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 “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...

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 “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore .  What lessons can we learn about fiction, about being a writer, and the craft of point of view from Moore’s “second-person mock imperative&#...

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 “When They Came to Us” by Debbie Urbanski .  What can we learn about fiction by looking at a story about aliens? We also briefly discuss Nathan W. Pyle’s “Strange Planet” For da...

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 “Voices” by Alice Munro .  We find lessons about the pace of description and how the struggle of remembering can create drama in a memoir, among other things. Here is a good list of Munro stories...

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 “Now We Are Five” by David Sedaris .  What can we learn about writing fiction by examining memoir? For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Facebook group at http...

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 of Why Is This Good , we discuss Raymond Carver’s story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.”  We explore what we can learn about dialogue, among other lessons. Read the story here: “Wha...

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 Miranda July’s story “The Boy from Lam Kien.” Read it here: “The Boy From Lam Kien” by Miranda July Apologies again for the quality of JC’s audio. For daily writing tips,...

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 Flood” by Megan Baxter, which you can read here: “The Flood” by Megan Baxter Apologies for the sound quality on JC’s track.  It sounds like he was on the wrong end of his m...

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 “Now I Make My Own Bread” by Elle Wignall. Read it here: “Now I Make My Own Bread” by Elle Wignall During recording, it seems as if something happened with Rob’s microphone.  Ap...

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 Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Read it here: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe This episode contains a passing spoiler for the Black Mirror movie...

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 of the podcast, we discuss “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff. Read it here: “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Face...

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 Lie” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, available online in the New Yorker. Link: “The Lie” by T. Coraghessan Boyle For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our...

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 second episode, we discuss “The Balloon” by Donald Barthelme, which is available online here: “The Balloon” by Donald Barthelme For daily writing tips, industry news, and great short fiction, join our Fac...

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 the first episode of our new podcast, we discuss “The Midnight Zone” by Lauren Groff, which is available online through the New Yorker here: “The Midnight Zone” by Lauren Groff At the end of the episode, we m...