Story Works Round Table Archives - Page 34 of 65 - Story Works Round Table Podcast

SWRT 284 | Writers Book Club: Naming My Father

Nov 9, 2023

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.

SWRT 283 | Characterization

Oct 26, 2023

Characterization is more than introducing a character. The sharpest and subtlest of details can reveal a whole person to a reader.

SWRT 053 | What Writers Really Do part 2

May 10, 2018

This week, Alida and Robert continue their conversation about the writing process, creativity, first drafts, where ideas come from, and how revision really works. The inspiration for our conversation is George Saunders' essay "What Writers Really Do When They Write."...

SWRT 051 | What Writers Really Do…

May 3, 2018

This week, Alida and Robert discuss a craft essay by George Saunders, titled "What Writers Really Do When They Write." It's all about the writing process, and we get a lot of value out of this essay. We highly recommend it to anyone writing a story. Get the essay at...

SWRT 051 | Reality-Based Fiction

Apr 26, 2018

How do you balance real people, events, and places within your fictional narrative? Should you use major historical figures as protagonists? Or should they just pass by as setting or scenery? Have you asked yourself what you are aiming for in terms of your historical fiction? And why do you want to use a real figure or real event instead of complete fiction? And how important is that authors note?

SWRT 050 | Openings

Apr 19, 2018

Want to know what it takes to write a good opening? How do you hook your reader and get them invested in your story? How do you create character empathy and what are the action steps that you need to take in order to write a great opening?

SWRT 049 | Balancing Action & Non-action

Apr 12, 2018

What can cause problems in your action balance? How do you identify these problems? And how can you work to solve them? What counts as an action beat versus a quiet moment? And what should your characters be doing in those moments?

SWRT 048 | Misunderstood Storycraft Rules

Apr 5, 2018

Show, don’t tell! Don’t think, feel, and wonder your way through a manuscript. Dig deep! Use that narrative exposition. Use your dialogue and action sequences. Write visually. Never use adverbs. Use the right word choice. Make your writing strong and not weak. Don’t use to be! Don’t use said! We tackle some of the most commonly touted writing rules and how they should actually apply rather than some of their more misunderstood applications.

SWRT 047 | Unlikeable Characters

Mar 29, 2018

How often do you find unlikeable characters? Is there a difference between an unlikeable personality and moral or ethical flaws? What about morally repugnant characters? What kind of arcs do unlikeable characters have? And how do you craft them?

SWRT 046 | Writing Through Anxiety with Micah Joel

Mar 22, 2018

We welcome special guest, Micah Joel, back to the Round Table to talk about the writing life. No matter who we are, we've probably dealt with anxiety and depression at some point in our writing lives. Whether we're talking clinical or "normal" stress and overwhelm,...

SWRT 45 | Lit RPG Fiction with Micah Joel

Mar 15, 2018

What is LitRPG anyway? Where does all the confusion come from? And how important are those game mechanics? What are some of the genre conventions within LitRPG? And how do you interweave a story in with such a rigid set of game rules? What kind of stories can be a vehicle for LitRPG?

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