How do you keep writing when the world is on fire? This week, our hosts talk about protecting our narrative energy when the news, social media, or our own lives feel overwhelming. We explore boundaries, boredom, intentional information consumption, and why sometimes the most useful thing a writer can do is log off. We also look at how writing can become a pl ... Show More
Sep 6
21.36: Twists: How to Make the Unexpected Feel Inevitable
A great twist shouldn’t just surprise us—it should make us rethink everything that came before. This week, our hosts explore reader expectations, misdirection, and hiding clues in plain sight. We look at twists from The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, Ocean’s Eleven, and O. Henry, and a ... Show More
23m 47s
Aug 30
21.35: The Four Acts of Kishōtenketsu
This week, our hosts explore kishōtenketsu, an Asian story structure that appears under different names in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Unlike the Western three-act structure, it isn’t built around conflict. Instead, it moves through four stages: introduction, development, t ... Show More
21m 43s
Aug 23
21.34: Knowing the Distance
How close is your reader to the story? Should they be closer? Today, our hosts get nerdy about narrative distance: the space between reader, narrator, character, and world. We talk POV, sensory detail, and familiarity—and how each can zoom a reader in or pull them back. From The ... Show More
23m 35s
Mar 2022
How a Ghostwriter for Fiction Collaborates With Clients
This week, host June Thomas talks to author, ghostwriter, and YouTuber Michelle Schusterman, who’s written more than a dozen novels. In the interview, Michelle differentiates between her various writing jobs and explains how she juggles so many projects. She also gives a step-by- ... Show More
48m 27s
Jun 2022
Working Overtime: Writing 500 Words Per Day
On this week’s addition of Working Overtime, hosts June Thomas and Isaac Butler evaluate some writing advice that June received from Slate book critic Laura Miller, who got the idea from the writer Graham Greene. The advice is to write 500 words per day, and once you’re done with ... Show More
22m 57s
Mar 2018
#5: Literally, Don’t Judge the Book By Its Cover
Jess and Trisha talk about who’s losing with Audible’s romance subscription service, consider some of what makes romance unique in the world of self-publishing, deliver news about a couple of publishers, and – as always – recommend books.
This episode is sponsored by Raw Power by ... Show More
1h 6m