Story Works Round Table Archives - Page 13 of 66 - Story Works Round Table Podcast

SWRT 332 | Culture, Trauma, and Memory in Somia Sadiq’s Gajarah

Sep 25, 2025

In this week’s episode, Alida and Kathryn are honored to host Somia Sadiq, an award-winning entrepreneur and global peace negotiator, who shares her journey into the world of storytelling through her debut novel, Gajarah. Somia discusses the importance of exploring the complexities of identity, trauma, and belonging through literature, emphasizing the power of storytelling to foster understanding and connection. Join us as we delve into the intricate relationship between the storyteller and the listener, and how Somia’s unique experiences shape her narrative style.

SWRT 331 | Taking Up Space with Susan Swan

Sep 11, 2025

In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida welcomes Susan Swan, an acclaimed novelist and professor emerita at York University, join us to discuss her new memoir, Big Girls Don’t Cry. As Susan reads an excerpt from her book, she invites us into her world of growing up as a tall girl in a society that often discourages women from taking up space. We delve into themes of body image, the societal expectations placed on women, and the journey of finding one’s voice and identity. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on the importance of asserting oneself in a world that often tries to diminish women’s presence.

SWRT 248 | Prewriting

Apr 7, 2022

Summer Session - apply nowSpecial pay what you can session.Could your characters benefit from a writing lesson? Alida has creative writing workshops available today on character traits, a master class in character development, story structure, plot, and more. Live...

SWRT 247 | Writer’s Mindset

Mar 31, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn dig into the writer’s mindset. When we’re facing challenges of motivation, inspiration, or just plain old scheduling, what can we do to get out of the rut and get back to what matters, what matters to us, that is? Sometimes the hardest thing to accept and act on is that it really is up to us (and no one else) if and when we write. Whether the world is humming along or falling apart at the macro or micro level, it still comes down to what we want and are willing to do for what we want.

Do you want to write?

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

SWRT 246 | Theme

Mar 24, 2022

Alida & Kathryn discuss their favorite topic, theme, on today’s Story Works Round Table podcast. Connect to other theme episodes in the notes.

SWRT 245 | Emotions: their effect on story and reader

Mar 17, 2022

This week, Alida and Kathryn talk about emotions. A critical element of any story, it’s not always obvious why or when we need them. Even trickier is how to put a feeling into words that translate beyond meaning, that actually make the reader feel what the character is feeling or something more. Crafting words on the page with the goal of emotional depth, intensity, or power is a worthwhile goal for any writer.

SWRT 244 | Weaving Time into Narrative

Mar 10, 2022

This week, Alida and Kathryn go deeper into the subject of writing time, specifically how to handle chronology in narrative. We have three very short examples that illustrate different methods of structuring your narrative to move the story and reader through time.

SWRT 243/SWRS 005 | Careless Whistle

Mar 3, 2022

On today's Story Works Reading Series, Selene Castrovilla reads the short story "Careless Whistle." If the title brings to mind a certain '80s pop tune, it (like everything in great fiction) is intentional. After the reading, Selene and I talk about her start in...

SWRT 242 | What Goes into a Scene?

Feb 24, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss what goes into a scene. Is there a recipe to follow? Kind of, but joke as we may, scenes are built upon certain repeatable story elements. How does pacing change with the shape of your scenes? What mistakes are commonly made at the scene level?

SWRT 241 | Character

Feb 17, 2022

This week on Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk character. What to do when your supporting characters resist the roles you’ve given them? Do you really need them all? What about developing new skills over the course of an arc?
Could your characters benefit from a writing lesson? Story Works has creative writing workshops available today on character traits, a master class in character development, story structure, plot, and more. Live workshops for Spring 2022 are coming soon! Details at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 240 | Time

Feb 10, 2022

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert talk time. Free your story from strictly chronological structure. Your story’s suspense and reveals can benefit from getting creative with your handling of time.

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