Story Works Round Table with Alida Winternheimer | Conversations About Craft

SWRT 257 | Trouble

June 10, 2022 15:58 - 26 minutes - 21.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss trouble and your plot, character, arcs, craft and more. Sneak Peak: Alida: It's always from the fry pan to the fire. Keep asking yourself, how is this going to get worse for my character? Kathryn: The decisions they make can't make them happier. These decisions have to make them suffer more, constantly more suffering. But it's not always the physical suffering, just things going on around them are overwhelmed or...

SWRT 256 | Act I

June 02, 2022 09:00 - 27 minutes - 22.1 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss Act I in this all new episode about opening your novel. What is the author's responsibility to the reader? How does your opening need to connect to your ending and what happens when it doesn't? We link it in the show notes to all the related episodes in our catalog, so make sure to check out our Library Links at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com. Creative writing workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.com.

SWRT 255 | Using Repetition in Your Story

May 26, 2022 09:00 - 23 minutes - 18.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the usefulness and drawbacks of using repetition in your story. What kind of repeition is typically employed in story? When does it become predictable or dull? How can we use repetition effectively to add to the reader's experience without compromising novelty? Creative writing workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.com. Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.

SWRT 254 | Motifs

May 19, 2022 08:00 - 28 minutes - 22.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss motifs, those recurring elements in a story that seem to live in the background yet enhance the power and meaning of narrative. Creative writing workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.com. Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.

SWRT 253 | Openings

May 12, 2022 08:00 - 29 minutes - 23.7 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss openings, when and how to begin your novel. This episode will be linked in the show notes to all related episodes in the library. What does your opening page communicate to a reader? When should you open with a prologue and when in media res? How do you introduce your world without bogging the reader down in info dumps or backstory? Is everything in your opening essential? Story Works Reading Series is open for s...

SWRT 252 | Faces

May 05, 2022 08:00 - 29 minutes - 23.3 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about describing your characters’ faces so they make an impression on your readers. Faces are so much more than a list of physical traits, brown hair, deep eyes, cleft chin. Lists are forgettable. When you describe your characters, strive to convey an impression of the *person* through the face. Creative writing workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.com. Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.

SWRT 251 | Ambiguity in Story

April 28, 2022 07:02 - 28 minutes - 23 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about that slippery subject, ambiguity. What is it? How does it function in story? How & why it can disappoint or disgruntle readers (like Kathryn!). How it’s different from a hook. More! Thinking about group coaching? Check out the sneak peek at a recent coaching call & take a writing tip away from the conversation! New session for novelists May - July. Apply today. www.WordEssential.com/FictionGroupCoaching

SWRT 250 | Description

April 21, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 17.1 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, & Kathryn talk description. Have you considered the purpose and power of description in your narrative before? Given that most of story is narrative, how you tell it matters. At the heart of narrative is description. Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com. Creative writing workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.com.

SWRT 249 | The Writers Sketchbook

April 14, 2022 08:00 - 27 minutes - 22.2 MB

Looking for inspiration or want to know you're not alone in this crazy creative process called storytelling? Curious about how other writers spend writing time outside of drafting? This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about the ways we make writing our practice and practice our writing. Before launching a project, when problem solving, or developing a new skill, we hone our craft. Just like painters with their sketchbooks, we have our notebooks. Submit to the Story Works Reading ...

SWRT 248 | Prewriting

April 05, 2022 18:48 - 23 minutes - 19 MB

This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about prewriting. There is so much to gain from this stage of the writing process, we go into what techniques we use, when, why, and how they help our drafting and revision processes. Head to the show notes to grab our slider of related episodes in our library. Show notes & more: www.StoryWorksPodcast.com Writing workshops: www.StoryWorksFiction.com

SWRT 247 | The Writer's Mindset

March 31, 2022 08:00 - 37 minutes - 29.7 MB

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...

SWRT 246 | Theme

March 24, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 17.8 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss theme. This episode will be linked in the show notes to all other episodes related to theme, so if you're interested in the topic, you'll be able to quickly access the theme catalog in our library. Kathryn and Alida think about theme a lot and it drives their work. Show notes, links, & more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com.

SWRT 245 | Emotions: their effect on story & reader

March 17, 2022 07:02 - 28 minutes - 22.6 MB

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

SWRT 244 | Weaving Time into Your Narrative

March 10, 2022 09:00 - 32 minutes - 25.7 MB

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. Francisco holds us in the present, with her as she writes, while drawing us back into her remembrances. Sukruangrung uses a scene break to create a clear delineation between in-scene writing and exposition. McCloy keeps us in...

SWRS 005 | Careless Whistle by Selene Castrovilla

March 03, 2022 09:00 - 51 minutes - 41 MB

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 writing, the use of music in her narrative, theme, and how everything we put on the page is open to the reader's interpretation. Selene is an award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Don't miss t...

SWRT 242 | What Goes into a Scene

February 24, 2022 09:00 - 27 minutes - 21.7 MB

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

SWRT 241 | Character

February 17, 2022 09:00 - 26 minutes - 21.5 MB

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 comi...

SWRT 240 | Time

February 10, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 24.3 MB

This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk time. It's about more than the passage of time in your story. Break out of the rut of chronological storytelling and use time to your advantage by structuring your narrative in nonlinear ways. Being creative in your use of time will enhance your suspense and reveals, no matter the genre you're writing in. There is still time to enroll in the 10-week creative writing workshop, Memory Emotion Body. This special session brought to you by Story Works & ...

SWRT 239 | A Cat in the Rain, Hemingway

February 03, 2022 09:00 - 38 minutes - 30.7 MB

This week, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn discuss a Hemingway short-short story, "A Cat in the Rain." Listen to the story, followed by our discussion of the craft choices apparent in Hemingway's text. At about 600 words, it's surprising how much there is to unpack and learn! Join Alida's MPWW session of the Memory Emotion Body creative writing workshop before seats fill up! www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 238 | Finishing Long Projects

January 27, 2022 09:00 - 26 minutes - 21.4 MB

This week at the Story Works Round Table, Kathryn and Robert put Alida on the spot. We talk about finishing a project you've already invested in a lot over a long time. Alida is in the home stretch of draft one of her current work-in-progress. We talk about the endurance game, staying inspired for the long haul, what happens when your setting and characters keep changing on you, research trips, and Duluth. Enjoy! Links to coaching & workshops at www.storyworkspodcast.com - today’s episode.

SWRT 237 | Idea to Draft

January 20, 2022 09:00 - 29 minutes - 24 MB

This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about the alchemical (or so it seems) process of going from lightning bolt to draft. What do you do when inspiration strikes? How do you know it's an idea worth pursuing? What about those fully formed sentences of pure gold that come when you're in the shower? We talk about it all. Get all the details about Alida's essay, the MPWW session of the Memory Emotion Body workshop, and fiction group coaching, first quarter in...

SWRT 236 | Co-authoring

January 13, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 29.4 MB

This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome Shari Medini and Karissa Tunis back to the Round Table to discuss co-authoring. They have a successful parenting blog and now a book for busy, work-from-home parents. Whether you're thinking about teaming up to tackle a novel or a nonfiction treatise, you can learn a lot from this duo's experience as co-authors. Shari and Karissa are the parenting advice bloggers at Adore Them Parenting and have a new book out to help make sure you get your par...

SWRT 235 | Writing, Parenting, & Working from Home

January 06, 2022 09:00 - 43 minutes - 34.7 MB

This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome Shari Medini and Karissa Tunis to the Round Table for our annual New Year's episode. This year we take a different tack and look at how we can maintain our writing goals in the new year when we have extra challenges, like working from our busy homes. Shari and Karissa are the parenting advice bloggers at Adore Them Parenting and have a new book out to help make sure you get your parenting, work, and YOU time into every week. As successful write...

SWRS 008 | Chris Hasara

December 30, 2021 09:00 - 59 minutes - 48 MB

This month on the Story Works Reading Series, I am pleased to present Chris Hasara reading his short story, “Housekeeping.” After the story, we chat about writing in the cab of a truck, the Midwestern voice, single-character stories, his writing influences, including Edgar Allen Poe, and much more. Do you have a short story or essay ready to read? I’d love to see it! www.storyworkspodcast.com/submit

SWRT 234 | How to End Your Story

December 23, 2021 09:00 - 31 minutes - 25.5 MB

This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about ending your story. What is the purpose of your ending? How do you create space for the reader to really feel the emotional impact of your story? And when should you plan how you are going to tie up those plot points and emotional questions you opened at the beginning of your story? How can we add fresh twists to our inevitable endings? And how do we avoid or embrace the “Hollywood Ending”? In the end it’s all about creating the ending that sat...

SWRT 233 | When Your Writing Sucks

December 16, 2021 09:00 - 22 minutes - 17.7 MB

Have you ever wondered if your writing sucks? We're all plagued by doubt sometimes. And other times the work just doesn't flow. This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn ask themselves what to do if your writing sucks? We start off with a questions one of us may have been pondering before the call and weave our way through possible causes and solutions to this most troubling and amorphous craft question: does my writing sometimes suck? If you ever ask yourself...

SWRT 232 | Voice

December 09, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutes - 26.1 MB

Alida, Robert, & Kathryn use our voices to talk about voice. Not the spoken kind, but the written. What is an author's voice? Does it just happen or is it crafted? How does narrative voice used with character voice? What about a character whose voice does not fit with the narrative? Can that still work? And more this week on the Story Works Round Table. Alida is offering group coaching to novel writers starting in February 2022. Follow for details and to secure your spot at the table! S...

SWRT 231 | Backstory, Why Do We Need It?

December 02, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 24.3 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert,& Kathryn discuss backstory. Robert has been noticing novels that aren’t doing it well. How do writers go wrong when introducing backstory? When should you introduce backstory? How much can a reader take, anyway? Want more on this topic, I have a workshop on Writing Backstory into Your Now-Story. Check it out at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRS 007 | Recreation by Robert James Russell

November 25, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MB

On today's Story Works Reading Series, Robert James Russell reads "Recreation." He brilliantly takes on the challenging form of the epistolary, then takes it one...or two...further by also presenting us with unnamed characters. Besides delving into the craft of this personal narrative form and getting a little bit meta, we talk about the solace of nature and things we can't decode. If you enjoy listening to the literary journal for your ears, please tell your friends about us. Show notes...

SWRT 230 | A Study of "The Log Jam"

November 18, 2021 09:00 - 28 minutes - 22.9 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn examine an excerpt of a short story by author Barry Lopez. “The Log Jam,” in his collection Desert Notes River Notes, is a powerful piece of writing. We dig into sentence structure, voice, setting, emotional impact, characterization, and more. You can read the excerpt in the show notes at www.storyworkspodcast.com Get creative writing workshops at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 229 | Narrative Storytellers

November 11, 2021 09:00 - 27 minutes - 49.5 MB

Alida and Kathryn dig into narrative storytellers on this week’s Story Works Round Table. Have you ever written a story with a storyteller as narrator? That’s a narrator that is not invisible, like the typical authorial narrator, and is not a character, like a first person narrator. But this narrator is full of personality and can be as opinionated as you like. A storyteller’s voice evokes a sense of being present, of hearing the story is essential to creating a storyteller experience for th...

SWRT 228 | NaNoWriMo

November 04, 2021 08:00 - 25 minutes - 20.2 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn talk NaNoWriMo and pushing for big word counts. November is underway, but it’s not too late to join NaNoWriMo, so if you’ve been on the fence, check out Kathryn’s experience with and advice on National Novel Writing Month. But if you’re like Alida, you might fall into the “not for me” camp. We’ve got both sides covered in this week’s conversation about craft. Shownotes & more www.storyworkspodcast.com

SWRT 227 | In Media Res

October 28, 2021 08:00 - 27 minutes - 21.9 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Robert discuss what it means to open your story in media res. When is it a good idea to start in the middle of action? How does that affect the opening of your work, character introductions, and more? Get show notes, links, writing tips, and more at www.storyworkspodcast.com. Find Alida's writing workshops at www.storyworksfiction.com.

SWRT 226 | Introducing Characters

October 21, 2021 15:34 - 29 minutes - 23.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Robert talk about introducing characters to your readers on the page. After you've invested in your characters' development, make sure you don't skimp on the process of making introductions. There is a craft to making a solid first impression on your reader. One that doesn't overwhelm with a dump of traits but spirals the details of a person, physical and intangible, in a meaningful way into the character's first scene. Want more ways to e...

SWRT 225 | Fear

October 14, 2021 08:00 - 43 minutes - 34.5 MB

Alida and Robert sit down at the Story Works Round Table to talk fear this week. How do we get our readers to feel fear from just the written word? What craft tools can we employ? It’s one thing with a wide-angle narrative lens, but what about a close third POV? We dig into all of this and more! Love this topic? Join my workshop, Making Readers Fear & Fear For Your Characters on October 24th. Details at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 224 | Antagonistic Forces

October 07, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 19.1 MB

This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about villains you can't vanquish: How do you handle a villain that can't wear a hat, black or otherwise? When your story calls for a force instead of a figure, what does that mean for your plot? For your character? What do you need to be aware of when writing a bad event or circumstance, instead of a bad guy? Are there genre-specific antagonistic forces? Show notes and more at www.StoryWorksPodcast.com. Get workshops at www.StoryWorksFiction.co...

SWRS 006 | Eastern White Pine at the Corner of the Farm

September 30, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MB

This month the Story Works Reading Series returns after summer break with a new piece of creative nonfiction by essayist, journalist, and writing professor, Jonathon Heide. I am honored to bring Jonathon’s essay, Eastern White Pine at the Corner of the Farm, to you followed by a conversation with the author about the intersection of nonfiction and storytelling, bringing your personal self into your writing, loggers and arborists and generations of family. Grab a cup of something warm and enj...

SWRT 223 | Dystopian Fiction in Dystopian Times

September 23, 2021 08:00 - 28 minutes - 22.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about writing dystopian fiction when the world we’re living in seems dystopian. What does a dystopian story have to offer readers who already feel left out or beat down? Maybe…a lot. Register for the writing workshop Memory Emotion Body at www.storyworksfiction.com now. Class begins in October.

SWRT 222 | Storycraft Over Time

September 16, 2021 08:00 - 48 minutes - 38.6 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about the changes we've noticed in storycraft when reading books of past eras. How has storytelling changed with the times and what elements of craft should we hang onto? What books of old have you read and how do you think storytelling is changing? Let us know on our comments page! www.storyworkspodcast.com Get Alida's writing workshops at www.storyworksfiction.com

SWRT 221 | Writing BIG Scenes

September 09, 2021 08:00 - 29 minutes - 23.3 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about those big, really BIG, scenes. When your story demands an epic battle or riot or disaster, how can you create the right blend of massive action & personal emotion? What are the pitfalls of multiple points of view in epic scenes? And lots more today at the Round Table. Pull up a chair & join us! Register for this Sunday's Writing Backstory into Your Now-story & other workshops at www.storyworksfiction.com. Show ...

SWRT 220 | The Writer as Student of Human Nature

September 02, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 18.9 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn ask, how can we develop our characters if we aren’t naturally curious about people? We three writers find ourselves putting our friends, family, neighbors, even strangers under our version of the microscope. What do we--and our stories--gain as observers of human nature? Where does our authenticity come from as writers? Is there a method to our madness? We’re always diving into the lives and minds of our characters in an e...

SWRT 219 | Nitty Gritty: Grammar & More

August 26, 2021 08:00 - 42 minutes - 34.1 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn ponder whether or not people with a creative license need to worry about the conventions of grammar & punctuation. I don't think the answer will surprise you, but the whys, wherefores, & particular concerns we have with those craft elements may prove enlightening. Show notes & more at www.storyworkspodcast.com Submit to the Story Works Reading Series now: www.storyworkspodcast.com/submit

SWRT 218 | Better Description through Revision

August 19, 2021 08:00 - 28 minutes - 23 MB

This week at the Story Works Round Table, we cover one of Kathryn’s current pain points: when description doesn’t happen while drafting and how to get it done in revision. The role of description is much richer in your story than you may think. (Previously released as episode 125.) Robert resists adding description while he fast drafts, knowing he’ll have to face it in later drafts. Kathryn struggles to get down in words what she knows has to be there. This leads to lots of placeholders in...

SWRT 217 | What We're Reading Now & Why, part 2

August 12, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 18.6 MB

This week Alida, Robert, & Kathryn continue discussing what we’re reading now and why we chose it. Why would a successful, beautifully-written book lose readers? What niche mystery has Robert excited to read more? Show notes, links & more at www.storyworkspodcast.com Submit to the fall season of the Story Works Reading Series now! www.storyworkspodcast.com/submit

SWRT 216 | What We're Reading & Why We Chose It

August 05, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 19.1 MB

This week, we return the subject of what we’re reading now. We get into not only the titles we’re into, but what makes them work and maybe not work as well as they could. We have a variety of reasons for what we choose to read beyond “pleasure” and the books are not all in our genres. You might be surprised by which popular and award-winning novel we dissect. How did you feel about All…? We're having an Ask Us Anything episode in the near future. Just head over to iTunes and leave us a rev...

SWRT 215 | Epilogues

July 29, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 18.9 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, we talk about “those bits tacked on at the end of a story to explain everything…” Wait, who said that? We discuss the epilogue and dig into our favorite epilogue to love and hate at the end of the Harry Potter series. What did you think of it? Have you written epilogues to your novels? Let us know in the comments. Want to be part of the conversation? Good! We're having an Ask Us Anything episode in the near future. Just head over to iTunes and l...

SWRT 214 | Prologues

July 22, 2021 08:00 - 30 minutes - 24 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert dissect the prologue. Can you be for or against prologues? When do writers do them wrong? And how do you do them right? As with so many of our Round Tables, we start out with something that seems so simple, yet find ways to sink our teeth into a juicy discussion! Want to be part of the conversation? Good. We're having an Ask Us Anything episode in the near future. Just head over to iTunes and leave us a review. Pose your ...

SWRT 213 | Pacing Your Novel

July 15, 2021 08:00 - 29 minutes - 23.5 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida Winternheimer, Robert Scanlon, & Kathryn Arnold talk pacing. Isn’t it about word count and how quickly readers turn the pages? You know, that old chestnut, the Beach Read? It’s about the need to know what’s coming next, the reader’s desire to keep being drawn into and through the story. But it’s also about the ebb and flow of action, not an overall speed, but a rhythm that allows for ups and downs, quick and slow movements. Make the pace of you...

SWRT 212 | Reconnecting with an Old Work-in-Progress

July 08, 2021 08:00 - 30 minutes - 24.4 MB

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about reconnecting with a work-in-progress that has been shelved for a looooong time. Robert has returned to a manuscript after 4 years. Anyone who has been more than “resting” a manuscript will benefit from today’s discussion. Join your hosts, Alida Winternheimer, Kathryn Arnold, and Robert Scanlon, at the Round Table every week by visiting http://storyworkspodcast.com. Show notes, links, comments, and more!

SWRT 211 | Dialogue, Natural & Unnatural

July 01, 2021 08:00 - 35 minutes - 28.4 MB

This week at the Round Table, we talk about talking. What goes into writing natural sounding dialogue that is still artful in its delivery? What are the pitfalls of giving your characters speaking parts? How many ways can you make them sound wooden, artificial, or even annoying? Should you really use said? And does Robert have a dialogue pet peeve? Join your hosts, Alida Winternheimer, Kathryn Arnold, and Robert Scanlon at http://storyworkspodcast.com. Show notes, links, comments, & more!

Story Works Round Table with Alida Winternheimer | Conversations About Craft

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