TopPodcast.com
Menu
  • Home
  • Top Charts
  • Top Networks
  • Top Apps
  • Top Independents
  • Top Podfluencers
  • Top Picks
    • Top Business Podcasts
    • Top True Crime Podcasts
    • Top Finance Podcasts
    • Top Comedy Podcasts
    • Top Music Podcasts
    • Top Womens Podcasts
    • Top Kids Podcasts
    • Top Sports Podcasts
    • Top News Podcasts
    • Top Tech Podcasts
    • Top Crypto Podcasts
    • Top Entrepreneurial Podcasts
    • Top Fantasy Sports Podcasts
    • Top Political Podcasts
    • Top Science Podcasts
    • Top Self Help Podcasts
    • Top Sports Betting Podcasts
    • Top Stocks Podcasts
  • Podcast News
  • About Us
  • Podcast Advertising
  • Contact
Not in our directory?
Add Show Here
Podcast Equipment
Center

toppodcastlogoOur TOPPODCAST Picks

  • Comedy
  • Crypto
  • Sports
  • News
  • Politics
  • True Crime
  • Business
  • Finance

Follow Us

toppodcastlogoStay Connected

    View Top 200 Chart
    Back to Rankings Page
    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.

    Advertise

    Copyright: © 2024 Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

    • Apple Podcasts
    • Google Play
    • Spotify
    Latest Episodes:
    Episode 179 - The critical writing techniques all in one episode. Aug 22, 2025
    Show notes

    Here are the most important fiction writing techniques boiled down to twenty-five minutes. I've talked about all these elements in prior episodes but sometimes it's useful to hear things again. This episode is a refresher.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 178 - How to make readers laugh. Aug 15, 2025
    Show notes

    We may be writing a comic novel or we may want to add humor to our thriller or romance or horror or literary novel. Humor adds a strong element to most any story. Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas: “Funny how? I mean, funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?" Well, yeah. Let's see how we can make readers laugh.

    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 177 - The description double duty technique. Aug 08, 2025
    Show notes

    Good descriptions of characters should do double duty: they can let the reader know what the character looks like and the description can also suggest something about the character's personality. Here are examples and thoughts on double duty descriptions. Also, how Alice Walker works.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 176 - Inventing a fabulous title. Aug 01, 2025
    Show notes

    The title is the book browser's first impression of our novel. The title should tempt the browser to pick up and open the book. Here are thoughts on how we can give our story a strong, enticing title. Also, how do famous authors edit their own manuscripts? Maybe we can learn from them the best way to self-edit our stories.

    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 175 - Writing funny dialogue. Jul 25, 2025
    Show notes

    We can write dialogue that makes readers laugh. Here are thoughts on creating funny conversations between our characters. Plus, we don't need to have our character look into a mirror to describe herself, which has been done time and again. Here are ways to avoid the mirror.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 174 - How to ruin our story's first sentences. Jul 18, 2025
    Show notes

    A story's first sentence should make the reader ask, "What's next?" They should propel the reader into the story. Here's how to do it right and how to do it wrongly. Also, three master writers show us how to describe a setting.

    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 173 - The magic of dialogue. Jul 11, 2025
    Show notes

    Dialogue is fun to write and fun to read. Our story should have lots of it. Here's a powerful thing dialogue can do: it can reveal (that is, to show rather than tell) what a character is thinking. The character's conversation can be lively and fun, and hearing the character speak is so much stronger than reading the character's mind. Here are thoughts on writing revealing dialogue.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 172 - Our first fifteen pages. Jul 04, 2025
    Show notes

    The first pages of our novel should contain certain elements and avoid certain elements. Here's a list of things to include and exclude in those first pages. Plus, ways to write forceful, clear, and lovely sentences.

    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 171 - Top ten list of bad advice for writers. Jun 27, 2025
    Show notes

    In these episodes I try to set out good writing advice but a lot of bad advice is out there, so here is a list of bad advice, and the list may help us avoid writing blunders. Here are also ten dialogue mistakes, and avoiding them likely means we end up with engaging and even riveting dialogue for our characters.

    Support the show

    Buy the master class.

    Episode 170 - Writing the crowd scene. And guilt and pride. Jun 20, 2025
    Show notes

    Here are techniques for keeping focus in a scene where there is a crowd, with an example from Harper Lee. And how Margaret Mitchell worked. Plus: how can we show rather than tell about a character's guilt or pride.

    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.

    Previous 1 5 6 7 8 9 24 Next

    Related Podcasts

    Making Sense with Sam Harris

    1

    Making Sense with Sam Harris Education
    Grammar Girl

    2

    Grammar Girl Education
    Good Life Project

    3

    Good Life Project Education
    Explain It to Me

    4

    Explain It to Me Education
    Team Never Quit

    5

    Team Never Quit Comedy
    Optimal Living Daily – Personal Development and Self-Improvement

    6

    Optimal Living Daily – Personal Development and Self-Improvement Alternative Health
    footer-logo

    Contact Us

    Toll Free: 844-670-7747

    Links

    • Home
    • Top Charts
    • Networks
    • Apps
    • Independents Podcasts
    • Podcast Advertising
    • Podcast News
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Analytics & Insights

    Stay Connected

      Privacy, Terms of Use & Our Code of Ethics Protecting Content Creators Copyrights