Story Works Round Table Archives - Page 10 of 64 - Story Works Round Table Podcast

SWRT 329 | Staging Your Action Scenes with CC Robinson

Aug 14, 2025

In this episode of the Story Works Round Table, Alida Winternheimer and Kathryn Arnold have a lively discussion with award-winning author CC Robinson about the art of staging action scenes in writing. Drawing from her theater background, CC shares insights on blocking fight scenes and how to orient readers within the physical space of a story effectively. With real-time sketches and engaging dialogue, we explore the interplay of character goals, motivations, and the dynamics of action sequences. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, this episode is packed with valuable tips to elevate your storytelling craft.

SWRT 328 | Creating Writing Rituals & Celebrations with Elizabeth Barbour

Jul 31, 2025

In this enlightening episode, Alida and Kathryn welcome Elizabeth Barber, a life and business coach, shamanic practitioner, and joyful ritualist, who shares her journey of transforming chaos into clarity through sacred celebrations. Elizabeth discusses her award-winning book, ‘Sacred Celebrations,’ and how rituals can be woven into our writing practices and everyday lives. Discover the significance of creating personal rituals and how they can help us navigate life’s milestones, both joyful and challenging. Join us as we explore the power of storytelling, the importance of witnessing, and the art of celebrating our achievements.

SWRT 266 | Writing Humor

Oct 6, 2022

This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn answer a listener’s question about writing humor into our stories. Is comedy just a special gift some writers have and the rest of us don’t? Or are there things we can craft to make our story moments funny?

Join us as we explore the topic and let us know your favorite funny authors as well as how you handle comedic moments in your writing. Share in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Do you have a question or topic you’d like us to explore? Let us know. We’d be happy to!

SWRT 265 | Read Widely to Improve Craft

Sep 22, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss all the ways reading widely benefits you as a writer. There is so much more to be gained from reading as a writer than reading as a reader. Kathryn attests that her story craft has improved by reading beyond her favorite genre. How has reading improved your storytelling? What are the pitfalls to avoid when shopping for books? How can you find the books with the scenes that will deliver the help you need as a writer?

SWRT 264 | Writing Physicality

Sep 8, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn get physical (and you won’t believe the scenes that get Robert in trouble!). When you need your characters to do something involving specific bodily movements, how can you create choreography that delivers the precise image you want in the reader’s mind, then move beyond choreography to create a felt experience in your reader’s body?
Do you have a WIP that would benefit from group coaching? Check out Alida’s fall session and join us today!

SWRT 263 | Act II

Aug 25, 2022

Does this sound familiar? Robert: A big problem is that when you dream up your story, you have this amazing sense of, I just thought this amazing thing is going to happen to this character and then how it’s all going to end. Okay, but there’s 50% of your double, which I just haven’t thought about yet. I think for many of us, it’s being able to slow down, tease apart the problem, and introduce all of the complications that are required to then deliver that delicious climax that is really satisfying to the reader. So it’s such an important task, yet it’s probably the thing we naturally, as writers, I’m making it very everybody. It’s not everybody’s problem, of course, but we do know many of us experience the problem where we don’t know what to put in the middle there, I suppose.
Kathryn: Yeah, we have this big empty gap, like, just tell me what to put in here, please.

Sound familiar? Then sit back and enjoy this week’s Story Works Round Table episode all about “what to put in here, please!”

SWRT 262 | Non-protagonist POVs

Aug 11, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss using a non-protagonist as your point of view character. What pitfalls does a writer face in doing this? Will readers engage with a witness POV? And if the POV character does not have stakes in the action, what then? This topic came to us from a listener’s question and made for a juicy craft conversation!

Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.

SWRT 261 | Arcless Protagonists

Jul 28, 2022

Alida, Robert & Kathryn discuss the merits and pitfalls of writing a hero without a character arc. It has been done to great success, so why do so few people suggest it’s even possible to write an arcless protagonist?

SWRT 260 | Short Stories

Jul 14, 2022

This week, Alida and Kathryn talk about short stories. Why, as novelists, do we love writing the short story? What can we learn by writing short stories that we maybe can’t by writing novels? What makes a short story great? It’s memorability. It’s a shift in the reader. Sound tough to achieve? Don’t let that stop you! Your writing skills will grow in leaps and bounds when you take on the short story.

SWRT 259 | Retreats & Research

Jun 30, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Kathryn discuss the benefits of writing retreats, especially when your story requires location-specific research. Whether you’re writing urban fantasy, historical, or just a story set in a real place, this episode is a happy exploration of how taking time for yourself as a writer and immersing in your research can do wonders for both your story and you!

SWRT 258 | Love & Writing

Jun 16, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss Love & Writing. How many ways can you write love and all its complications into your stories? We aren’t talking about romance here, just love in its many complex forms.

Story Works Round Table will now be coming out biweekly. Don’t worry, we aren’t going away, just changing the schedule. Use our off weeks to explore the catalog of over 250 conversations about craft at www.storyworkspodcast.com!

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