Episodes
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We had the pleasure of sitting down with N.K. Jemisin to talk about the structures and processes that helped create The Fifth Season. We talk about outlines, multiple plotlines, and planets as characters. Jemisin lets us into her writing process—ranging from the influence of poetry in her work to her process of writing “test chapters.” She also gives us advice on writing multiple POVs, the power of parallelism, and the intersection of mental health and storytelling.
Thing of the Week: Alan Wake II (N.K. Jemisin’s recommendation)
Homework: Imagine you are in a game where you are presented with 3 different attitude-oriented choices. Take your protagonist from your current work in progress and put them through these attitudinal-flavored choices. What happens if you continue your character does the diplomatic thing? What happens if you have them snap? Explore!
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. Our guest was P. Djèlí Clark. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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We’ve loved doing our close reading series throughout 2024, and The Fifth Season has been no different. Today, we’re reflecting on what we learned in our episodes focusing on N.K. Jemisin’s incredible work. We reflect on POV as structure, parallelism, and finding the beating heart of your manuscript.
Thing of the Week: I Saw the TV Glow
Homework: Reverse engineer an outline for your work in progress. Then, try to add one parallel.
Do you want a signed special edition copy of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin? Preorder The Orbit Gold Edition set before November 19th to get 20% off! Visit orbitgoldeditions.com to order.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today we’re zooming out to see where N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season fits into the canon of fantasy literature. How does Jemisin interact with magic, words, and the expectations of the genre? And what expectations do the readers bring themselves?
How does Jemisin repurpose parts of the hero’s journey while creating something fundamentally different? Does this work start a new lineage for epic fantasy? We think so! We talk about what other works this book is in conversation with, and what it even means to be in conversation with something.
Thing of the Week: Family Reservations by Liza Palmer
Homework: Make a list of the books that you consider the antecedents to the book that you’re working on now. What other works are your book in conversation with? Are you following in and building upon their foundation, or are you disrupting and disputing their legacy?
Do you want a signed special edition copy of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin? Preorder The Orbit Gold Edition set before November 19th to get 20% off! Visit orbitgoldeditions.com to order.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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The structure of The Fifth Season features both mirroring and inversion. How do these structural shifts interact with the three POVs? On today’s episode, we talk about the parallelism of the perspectives and the linguistic references to seasons. This leads us to the question, how many things need to work in sync in order for readers to feel the cyclical nature of the plot (and life)? How does N.K. Jemisin use structural arcs, beats, and elements to create upheaval? And finally, how can you create overlapping emotional states and narrative rhyming in your own writing? (And what is narrative rhyming you may ask? Don’t worry, we define it for you!)
Thing of the Week: Who Lost, I Found by Eden Royce
Homework: Take a look at one of your main character's arcs, and then try to rework another character's arc to match similar beats and structure to the first one.
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Structure and POV (point of view) are often intertwined. In N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, we see this in the myriad perspective shifts. In this episode, we talk about the importance of these shifts on the structure of the book. How does the narrator talk directly to us, and what purpose does this second-person perspective serve? DongWon shares one of their theories with us on the relationship between author, reader, and POV.
P.S. Do you want a signed special edition copy of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin? Preorder The Orbit Gold Edition set before November 19th to get 20% off! Visit orbitgoldeditions.com to order.
Thing of the Week: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Homework: Think about the main character of your story, and carve their life up into three different pieces. Have one of those pieces/ perspectives write to another piece, using second perspective.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Just a reminder that we will be talking about a lot of spoilers, so if you haven’t read The Fifth Season, go and do so now! As we dive into N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, we wanted to tell you why we chose this work to examine the importance of structure. The structure of the book is the device through which we are understanding this world, in a way that feels radical in relation to what we normally see in fiction. We chose this novel because the structure is visible and active in a way that many other works aren’t. Jemisin’s structurally audacious novel is punctuated by perspective shifts, parallelism, and innovative approaches to the forward movement inherent in stories. How does the structure affect the way we take in narrative, and what can you learn from this?
P.S. Do you want a signed special edition copy of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin? Preorder The Orbit Gold Edition set before November 19th to get 20% off! Visit orbitgoldeditions.com to order.
Thing of the Week: Rest In Pieces
Homework: Look at the Table of Contents of The Fifth Season and, without opening the book again, write down the one important thing you remember from that chapter. As we talk through things, refer back to this list and see what you need to add.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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We sat down with the author of Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark, in order to wrap up our close reading of tension. We talked with Clark about his influences, which ranged from Birth of a Nation to Beyonce’s “Formation.” We dive into contextual vs. narrative tension, why food is the unsung hero of worldbuilding, and Clark’s unconscious desires that helped this novella come to fruition.
Thing of the Week: The Terror (on Netflix)
Homework: Watch Midnight Mass on Netflix. Notice how it builds various areas of tension. How did this happen? What were the different areas of tension, and how were they distinct from each other? Now use this in your own writing.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. Our guest was P. Djèlí Clark. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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This episode, we’re talking about how important tension is in creating a world where your readers feel fully immersed. We talk about the importance of using tropes and techniques while also using variation in order to make your story less predictable. We dive into the difference between tension and conflict, and talk about how you can use the former to help the ladder. Tension can be found in movement, but also in inaction. We touch on tension's effect on try-fail cycles, inverted pyramids, and worldbuilding.
Thing of the Week: The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir (a novella translated by Mary Robinette Kowal)
Homework: Take a look at your outline and move one of the major conflict points to a different act forward, and then try and move it to a later act. Consider how this changes the pacing and tension.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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When you’re subverting your readers’ expectations, do you need to do the exact opposite of what they’re anticipating? Today, we dive into this question, using various examples of books and movies. We then examine how P. Djèlí Clark does this throughout Ring Shout– does he subvert our expectations completely? Not always. In fact, sometimes he does the opposite.
Thing of the Week: White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
Homework: Write a scene listening to three different piece of music that move you in different ways.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today, we’re using music as an entry-point for tension. Howard introduces us to the power of the half-step, and other musical metaphors that can help you to incorporate tension in a new way to your writing. And then DongWon updates the metaphor with an electronic dance music analogy.
We also dive into questions you can ask as you weave tension into your work in progress, such as, “what does your character have to gain by withholding their secret?”
Thing of the Week: Clueless (the movie!)
Homework: Write a scene three times. Same scene, and make sure to write it from scratch three times. But listen to different music each time.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today, we’re talking about the tension that is actually happening on the page, and the contextual tension is what the reader is bringing to the table. Ring Shout lives in a place of contextual tension and we are excited to dive into how you can use both types of tension in your own writing. Your readers will always bring their own context to your work; and if you think about this, you can use tension in both big and small ways in your work.
Thing of the Week: Random Friday - Solar Fields (Album)
Homework: Take a scene you’re working on, and put a piece of information at the start that is only meant for the reader. Then, revise the scene, believing that the reader has that information.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Compared to This is How You Lose The Time War, which we read earlier this year, Ring Shout deals with a very real world. This discordance, where authors make their audience uncomfortable by creating things that shouldn’t go together, is part of the power of this novella, and part of the reason we chose to dive into tension! Our favorite metaphor about tension from this episode comes from Howard: potential movement (imagine a rock at the top of a hill).
Note: this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers!
Thing of the Week: Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)
Homework: Take a movie or a book you've read that you find highly suspenseful and write an outline covering the major plot beats. Look at where tension is created and where it is released, and build a map of how it evolves over the course of the story
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today we have a wildcard episode for you! We are talking about all the different ways you can sustain your writing career. Our host, Erin Roberts, has done an incredible job of applying for grants, fellowships, and residencies. So, we put her on the spot and got her to dole out advice and insights to help you sustain and develop your writing.
Thing of the Week: “Extreme Economies: What Life at the World's Margins Can Teach Us about Our Own Future” by Richard Davies
Homework: Write a one-paragraph personal artistic statement.
Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline
Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers!
Liner Notes:
Resources related to grants and fellowships:
Creative Capital's monthly list of Artist Opportunities: https://creative-capital.org/category/artist-opportunities/
Philanthropy News Digest's lists of RFPs, which can be filtered to just those for Arts & Culture: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps
→ Link to the filtered list here: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps/(search)/?tags_interest[]=arts+%2F+culture
The Create Daily's Opportunity Roundup Newsletter (requires a sign up at the link below): https://www.thecreatedaily.com/community
For residency opportunities, the Open Calls list from Artist Communities Alliance: https://artistcommunities.org/directory/open-calls
Profellow list of fellowships:
https://www.profellow.com
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today we’re taking a break from our Close Reading Series to discuss writing workshops and retreats! We dive into how to find and prepare to attend a workshop or a retreat and what to think about for organizing your own.
Thing of the Week: Solo RPGs! (Strider Mode, Star Trek Adventures, Mythic Game Master)
Homework: Go find 3 writing retreats you are interested in attending. 1 retreat-focused, 1 workshop-focused and 1 combination. Then think about what your expectations would be for each one.
Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline
Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers!
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Sandra Tayler, and Sarah Sward. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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We sat down with CL Clark to talk about character—specifically, how they build different POV characters in the compressed space of a short story. We dive into plot processing (a tool CL Clark has learned from Mary Robinette!), how to specify the stakes of your world, and how to build distinct characters.
Thing of the Week: Reasons Not To Worry: How to be Stoic in Chaotic Times by Brigid Delaney
Homework: “4 Scenes About Power” — Write four scenes: (1) a scene in which your protagonist does something to someone else, (2) a scene in which someone does something for someone else, (3) a scene in which your protagonist has something done to them, and (4) a scene in which your protagonist does something with someone else.
Liner Notes:
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin
Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline
Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers!
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal and Erin Roberts. Our guest was CL Clark. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today, we’re taking a higher view on the techniques we’ve been talking about over the last four episodes and focusing on how you can use our takeaways in your own writing. We’ll go over our final thoughts on C.L. Clark’s short stories (until next week’s episode, when we interview them!). We’ll also try to summarize the lessons we've learned from Clark and our favorite bits of their writing.
Thing of the Week: Rude Tales of Magic (podcast)
Homework: Write a character study in which two characters meet twice. Something momentous has happened in between the meetings. Imply it by the way those characters have changed.
Liner Notes:
Axis of Power (available on Patreon) - Ability, Role, Relationship, Status
DREAM from Elizabeth Boyle - Denial, Resistance, Exploration, Acceptance, Manifestation
Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline
Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers!
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We have a theory that we want to work through on today’s episode: agency is the ability to take action, whereas choices are more about the interior life of the character. We use Mary Robinette’s talking cat, try-fail cycles, and C.L. Clark’s Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home in order to examine this theory and its underpinnings.
Thing of the Week: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine)
Homework: Create a scene in which your character has very little agency, but still must make a choice. Do your best to make that choice still feel critical.
Liner Notes:
Fluent pet buttons - Elsie the talking cat
“We Are the Mountain: A Look at the Inactive Protagonist” by Vida Cruz
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Arkady Martine. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Our episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s a short story, a single scene, or a compressed timeline.
Thing of the Week: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Homework: Write a short scene in which your character has to deal with a mundane obstacle, then rewrite it as if that small obstacle has life-or-death stakes. How did you shift it to make the stakes clearer?
Liner Notes:
Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com!
And help fund Mary Robinette Kowal’s Silent Spaces, a collection of short stories on Kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mary-robinette/silent-spaces?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=silent%20spaces%20
(Or go to kickstarter.com and type in “Silent Spaces”)
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Arkady Martine. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by what they seee and notice. How do these external indicators help us understand the internal worlds of the characters?
We mention two infographics during the episode– “Intersections of Self (Trauma Points)" and “Axes of Power." These are available on Patreon (they’re posted publicly, so anyone can view them!) Feel free to use them in your own writing, and let us know if you find them helpful!
Thing of the Week: “Bodies” (on Netflix)
Homework: Pick a major character in your story and write two short summaries of the character arc, one using your original motivation and goal, and a second with a different motivation but the same goal.
Liner Notes:
Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com!
And help fund Mary Robinette Kowal’s Silent Spaces, a collection of short stories on Kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mary-robinette/silent-spaces?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=silent%20spaces%20
(Or go to kickstarter.com and type in “Silent Spaces”)
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Arkady Martine. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today we introduce our next close reading series—we’re focusing on character through the lens of three of C.L. Clark’s short stories: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home”. They are all hyperlinked above and available online for free through Uncanny Magazine.
We are so excited to shift our focus to short stories! We love the compressed form, and C.L. Clark’s stories exemplify the freedom that exists within the genre itself. They masterfully combine light world-building with deep character development. We’re excited to dive into each story over the next five episodes, ending with an interview with C.L. Clark!
We recommend reading these short stories ahead of time, but this episode is fine to listen to as a primer for why you should read them!
Thing of the Week: Monster of the Week (a tabletop role-playing game) AND Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com.
Homework: Write the sentence "[Character] is someone who...." with different endings for an entire page. Read them over and pick one that surprises or intrigues you, then write a short scene showcasing that trait.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Arkady Martine. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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