The Episodes

It could be a short story that becomes a novella and then a novel, a short story or a novel that was never going to be anything but, or a magnum opus designed to punish readers. Stacie leads the conversation with Lori, Michael, and guest Max Paradise.

Lori leads the discussion about how we create characters and what we love about other characters. And a little ranting about things we hate.

We spent so much time figuring out if we could, we never considered if we should.

The gang's first planned guest didn't make it, because Klein was using a bad email. But Lori and Stacie still talked the nuances, advantages, and pitfalls of writers' groups with him.

The gang talked the art of critique with fellow AWGer Dale Waters who is revered and feared for his critique technique.

The gang talked about retreats in general and some of their experiences with different kinds of retreats.

What kind of world would someone build that had 24-layer chocolate cake? Tune in to find out.

What exactly is "the beginning?" What does a beginning need to do? And what are some common mistakes?

We broke bread (gravy fries) with fellow AWGer Jessica Link to talk about plotting and pantsing. The audio isn't great, but Michael tried to fix the problem he caused.

We had to record virtually which was emotionally devastating. No diner servers interrupted the recording...but Stacie's new cat did. 

Picking up where we left off in Episode 5 "The Beginning," This is all about navigating the messy middle.

If you're thinking about diving into writing but not sure how to start...we'll share our origins.

Nobody approaches revisions the same way. Lori, Klein, and Stacie share what they do and how they critique each other. Plus AWGer Catherine Puma talks poetry editing.

Rounding out the three-part series, here's talk about sticking the landing. Also, there's a wedding. (We guess someone's happily ever after.)

The gang wrapped up Season One with some introspection, predictions, and a little trash talking. From how we fared in our writing goals and what we hope to accomplish next year to a discussion of media we consumed and what constitutes "a lot of reading."