Writing Stories

Send us Fan Mail Olufunke covers:  - Tin House  -The importance of the relationships in the process of publishing your work  - Elizabeth Demeo (editor)  -Danya (agent)  -What makes her a 'real' writer  - Savoring  -How good feedback can shift your relationship with your own writing  Learn more about Olufunke here  More Writing Stories here  This is a public episode. If you would like to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Lidia talks about  -story-telling space as a magical shape-shifting place of healing and growth -how to talk to yourself when your writing is lousy - pillow forts  - creative coping strategies -being trained to retell the same story  -how we and our stories change over time  -writing a fable from something that happened to you  Find out more about Lidia here  More...

Send us Fan Mail Why write 'bad' characters? Why write 'bad' female characters?  Being patient and having faith  The line between good and evil exists within every man  Stephen King and kinds of fear  It Follows directed by David Robert Mitchell (film about sexually transmitted haunting!)  Dracula  Picture of Dorian Gray  (please excuse my terrible pronunciation of 'macabr...

Send us Fan Mail Along the way, Erika covers: Pacing Best moment of the book making process Editing that works with an author's vision Adrian Tchaikovsky and Service Mode l Atria (publisher) Michelle Brower (agent) Loan Le editor  Icky-post-pub emails  Treadmill desk This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit writi...

Send us Fan Mail Season 4! Coming up! You'll hear from  Erika Swyler Emily J Smith Deesha Philyaw Lidia Yuknavitch Susan Barker Nicole Graev Lipson Jennie Case Emma Pattee Elyse Durham Shubha Sunder Dori Lumpkin Sasha Hom Cally Fiedorek Libby Maxey Grace Bankole Nanda Reddy Wayne Scott This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus ep...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Yael Goldstein-Love talks about The Possibilities . We cover: Heretic barbies Putting away ten years of work on a manuscript (possibly the best thing you've ever written) 'A genteel form of homeless' Genre and its discontents Feedback and recognizing a need for a POV shift in a draft How women are socialized to prioritize others' perceptions of...

Send us Fan Mail Elle Everhart talks about Hot Summer. Along the way, Elle covers:  Hinge A particular kind of single parenting experience The most dangerous writing app Writing as a way to try on alternative selves Collaborating with agent and editor on a contracted second book Romance novels Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin  (My dog Pretzel makes an appearance.) Buy Hot Summer here.   Learn mo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode,  I talk to Shannon Sanders about her linked short story collection, Company . We talk about: - writing your own murder mystery parties - writing through your feelings about others' offhand comments - signing with an agent a week before COVID lockdown - persisting in your writing through the birth of twins - finishing your book while raising three children und...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I talk to Christina Consolino about her most recent novel, The Weight We Carry . We discuss: - NaNoWriMo - Prioritizing writing - The oozing guts of dead things - Controlling what you can and letting go of what you can't - The idea that not all characters are capable of substantial change - Publishing with a small, independent press - Trusting your book will...

Send us Fan Mail 'Burn charts' for writing Linking essays the way one links chapters in a novel Writing and mom guilt Boundaries (and the lack thereof) as they relate to gender socialization Letting a manuscript die Sarina Bowen #AmWriting podcast What Fresh Hell podcast Zibby Books Andrea Robinson — developmental editor  When Did I Get Like This Jenny Nash's  Blueprint for a Nonfic...

Send us Fan Mail Elizabeth Hilborn tells the story of her memoir Restoring Eden. Along the way she covers: Moving from scientific writing to memoir Notes and research for nonfiction Honey bees, pesticides, and environmental degradation Mindfulness and writing Jill Rothenberg - editor Dinty W Moore and the river of the story Find out more about Dr. Elizabeth Hilborn here Buy Restoring Eden here  Th...

Send us Fan Mail Editing an essay collection Organizing an essay collection Literary Mama C-sections Blurbs Working with mothers Julie Stevenson (agent) Labor Day (collection of birth stories including one from Cheryl Strayed) Writing your spouse (or not) launch parties The Experiment press Buy My Caesarean here Learn more about Amanda here Follow Writing Stories here  This is a public episode. If...

Send us Fan Mail The key to being able to write a lot YADDO and writing 50 pages a day (????) What makes a 'real' writer Writing groups that last 40 years In-person author events and signings "The sad wilderness of selves calling out for publication" Launch pad from The Authors Guild Getting an editor on Reedsy Learn more about Terese here Buy The Long Swim here Buy Roxy and Co...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Jaclyn tells the story of Late Air. Along the way she covers: goal orientation Running Driftless Literary upcoming course on navigating the indie publishing landscape David Ryan (and his revision ideas) the denial of pain Marya Spence Buy Late Air here Learn more about Jaclyn here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Vera Blossom tells the story of How To F**k Like A Girl . Along the way she covers: Gender/genre crossover Diary writing Dopamine Press Queer zine culture Building a queer utopia How great editors are like spiritual teachers and therapists Publishing as a trans writer in today's political climate PEN America fellowship and Tanaïs Learn more about Vera here Buy...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jessica E. Johnson tells the story of Mettlework . Along the way she covers:  Agent troubles  Her poetry collection Metabolics A need for more poetry about motherhood Connections between form, content, and 'material conditions of creation'  in her work  Gathering your mentor texts  The inheritance of motherhood and the self-sacrificing mother myth Mary A...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Polly tells the story of Look How Happy I'm Making You . Along the way she covers: - When your conversation partner for your book launch cancel at the last minute - Bathttub stories - Going to auction - Keeping your expectations low - Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern - Finding an agent in Poets and Writers Find out more about Polly here Buy Look How Happ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Danny Goodman tells the story of Amerikaland . Along the way he covers: - Anxiety as writing fuel - how sports can be literary, romantic, uniting, and a useful literary tool - writing a different gender - writing pro athletes - Leftover Books - Being married to a brilliant editor - Antisemitism Learn more about Danny here Buy Amerikaland here  This is a public epi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode,  J azmina Barrera tells the story of Linea Nigra. Along the way she covers:  World-altering experience of becoming a parent Gendered double-standards in terms of what topics are worthy of books Radical empathy  Publishing a book in translation, working with a translator Two Lines Press Foreign Body  Linea Negra Ediciones Antílope Learn more about    J azmina Barre...

Send us Fan Mail Kate Brody tells the story of Rabbit Hole . Along the way she covers: Choosing a genre container to move her plot along Selling fast in one country and slow in another Selling a book while in labor with her second child Writing a book while teaching and parenting Writing a second book when the first didn't sell Commercial ambitions and related feelings Dorland Arts Colony SOH...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Brittany tells the story of Hell If We Don't Change Our Ways . Along the way she covers: - Taking care of yourself when writing hard things -  The best way to protect yourself from post-publication despair and Zibby Books - The power of a good writing teacher - Complicating the popular 'homeless-to-Harvard' narrative - Why the submission process made...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode , Kate Weinberg tells the story of T here's Nothing Wrong With Her . Along the way she covers: why it is hard to live with a writer Stamina and persistence Having your book go to auction The emotional and financial uncertainty and fluctuation in an artist's life Chronic illness The importance of celebrating writing wins The Truants Buy There's Nothin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Cheryl Klein tells the story of Crybaby . Along the way she covers:  Big Feelings and sexism in our beliefs about what is worthy of big feelings  Memoir as coping mechanism Presenting the self in memoir  Publishing a memoir when you are living through the sequel  Miscarriage Baby envy  MUTHA Magazine Brown Paper Press Zoe Norvell  Dani Shapiro  The Commuters  Lilac...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Marie Mutsuki Mockett tells the story of The Tree Doctor . Along the way she covers:  The ways women are and are not allowed to write about sex The depression that can follow publishing a book and how to overcome it (hint: lemons and sugar are involved) Differences in Japanese and American perspectives on the body  Embracing one's creative range and curiosity ...

Send us Fan Mail Rebecca J. Sanford tells the story of The Disappeared . Along the way she covers: The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina A new querying technique Being on submission for a year Finding an agent who understands your vision Buy The Disappeared here Find out more about Rebecca here Find out more about Writing Stories here Follow Writing Stories here This is a public episode....