Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing.Guest: Sarah Maria Griffin, https://twitter.com/griffskiCONSUME: “AACK Cast!” a podcast about the comic strip Cathy by Jamie LoftusC

The Burnout Cycle w/Janina Matthewson

Aug 13th, 2021 50m 43s

Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular.Guest: Janina Matthewson, https://twitter.com/j9andifCONSUME: Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! (anime series)CREATE: Think of a story or project you’ve let sit idle. Write a letter from the

Minimal w/Brie Williams

Jul 9th, 2021 37m 16s

Writing more with less.Guest: Brie Williams, https://twitter.com/briezillionaireCONSUME: Getting on with James Urbaniak (podcast), specifically episode 22 “Status”CREATE: Write a 200-400 word short story, It can be a monologue. Or it can

But How Does It End?

Jun 11th, 2021 48m 31s

How do you land the ending?CONSUME: Three options: 1)The last three pages of Inherent Vice, starting where the character gets on the freeway. 2) The last four minutes of Six Feet Under. Easily found on youtube by searching “Six Feet Under end

Like This But Better

Jun 11th, 2021 4m 34s

Elevating basic language to something special. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other ar

How to Like

May 14th, 2021 48m 58s

There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure.CONSUME: Podcast ¡Uy Que Horror! particularly the episode “2012: Kurse a di Xtabai (Belize)” CREATE: Think of your least favorite film or book or show. Not one you hate or one that is offensive and

Low Barrier to Entry?

May 13th, 2021 4m 8s

They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feed

The Tease

Apr 9th, 2021 39m 36s

What makes a good tease? Listen and find out.CONSUME: “Lupin” French Crime/Adventure Drama on NetflixCREATE: Write a 200-600 story that follows the line: “I found them/her/him waiting for me when I got home, but they/she/he had been dead fo

How to Dislike

Mar 30th, 2021 3m 48s

It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and conne

Five Easy Rules to Become a Great Writer!

Mar 12th, 2021 47m 28s

Just follow these simple rules and something something...CONSUME: Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-rules-for-good-writingCREATE: Write a 200-500 word story about

Keep It Weird

Mar 10th, 2021 2m 52s

What makes something weird, and is that a good thing? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with ot

Melodrama

Feb 12th, 2021 29m 36s

Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest literary peaks! Or… work on your craft.CONSUME: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or its sequel, World Without End. Or, for a less committal and free option, the BBC fiction p

Borrow or Steal

Feb 10th, 2021 2m 36s

Good artists borrow; great artists steal. What? Let's break this down. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, an

Journey Vs. Destination

Jan 8th, 2021 46m 18s

Getting there is 1/x the fun!CONSUME: “The Sink” a 6-episode podcast by Natasha Hodgson, produced by the BBCCREATE: Write a 200 word murder “mystery” that explains who the murder is, how they did it and why. Don’t worry about building tensi

Imposter Syndrome

Dec 25th, 2020 39m 41s

You’re a writer, because you write. Don’t tell yourself otherwise.CONSUME: “Dead Eyes” a podcast by Connor RatliffCREATE: Pick a creative idea that you haven’t executed yet. Write a 200-400 word review of the finished work. Imagine, of cour

As It Happens

Dec 11th, 2020 25m 41s

Celebrating the act of daily creation with Jonathan Mann.CONSUME: Go listen to more of Jonathan Mann’s podcast “As It Happens” CREATE: Start with the same basic image as Jonathan: the growing cloud of space debris around earth. Write a 100-

Hooptedoodle

Nov 27th, 2020 31m 30s

Stop and describe the roses.CONSUME: Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s East of EdenCREATE: Write a 200 or so word description of your neighborhood. Give us a texture of the sights and the smells and the sounds. Remember that what you’re going f

Non-Lovecraftian Horror

Nov 13th, 2020 38m 30s

There's so much more to horror, we couldn’t stop at Lovecraft.CONSUME: Watch any of the movies on Joseph’s horror movie recommendation list: https://twitter.com/PlanetofFinks/status/1311695218505379841?s=20CREATE: Think about an irrational

Lovecraftian Horror

Oct 30th, 2020 40m 53s

Lovecraft was a racist and a bad writer, yet his ideas and his stories live on. So what do we do with them?CONSUME: “The Ballad of Black Tom” (novella) by Victor Lavalle, “Lovecraft Country” (tv series) on HBO, “The City We Became” (novel) by

Agency

Oct 16th, 2020 38m 49s

A character has a problem. As a result of that problem, they make a decision. As a result of that decision, they change.CONSUME: “Schitt’s Creek” on NetflixCREATE: Write a 200-word story about a super spy who has been incapacitated by a sup

Exaggeration

Oct 2nd, 2020 38m 50s

Fiction is a lie. Hopefully a good, fun lie.CONSUME: “Small Triumph Big Speech” podcast by Dylan MarronCREATE: Write a 200-word story about something mundane you did today (made toast, brushed your teeth, exercised for 30 minutes). But exag

Exposition

Sep 18th, 2020 41m 10s

What do you need to set the scene?CONSUME: "Anthropocene Reviewed" podcast by John GreenCREATE: Write a 200 word story about a child. Give it a beginning, middle and an end. Something happened to this child. Maybe it was good. Maybe it was

Perfection Is for Assholes

Sep 4th, 2020 36m 36s

Perfection is a target, not a goal. CONSUME: “The Lottery” by Shirley JacksonCREATE: Spend 58 minutes brainstorming and refining the title of your Perfect Work, the one you someday want to make. The title that you think will draw people in,

Five Senses

Aug 21st, 2020 38m 27s

We experience more than what we see. CONSUME: “How to Meet and Dance with Your Death” by Larissa Shmailo (http://larissashmailo.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-to-meet-and-dance-with-your-death.html)CREATE: Write 200-400 words about a meal. It can

Writer's Voice

Aug 9th, 2020 37m 40s

What do you sound like, as a writer?CONSUME: “Exercises in Style” by Raymond Queneau (excerpt: https://monoskop.org/images/4/49/Queneau_Raymond_Exercises_in_Style_pp_1-26.pdf)CREATE: Find a piece of writing you like. Sit with that work and