character or scene? How can a story create a takeaway instead 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’re joined once again by our friend, author James Zwerneman. We discuss “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain .  What can we learn from Twain’s famous story? How much...

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 invited our friend James Zwerneman to join our conversation, and James suggested we discuss a chapter from The Lost World by Michael Crichton. What can we learn from a single chapter from a novel? What can a single 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 “Gator Butchering for Beginners” by Kristen Arnett . Can Kristine and JC handle the podcast without Rob during a pandemic? What can we learn from a piece of flash fiction that’s less than 60...

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 “Woodland” by Lydia Millet . What can we learn from the new genre of Climate-Change Fiction, Cli-fi? How does setting help define character? Can setting overwhelm character? How can a story&#8217...

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 School” by Donald Barthelme . Can fiction just be fun? How do voice and rhythm help build humor? How deep into the weeds can we get talking about first and second person? For daily writing 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 “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian . Is it okay to ignore the advice to “show, don’t tell”? Why does this story succeed when it “tells” so much, and what lessons can...

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 “Baader-Meinhof” by Don DeLillo . How can characters that misunderstand one another help drive our fiction? How can both meeting a stranger and looking at art change how a character sees the world...

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 “Sweet on the Tongue” by Roxane Gay .  What can we learn about characterization from subtly drawn characters?  How do relationships help develop character?  What can we learn about structure from...

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 Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison .  What can we learn from a story that depicts some of the most horrible things we might imagine?  How can we quickly set up a story’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 “To the Measures Fall” by Richard Powers .  What can we learn from a story written in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style?  What can we learn about character from a story whose main 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 “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury .  What can we learn from a story with no apparent characters?  How can we establish a POV without characters?  How does language introduce hidden per...

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 “Black-Eyed Women” by Viet Thanh Nguyen . What can we learn from a story that features a ghost? What function can a ghost serve in a narrative? How can a strong central metaphor inform the shape...

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 “Goodbye and Good Luck” by Grace Paley .  How can a strong character voice drive a story even without a complex plot?  Can a character sketch or portrait of an attitude be a complete and fulfilli...

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 “Gender Studies” by Curtis Sittenfeld .  How can a stereotype become a nuanced and unexpectedly deep character?  How can a character who doesn’t understand their own desires affect or drive...

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 read “Lady Tigers” by Nick White .  We discuss what we can learn about the all-too-familiar writer’s advice to “show, don’t tell” and how this story helps us understand that advic...

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 Babysitter” by Robert Coover .  What lessons can we take from such a unique piece that takes so many chances and nevertheless succeeds wildly? For daily writing tips, industry news, and grea...

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 “Closer” by Greg Egan .  What can we learn about writing fiction in general from a “Hard” Science Fiction story?  How can philosophical questions influence our fiction? Find Egan&#821...

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 “Girls, At Play” by Celeste Ng .  What lessons can we draw from a story with such a startling premise?  Is there more to learn about perspective and point of view?  How do our intentions for a st...

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 “Only Tourists Remember the Alamo” by Alicia D. Ortega .  How can a specific, real-life setting influence a story?  How does a non-linear structure that allows you to quickly slip in and out of 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 “Victory Lap” by George Saunders .  What can we learn about writing character and stream of consciousness and point of view from a master of characterization and perspective. For daily writing ti...