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    Education

    Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

    Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer’s novels are “superbly crafted’) and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer’s “writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.

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    Copyright: © 2024 Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

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    Latest Episodes:
    Episode 209 - Avoiding blunders in our story. Mar 20, 2026
    Show notes

    How and why should we avoid our character traveling? And how does Orson Scott Card not make blunders in his novels? Here is his tool for having a mistake-free novel. Also: here is why our scenes--almost all scenes--should have some action, and how to write that action.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 208 - How to paint pictures with words. Mar 13, 2026
    Show notes

    Writing is magic. We type on a keyboard, and then the words we type create powerful images in readers' minds. Here is a discussion of our main tool for creating vivid images: detail. Which details, how to use them, and examples from a detail master, Jean Shepherd. And another angle: detail is as important in dialogue as it is in character and setting descriptions.

    Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 207 - When the hero lies to the reader. Mar 06, 2026
    Show notes

    Sometimes an unreliable narrator can be great fun to create, and great fun to read about. Here are techniques for developing a protagonist the reader learns not to trust. Also, how can we avoid dull interior monologue and instead show readers what a character is thinking?

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 206 - How to get lots of plot ideas. Feb 27, 2026
    Show notes

    Novelist John D. McDonald said he had more plot ideas than time to write them. That's not the case for most of us writers. We usually are in chronic need of more plot, more story. Here are techniques for inventing plot from James Scott Bell and Lester Dent. Also: vivid character descriptions from Jean Shepherd, showing us how to create unforgettable characters.

    Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episiode 205 - How to stop stalling and get going. Feb 20, 2026
    Show notes

    Sometimes we are full of ambition to write. Yet we don't. We put off our writing, then put it off again. Why do we do that? And what can be done to get us in front of the keyboard? Here are thoughts on what we can do to get us producing. Also, powerful first sentences drop the reader into the story after the action is already underway. Here's how to do it, with examples from excellent writers.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 204 - Meaningless modifiers and what to cut. Feb 13, 2026
    Show notes

    Some words don't add anything to a sentence other than confusion. Here are several modifiers that our story is better without. Also, is cutting ten percent of our manuscript a good goal when editing? What should we cut to reach that ten percent?

    Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 203 - Argument makes our dialogue riveting. Feb 06, 2026
    Show notes

    Dialogue lets the reader become part of the story, as if the reader is standing next to the characters listening to them talk. Not all conversation between characters is equal: argument is the most engaging dialogue. An argument between characters in our story--the back and forth, the accusations and denials, the evasions and justifications--can be riveting. Here are thoughts on writing the big argument scene.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 202 - How to have fun while writing. Jan 30, 2026
    Show notes

    Writing fiction is work but it doesn't need to be a grind. Here's how we can have fun while we write, things that'll give us a joyful kick, maybe even make us laugh. Also: the important technique of the mini-backstory, which reveals so much about our character in so little space.

    Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 201 - A formula for strong sentences. Jan 23, 2026
    Show notes

    Physics loves formulas: E=MC2. How about writing? Here is a formula for writing strong sentences, ones that are clear and have energy. Our setting and character descriptions can also benefit from a formula, one that shows how to engage the reader. That formula is talked about here, too.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 200 - How can we know if we can write? Jan 16, 2026
    Show notes

    Do we have the skill to write a novel or short story? Here are early clues that may let us know. Also, top writers' ten best rules of writing. And J.R.R. Tolkien's techniques for writing fascinating settings.

    Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

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