Episodios
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss Chekhov's story, "The Woman with the Little Dog." You can get the link to read it in the show notes.
"Everything that he found important, interesting, necessary, in which he was sincere and did not deceive himself, which constituted the core of his life, occurred in secret from others." -Chekhov
Unpack the layers of Anton Chekhov's poignant short story, "The Lady with the Little Dog," in this thought-provoking episode of Story Works Round Table. Alida and Kathryn dissect the narrative's exploration of love, regret, and societal imprisonment. As they navigate through the characters internal struggles and the story's critique of marital conventions, listeners are invited to consider depth of character emotion, subtext, and presenting social commentary through story.
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New Summer Session begins at the end of May. Get details & schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's reflections on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss Gina Berriault's short story, "The Woman in the Rose Colored Dress." At only 2 1/2 pages, it packs in remarkable sentences, the experience of time passing, incredible subtext in minimal dialogue, and a realistic coming of age story when a girl makes a discovery about her father that shifts her understanding of the world. Get the link in our show notes to read the story yourself.
Join my new group coaching session for writers. Get your free discovery call today: www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Carlee, and Robert go deep with the question of what makes a genre a genre? Discover the nuances of crafting stories and targeting the right readership. We dissect the concept of genre as both a craft and marketing tool. It's far more useful to us writers than just a marketing category. Writing to market is often confused with marketing. And what about those of us who strive to be "pure artists," putting categories at the end of the process? Whether you aim to meet or subvert reader expectations, there's more to your genre than meets the eye.
"Genre determines what the story is trying to do."
"If you get lost in a story and you're not quite sure where you're taking it, it's often because you're not clear on genre."
This is an episode from our library, formerly published as #184.
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New Summer Session begins at the end of May. Get details & schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn are joined by D. Liebhart.
Revision is more than just fixing typos and filling plot holes; it's about delving deep into the heart of the story and ensuring every word, every character, and every twist aligns with the author's vision. D. discusses the challenges she faced revising her award-winning novel, House on Fire, from seeking perfection to knowing when to let go. We talk about the importance of actionable feedback, the dynamics of writing groups, and the critical decision to step away when the process no longer serves the story.
Whether you're a seasoned author or just starting, this episode is packed with wisdom. D.'s experiences remind us that the journey of revision is unique to every writer. It's a process that requires patience, honesty, and sometimes the courage to start anew.
"Revision is how you make something worth reading."
"You're the final arbiter of what goes in that book and what's meaningful to say."
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
#WritingTips #AuthorLife #Revision
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"It's never too early to start thinking about marketing and building your community. It's never too early. It can be too late."
Ever thought it's too early to market your book? Think again! Alexa Bigwarfe shares her wisdom on today's Story Works Round Table, in a conversation that's as inspiring as it is informative.
Marketing, as Alexa says, is not just about selling books. It's about building relationships with readers, sharing your journey, and creating a platform where your voice can be heard. It's about laying the groundwork for your book to not just exist, but to thrive in a market that's flooded with content.
With Alexa's guidance, you'll feel empowered to tackle marketing head-on. She makes the task less daunting and more like an exciting new chapter in your author career.
Join me at the Women in Publishing Summit to grow your publishing, marketing, & networking skills while building your author community! Link in this week's show notes. Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com/292. -
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discover the compelling intersection of personal experience and fiction on this week's writing podcast. D. Leibhart joins us to share her journey writing her award-winning novel, House on Fire, and the art of turning life into literature. Join us for a conversation about craft and the complexities of writing stories based on personal experiences.
Join me at the Women in Publishing Summit! Get your ticket to the biggest 4-day, online conference for women authors.
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn welcome screenwriter Tim Auld back to the round table to discuss heroes.
What makes a hero resonate with an audience? Tim Auld introduces us to the concept of ordinary heroism, a principle that suggests heroes should be inherently inadequate to the challenges they face. It's this inadequacy, this underdog status, that endears them to us and makes their journey emotionally gripping. He illustrates this point with a powerful image: an orangutan striking a crane with a stick, a futile yet emotionally charged act of defiance. It's a metaphor for the kind of heroism that Tim believes should be at the heart of storytelling.
Throughout the conversation, Tim emphasizes the importance of allowing heroes to fail and suffer. It's through their trials and tribulations that we, the audience, find a piece of ourselves, empathizing with their struggle and rooting for their success. He also touches on the current trends in storytelling, where characters are often portrayed as too perfect, too idealized, which can disconnect them from the audience.
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Kathryn welcome screenwriter Tim Auld to the Story Works Round Table to discuss the trend in film and literature toward didactic writing, when the (often moral) message of a piece overpowers the story trying to be told. Why is this still happening when audiences are weary of it? What about writing a message-focused story—is there a right way to do it?
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.
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This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss the relationship between stakes and agency. How do these aspects of plot and character work together to create forward drive in your story?
This episode is from our library. It was previously published as episode 73.
Show notes and more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. New sessions begin in 2024. Schedule your free discovery call today at www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Do you have a project in need of a ghost writer? I'd love to hear from you! www.wordessential.com.
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn talk about creating character arcs. Most characters won't utterly transform from villain to hero, like our friend Scrooge, but shift needs to happen. Our character and plot arcs are married. The internal character arc is played out in the external plot arc. Identifying your character's shift is a great way to engineer your arc.
Happy New Year! We'll see you in 2024!
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. A new session begins in May. www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn tackle a holiday classic, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Most of us have seen the story dramatized annually, whether on television or in the theatre. But how many of us have actually read it? It was my first time and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. No surprise, however, Dickens packs this tale with more than good cheer. There is a lot to examine as writers, lessons that we can carry into our craft year round.
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. A new session begins in May. www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Do you have a project in need of a ghost writer? I'd love to hear from you! www.wordessential.com.
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week, Alida and Kathryn solve the world's problems with one simple, three-part edict.
We're kidding, but we're kind of not. Writing and reading are all about building empathetic connections with people who are nothing like ourselves. As such, writers are gifted with a truly great responsibility.
Share this episode and a book with the people you love.
If you're in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! Wherever you are, I am grateful for every single person who takes the time to listen to one another.
Subscribe to A Room Full of Books & Pencils and receive 21 Reasons to Pause, a series of writing prompts and tips.
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Do you have a project in need of a ghost writer? I'd love to hear from you! www.wordessential.com.
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This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Dr. Martha Highers to the Writers Book Club to discuss "Naming My Father," a personal essay that won the Under the Sun summer writing contest. Martha is an editor at Under the Sun. not only do we talk as reader-writers, we get an insightful behind the scenes glimpse of the selection and editorial process for this wonderful essay about growing up the child of an autistic parent before anyone understood autism.
Subscribe to A Room Full of Books & Pencils and receive 21 Reasons to Pause, a series of writing prompts and tips.
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Do you have a project in need of a ghost writer? I'd love to hear from you! www.wordessential.com.
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This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss characterization, with examples from a short story by Junot Díaz. They analyze how Díaz introduces characters through the narrator's perspective, using just a few sharp details to create vivid impressions of complex people are are inspired to re-examine their own character descriptions.
Hear the latest from A Room Full of Books & Pencils, “Does Reading Make Us Better People?”
Show notes and more: https://storyworkspodcast.com
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching. www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
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This week at the Story Works Round Table, listener and fellow writer Dave sits down with Alida and Kathryn to discuss the short story by Junot Diaz, "Fiesta, 1980." We're amazed by how much tension Diaz packs into this story about a family gathering, as well as his incredible voice, imagery, and metaphors.
Are you ready to work with a developmental editor or writing coach? Do you have a project in need of a ghost writer? I'd love to hear from you! www.wordessential.com.
Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.
Get Alida's musings on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss bookending a story with a prologue and epilogue. Bookends can't just be tacked on; they need to be essential to the reader's understanding of whole story.
Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.
Read A Room Full of Books & Pencils, ruminations on the essential, stories, & storycraft at booksandpencils.substack.com.
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This week we're back from summer break with a new season and a new format. In addiction to the regular conversations about craft, we'll be reading a short prose text each month and discussing it as writers. Would you like to join the book club? Next month we're talking about Junot Diaz' short story "Fiesta 1980."
This week, we delve into Edith Wharton's brilliant novella, Ethan Frome. What makes this work enduring? What can we learn by reading it and possibly emulate in our own writing? Prepare to be amazed.
I suggest you read the story before listening if you aren't already familiar with it. We spoil everything, because that's the only way to benefit from a conversation about the writing behind this truly great American story.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Learn about coaching with Alida.
Join the Writers Circle free office hour.
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Story Works Round Table is back next month with some exciting new shows!
Check out A Room Full of Books & Pencils https://booksandpencils.substack.com/ SWRT September reading: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton SWRT October reading: Fiesta 1980 by Junot Diaz Writers Group Coaching: https://wordessential.com/writingcoach/ Writers Circle free office hour: https://wordessential.com/events/Want to sit at the round table? Reach out and let us know!
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This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Adrienne Young and Isabel Ibañez to the Story Works Round Table to chat about their new book, The Storyteller's Workbook. This is a novelist's dream tool and you're going to want to get your hands on a copy - just ask Kathryn! We get into everything, from the beautiful design and feel of the paper (it really does matter) to the myriad tools to sections on revision and publication that Adrienne and Isabel packed inside one book cover...all for you.
If you love storytelling, pull up a chair at the Round Table!
You've invested countless hours on your manuscript, and now it's time to invest your writing and yourself. Join a small, select group of your peers in novelist's group coaching. Receive mentoring from an expert writing coach while finishing your novel at an accellerated pace. Schedule your discovery call with Alida today. www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
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This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Kathryn discuss the process of outlining. There is more to talk about than we might first think. Why is outlining useful? How should we go about it to make sure it's a time saver and not a time waster? Does it help to outline more than once in the writing process?
Outlining (or storyboarding) is a great way to assess the story you're writing before and during the lengthy process of novel drafting. The more experienced a writer you are, the more valuable the tool seems to be!
Are you ready to get more out of your writing, to grow your writing skills, and get that novel done faster? Do you want community, feedback, and mentoring? Check out group coaching for novelists. A new session begins in May. www.wordessential.com/fictioncoaching
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