Memoir Nation

Latest Episodes:

Mining Tension in Fiction, featuring Gish Jen Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Building tension in stories is part of writing good fiction writing, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do—and it also requires writers to be conscious of the tensions they’re trying to mine. In this week’s show, tension is at the forefront, as Brooke and Grant explore with storytelling master Gish Jen how she thinks about tension, what life experiences she brings to her fiction as a member of the Chinese diaspora and daughter of immigrants, and so much more. We’re talking about short stories and celebrating Jen’s latest collection, Thank You, Mr. Nixon, and thinking more broadly about the way tension raises the stakes when it comes to good story.

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How We Can Reclaim Our Stories Through Fiction, featuring Cheryl A. Head Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

If you write fiction, you already know you’re the master of the world you create on the page. That comes with great responsibility, but it also can mean reclaiming the narrative and elevating the stories that didn’t get to be told. It’s often said that history is written by the victors, but in modern times, history is often revisited, increasingly so in fiction, to include the voices of those left for too long in the shadows. This week’s show explores all this and more with guest Cheryl A. Head, who’s written a new novel, Time’s Undoing, that explores what happened to her grandfather, who was killed in 1929 by Birmingham police, and the ripple effect that had on future generations. Nearly 100 years later, Cheryl unearths this story through a fictional lens.

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Memoirs That Risk Everything, featuring Eden Boudreau Feb 27, 2023

Show notes

What are some of the memoirs you’ve read and loved that share unspeakable truths? This question is at the center of this week’s show—and we welcome guest Eden Boudreau to share about what we risk—and gain—when we dare to write those truths. Eden’s memoir centers a story of sexual assault, so listeners please know that coming in. She shares about how writing her story was healing, but beyond that how it helped her to carry on through some of her darkest hours. This is a heartfelt conversation—and an episode that celebrates how memoirs really do save lives.

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The Art of Brevity, featuring Grant Faulkner Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

Write-minded celebrates and honors Grant Faulkner this week as he releases his newest book, The Art of Brevity. Grant’s interest and obsession with the short form is the subject of this week’s episode, a conversation about flash fiction, discipline, and what’s so appealing about the short short form. Grant shares a story as a means to show how plot exists in a 100-word piece, and considers the rising popularity of flash fiction against the backdrop of our modern world where there’s more content—and ways of sharing our content—than ever before. An inspiring and inspired conversation!

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How Psychology Drives Good Fiction, featuring Ana Reyes Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

At the heart of all good fiction are psychologically complex drives, character motives, and the layered paradoxes of human experience. And while we’re focusing on Ana Reyes and her recently released thriller, The House in the Pines, this week’s episode is an honoring of the depths of the human mind, how much our curiosity about what drives others lends itself to good storytelling. Enter the many layers of this conversation with us with your analyzing mind fully attuned!

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Making Art from Your Life, featuring Jeannine Ouellette Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

This week Brooke and Grant are in thoughtful, deep conversation with Jeannine Ouellette about craft—ranging from exteriority, tense, point of view, aboutness, and time control. This episode touches upon observing others’ work to inform your own—and we encourage all listeners to read Jeannine’s recent post that’s mentioned a few times in this week’s show: “Eleven Urgent and Possibly Helpful Things I’ve Learned From Reading Thousands of Manuscripts”: https://www.jeannineouellette.com/musing/eleven-urgent-and-possibly-helpful-things-ive-learned-from-reading-thousands-of-manuscripts.

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The Art of Revision, featuring Peter Ho Davies Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

This week’s show is a celebration and exploration of revision. The old adage is that revision is writing, and Peter Ho Davies has some gorgeous and rich advice around the process and the discovery that comes with this part of the writing process. Revision is a world all its own, an opportunity to go to even deeper depths in your writing. Befriend revision, love revision, embrace revision—and join us for this conversation as a jumping-off point.

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True Inclusion in Book Publishing, featuring Rebekah Borucki Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

This week’s episode focuses in on our favorite hard topic—inclusion in book publishing. But this conversation is not just a run-of-the-mill conversation about DEI, which we acknowledge can and has gotten a bit diluted in recent months. Instead it’s a fresh and inspiring conversation about what inclusion really means in book publishing, and we interview an inspiring publisher, Rebekah “Bex” Borucki, who is doing the hard work of creating true change in publishing by creating a publishing company that is focused on inclusivity in all the parts of the business and the business model. Geek out on publishing with us this week, but also be prepared to learn and be inspired by what Row House publishing is doing, and the woman who’s leading the charge.

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Discipline and the Writing Life, featuring Adriana Trigiani Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

This week’s episode is a celebration of discipline with author Adriana Trigiani, who says that the creative expression is the highest expression of our souls. As such, discipline is honoring the gift. We delve into what Adriana learned about working as a writer for the show, A Different World, and her take on the vast changes in the publishing world from her vantage point as a veteran author of more than twenty books. An insightful show that celebrates working hard!

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Saving Reading, featuring Andrew Limbong Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

Should we be worried about the current state of reading? It’s hard to answer no to this question. Which is why Grant and Brooke take up the topic this week with guest Andrew Limbong,host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Tune in to set a reading goal with Grant, commiserate with Brooke about the kids’ reading habits these days, and hear some great book recommendations from a guest who’s more on top of the book scene than most. We also talk about the reading brain vs. Internet brain, and throw in a little neuroscience for good measure. Join us!

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