writing class radio

Today, we’re talking about writing stories meant to be told out loud . Jahn Dope tells his story, Tackled, about the time he was raped. Andrea Askowitz tells her story Thank You For Listening, about the time she went 24 hours without talking about herself. Both stories were told on stage at Lip Service in front of 600 people. You’ll hear how a performance can change the gravity of a subject. Allis...

Today, we are stepping out of order because it’s February and we’re in the U.S. and we can’t avoid thinking about love. So, we’re bringing you a Valentine’s Day episode. This episode is a little different. Slightly less teachy, thought not without this lesson: A good way to approach a story is to ask a question and then to try to answer it. You’ll meet students from season two and you’ll hear from...

We’re talking about stakes. And we don’t mean those slabs of meat you eat if you’re not a vegetarian, but what makes a listener or a reader care about a story. And we’re talking about what we have to lose as storytellers when we tell our stories. One thing we know about memoir writing is that the narrator lived to tell the tale. So if we know the narrator lived, why do we care? The job of storytel...

This episode is about writing humor . Andrea tells a joke only she thinks is funny, then calls our humor expert, Jay Wexler, who confirms just how funny her joke is. Jay is an attorney and the author of five books. Later in the show, Jay shares his ten suggestions for writing humor. Andrea adds four. Together, they have 14 suggestions for writing humor. Terry DeMeo introduces herself before tellin...

We’re interrupting our first semester to give you a taste of who’s to come in our second semester. You’ll meet Frenchy, who took Andrea’s writing class years ago and is now back. Does she get a kiss on New Year’s Eve? You’ll also meet Tobi Ash and hear why she’s been avoiding New Year’s celebrations for 30 years. Cynthia Castillo who wished for a tragic life to write about until tragedy hit. Nicki...

How should a story be structured? Start from the very beginning by using the concept of story spine . Story spine, a technique articulated by the playwright Ken Adams, is the backbone of every traditional story. In this episode, Allison uses the story spine to write about her return to dating after having children on her own. Inessa writes about a date that goes wrong and Jahn uses this structure...

Today we give you Wendi Adelson the way she revealed herself in the first semester. Andrea talks about hot topic, cold prose, a writing technique where the narrator pares down the writing in a difficult moment. The story is told without sentiment. It’s just reported. Two weeks into the semester, Wendi came back with some of the answers to students’ questions. In her first story she hinted at not f...

Danny and Bo reveal the lies they've told, especially to themselves. And then the fallout. Danny falls in love with two women but neither knows about the other. Everyone is happy, until he hears a knock at the door. Bo admits to his many sexual encounters with women, sometimes in the same day; all an attempt to cure himself from being gay. Andrea talks about the importance of feedback and encourag...

Andrea follows Inessa to the fertility clinic early one morning as she goes through the process of harvesting her eggs, an undertaking not entirely of her doing. We heard in the second episode that Mama put down $10,000 toward the procedure. Inessa paid the remaining $2,000. Turns out Inessa is not the only one in class who has or is currently going about having children without getting knocked up...

Hear what Inessa, Danny, Bo, Jahn, Allison and Andrea confess about their relationships with their moms and how those relationships have shaped their lives. We all tell stories, including to ourselves. The truth is, you never know how the people you love will respond to what you write about them. You may be surprised. Writing Class Radio  is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories a...

In our first class of the semester, we got the writing prompt, "How are you? Really?" Danny and Inessa are two students in the class who share exactly how they are. Danny's story involves underwear. Inessa's involves stabbing hormones into her belly to create eggs that may become her future children. Both stories are about how they are influenced by their parents. Aren't we all? Writing Class Radi...

Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz created a podcast of their writing class. On this episode you'll hear what qualifies Andrea to be the teacher. And why Allison insisted the world needs this podcast. We believe that once you write about the thing you don't want to write about, that thing has less emotional power over you. Allison reveals the hardest thing in the world to write about. Content warn...