Story Works Round Table

conversations about craft

for writers and readers curious about writers

SWRT 296 | Writers Book Club: Checkhov

SWRT 296 | Writers Book Club: Checkhov

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.” -Checkhov

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.

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Get Alida’s reflections on life, writing, and the writing life in A Room Full of Books & Pencils. booksandpencils.substack.com

SWRT 296 | Writers Book Club: Checkhov

SWRT 295 | Writers Book Club: Gina Berriault

This week on the Story Works Round Table we discuss Gina Berriault’s flash fiction 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

SWRT 107 | Traveling Chapters

SWRT 107 | Traveling Chapters

What is a traveling chapter? And why do all books, regardless of genre, have them? What can you do to amp up your traveling, and make it interesting and compelling to your reader?

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SWRT 106 | Talking Fantasy with Nico Taranovsky, part 2

SWRT 106 | Talking Fantasy with Nico Taranovsky, part 2

What is Intrusion and Liminal Fantasy? And why would you choose to mix the types? Why is Nico writing an intrusion fantasy? And what is his take on world-building? In the end, it’s all about writing a story that says something, has impact, and matters to your readers!

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SWRT 105 | Talking Fantasy with Nico Taranovsky

SWRT 105 | Talking Fantasy with Nico Taranovsky

How did Nico get into writing fantasy? And what is the history of this genre? How would you write a classic fantasy story today? And should you have a distinct good versus evil plot? We dive into types of fantasy stories, starting with the Portal/Quest fantasy and how to immerse your reader, without losing them!

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SWRT 104 | Guiding Your Reader with Narrative with Mike Stop Continues

SWRT 104 | Guiding Your Reader with Narrative with Mike Stop Continues

What is a sequencing issue, and why is it so bothersome to Mike (and Alida)? Why do they happen? And how should you address them? What tools do you miss out on when things are out of order? How can you use narrative to help craft surprise, and reveals? And what is the problem with delaying your dialogue tag? We leave you with ways we discover problems in our own manuscripts.

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SWRT 103 | Revising with Theme with Mike Stop Continues

SWRT 103 | Revising with Theme with Mike Stop Continues

You have a draft, now how should you approach revising to your theme? Mike breaks down a way to approach your draft across multiple facets of your novel, and we talk about how it all works together. How do you transform description, action, and dialogue into a thematic powerhouse? By keeping your theme front and center! Now, go write it on a post-it note and stick it to your monitor!

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SWRT 102 | Prewriting Theme with Mike Stop Continues

SWRT 102 | Prewriting Theme with Mike Stop Continues

This week, Alida, Kathryn welcome Mike Stop Continues back to the show to discuss prewriting theme. We cover:  why you should find your theme before you write, why themes that are too timely are no good,  being human, the role of the character arc in theme, how does...

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SWRT 101 | Using Reveals to Advance Your Story

What is the reveal? And how do you craft one? How do you introduce intrigue artfully? And when should you follow that intrigue with the reveal? Remember your reveal must be worth the emotional investment of the reader!

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SWRT 099 | How to Prioritize Projects & When to Walk Away

This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss the problem of multiple projects. Our listener Deanna wanted to know how should we prioritize what to work on when we have multiple projects and no specific deadline? The question raised the issues of carrying multiple projects, productivity and making progress, how to set up priorities, and the role of passion in your writing life. Then we addressed Kathryn’s question: when do you walk away? Is walking away always a bad thing? Should you be a “completer?” We touch on taking lessons learned with you and the evolution of ideas.

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