START WRITING

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Arts
**START WRITING**

Start Writing is a craft-focused podcast dealing with the art of telling stories. We look at the structure of plots, characters, worlds, scenes, word choice, and every other detail that goes into writing great novels.

Latest Episodes:

SW 137 INT Writing Her Story: A heartfelt conversation with Gail Carson Levine Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

START WRITING Podcast: “Writing Her Story: A heartfelt conversation with Gail Carson Levine”

“DAMN FINE SPACE OPERA!” — James Wolfhampton

Get your copy of STARCHILD today! http://starchild1.jwashburn.com

* * *

This episode is dedicated to my daughter.

It’s an interview with Gail Carson Levine. I am sure you are familiar with her book Ella Enchanted, which was her debut novel, and it was awarded a Newbery Honor.

In our interview, she is very vulnerable, and she speaks candidly about first getting published and how close she was to giving up! She also tells a touching story of how one of her books literally changed the life of one of her readers.

I know many of you are listening to learn about the writing craft. Gail teaches us about what it’s like to be a writer, and she shocked me when she said how many pages she usually cuts from a manuscript. She tells a funny story about why historical research has become a passion. And we also discuss two topics of personal interest: Greek Mythology and Peter Pan.

This was such a fun interview for many reasons, not the least of which is that Gail has such a fun personality. I think I’ve never heard a greater hipster brag: She saw Bob Dylan in concert before he was cool! We talk about her background growing up in New York, and about how her parents empowered her as a woman and how that then became thematic throughout her writing.

It was a blast to talk with her, and I hope you enjoy the interview with Gail Carson Levine.

* * *

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://www.youtube.com/@JWashburnauthor

LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM: https://www.jwashburn.com/swag/podcast

* * *

GAIL CARSON LEVINE LINKS

Website: https://www.gailcarsonlevine.com/

On the movie set: https://www.gailcarsonlevine.com/ella_movie.html

RECOMMENDED READS

Castle by David Macaulay https://amzn.to/3Esvcll

Writing on Both Sides of the Brain by Henriette Anne Klauser https://amzn.to/3EsM6QE

The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff https://amzn.to/45FjAqR

Karen Cushman books: https://amzn.to/3Pafr7n

The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman https://amzn.to/3EzGm7y

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw https://amzn.to/4643NBK

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie https://amzn.to/483maIW

Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande https://amzn.to/3PgSRKy

* * *

If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com

Support us on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast

* * *

BUY OUR BOOKS!

JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL

J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com

* * *

“Warning” by Beat Mekanik (Johnathon M. Horner), sourced from the Free Music Archive, is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0.

SW 136 INT “WHAT IS LitRPG?” Interview with KEVIN SINCLAIR, author of the Creation’s Bane novels! Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

SW 136 INT “WHAT IS LitRPG?” Interview with KEVIN SINCLAIR, author of the Creation’s Bane novels! “DAMN FINE SPACE OPERA!” — James Wolfhampton Get your copy of STARCHILD today! http://starchild1.jwashburn.com * * * Today I’m excited to introduce Kevin Sinclair! He writes LitRPG, which I had heard about, but before I read his book, I’d never read the genre (unless you count Ready Player One). God of the Feast was a blast to read, and it’s a wonderful introduction to LitRPG. You also may learn a thing or two about the genre in this episode. Let me point out a couple of things to look for in our show today. First, at one point Kevin says, “I don’t believe in criticism.” I find it interesting that this is a theme I’ve heard from several authors on this podcast. It’s certainly something to think about. Second, it’s cool how I came across Kevin’s work, and I tell the full story in the episode, but the short version is that the same narrator performs his CREATION’S BANE series and my STARCHILD series. (And, by the way, I’ll soon publish an interview with our narrator, the spectacularly talented and phenomenally British Simon Wright.) Third, Kevin has a fascinating story of success that came from the covid lockdown. He comes from humble beginnings and now he is quite successful just a few short years later! It’s almost a fairytale. Fourth, and last, Kevin has a phenomenal accent! (I believe it’s called Sunderland.) He’s from Northern England, not far from Scotland, and you can certainly hear the similarities. Having said that, I personally listen to podcast episodes at a very fast speed, and if that’s you too, you might want to slow it down just a bit on this episode. Okay, I’ll ramble on no more. Here’s our episode with Kevin Sinclair on WHAT IS LIT RPG. * * * WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://www.youtube.com/@JWashburnauthor LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM: https://www.jwashburn.com/swag/podcast * * * KEVIN’S books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ogQ3mD GET IN TOUCH WITH KEVIN SINCLAIR: https://kevinsinclair.co.uk https://twitter.com/KSinclairauthor https://www.facebook.com/kevinsinclairbookclub/ Peter Brett’s THE DEMON CYCLE: https://amzn.to/3PSyPXX * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com Support us on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast * * * BUY OUR BOOKS! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com * * * “Warning” by Beat Mekanik (Johnathon M. Horner), sourced from the Free Music Archive, is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0.

SW 135 INT Author of STAR WARS, HALO, STARCRAFT, HITMAN, and MASS EFFECT novels, William C. Dietz, explains HOW TO WRITE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S WORLD Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

START WRITING Podcast: “How to write in someone else’s world,” an interview with William C. Dietz, author of Star Wars, Halo, StarCraft, Hitman, and Mass Effect novels! “DAMN FINE SPACE OPERA!” — James Wolfhampton Get your copy of STARCHILD today! http://starchild1.jwashburn.com * * * I’m a fan of the StarCraft videogames, and I recently read a spin-off novel called HEAVEN’S DEVILS. I had somewhat low expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised and even impressed. William C Dietz delivered vivid characters, great descriptions, and a thoughtful, smart story. It was also fun to go on a new adventure with some of my favorite characters, including Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay—as they’re getting their start as Space Marines. So I reached out to Mr Dietz, and we discussed a couple of interesting insights for aspiring authors. The first centers around writing in other “IPs.” IP stands for intellectual property, and in this context, that means a world and its characters. Bill Dietz has written in a lot of famous IPs that are not his original creations, including Star Wars, Halo, StarCraft, Hitman, and Mass Effect. He tells how he got started doing this and about the highs and lows that come with this sort of work-for-hire. The second main insight is this: He started in the traditional publishing world, and now he has a strong presence in indie publishing too. I asked him which of these two he preferred, and his answer surprised me. This was such a fun interview. I am so impressed with his humility. I was also intrigued by his final admonition to all of us listeners. Before we start, I wanted to make a personal comment. When I was a kid, I was so obsessed with the Jedi Knight video games that I even checked out the audio dramatizations of that story from the local library and listened to them with my older brother (who I wrote about in Stealing Indiana Jones). But it has been so long since then that I actually forgot! Well, it turns out that these novelizations were written by William C Dietz. So you’ll hear me say something in this episode that makes me sound like I was unfamiliar, but after recording this episode, I looked them up, I relistened, and all the memories came flooding back. It was a ton of fun to relive that part of my childhood. I also checked out the cool artwork of the book versions and those are impressive as well. Okay, I’ve said enough. Here’s our START WRITING interview with William C Dietz on How to write in someone else’s world. * * * WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://www.youtube.com/@JWashburnauthor LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM: https://kite.link/start-writing * * * WILLIAM C. DIETZ LINKS: Email: william@williamcdietz.com Website: https://williamcdietz.com World War III: https://amzn.to/45e8JUQ Crickets: https://amzn.to/3KMnw0I William C. Dietz books: https://amzn.to/47BVPBv Douglas Reeman books: https://amzn.to/45fPmuu Franz Kafka books: https://amzn.to/3E86Cpm Mark Twain books: https://amzn.to/3E6tbel Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl: https://amzn.to/3YDFl7X * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com Support us on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast * * * BUY OUR BOOKS! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com * * * “Warning” by Beat Mekanik (Johnathon M. Horner), sourced from the Free Music Archive, is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0.

SW 134 INT Write your novel AFTER WORK, an interview with B.C. Walker, author of THE MEADOWLARK Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

SW 133 INT Character Arcs in Nonfiction with NYT Bestselling author of OUTLIVE, Bill Gifford Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

STEALING INDIANA JONES audiobook first half (1:23) by J Washburn Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

AUDIBLE: http://stealingindyaudio.jwashburn.com/ KINDLE: http://stealingindy.jwashburn.com/ NEWSLETTER: http://theinformant.jwashburn.com/ EMAIL: me@jwashburn.com SW SPECIAL STEALING INDIANA JONES: An essay on inspiration and death and how George Lucas hijacked the greatest stories of our time. † “[Stealing Indy] will pique your intellect and break your heart.” — James Wolfhampton In 1990, a six year old boy stole something from his neighbors. A small book. The ultimate Indiana Jones treasure—a Grail Diary. It promised everlasting life, but because it was stolen, the little boy didn’t dare tell his older brother—his mentor—what he’d done. In 2020, thirty years later, that older brother passed away. Stealing Indiana Jones is the true story of these two boys and how they discover a monstrous secret: that George Lucas stole his ideas for both Star Wars and Indiana Jones. As they struggle to make sense of what this horrifying truth means for all of us fans, they find redemption along the way. Their story explores inspiration and how great stories come to life. It examines, without shying away, disillusionment and innocence doomed to die. Their story is a salute to the loss of childhood and to the loss of life. Stealing Indiana Jones is a journey through the 90s, a glimpse of boyhood and fandom, and it’s filled with both heartbreak and heroism. Most importantly, it is a quest to uncover the secret behind all great stories— The secret of immortality. † WATCH ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://youtu.be/-MypAgsronQ * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com Support us on PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast * * * Buy our books! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com/

SW 132 INT Rob MacGregor, author of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Subscribe to THE INFORMANT to get a free copy of STEALING INDIANA JONES! http://theinformant.jwashburn.com Buy Stealing Indiana Jones on Kindle: http://stealingindy.jwashburn.com Buy Stealing Indiana Jones on Audible: http://stealingindyaudio.jwashburn.com * * * WATCH ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://youtu.be/vY3Q0CpGEWw * * * Rob MacGregor wrote the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and we discuss how he added depth to that story than you don’t see in the film. Then we talk about the 6 original Indiana Jones novels that he wrote at a breakneck speed, 4 months apiece. He tells a funny story about how two Indiana Jones fans were pestering him with mail! We discuss how he had an influence on the creation of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles but never got credit. He tells us how George Lucas sent instructions on what Rob was allowed to write in the Indiana Jones universe. He had to fight Disney to get his due royalties once Lucasfilm was sold to them. Indiana Jones has a vision quest in Rob’s novels, and it turns out Rob based that on a personal experience. He’s also written some significant nonfiction about the paranormal, true life stories about everything from alien encounters to contacting the dead. Incidentally, he hosts a podcast called the Mystical Underground, which also covers these topics, and it’s a bit of an understatement to call him an expert. https://themysticalunderground.com https://www.instagram.com/robmacgregor16/ https://amzn.to/44NmxWp Rob's books on Amazonhttps://indianajones.fandom.com/wiki/Rob_MacGregor https://amzn.to/3Bknqs4 Peter Benchley, author of Jawshttps://amzn.to/3I5O6k6 Carlos Castaneda, Teachings of Don Juanhttps://amzn.to/3Mjoum7 Prophecy Rock, Rob MacGregor’s award winning book * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com Support us on PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast * * * Buy our books! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com/

SW 131 INT ”Is Indiana Jones allowed to time travel?” with Max McCoy May 03, 2023

Show notes

Start Writing interview with author Max McCoy: CAN INDIANA JONES TIME TRAVEL? Subscribe to THE INFORMANT to get a free copy of STEALING INDIANA JONES! http://theinformant.jwashburn.com Buy Stealing Indiana Jones on Kindle: http://stealingindy.jwashburn.com Buy Stealing Indiana Jones on Audible: http://stealingindyaudio.jwashburn.com * * * WATCH ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://youtu.be/Ac1czjZ2-F4 In this episode, we ask questions of Max McCoy, author of four Indiana Jones novels, including The Philosopher’s Stone, The Dinosaur Eggs, The Hollow Earth, and The Secret of the Sphinx! He is also the author of numerous westerns, including the Ophelia Wylde fantasy/mystery series. MAX McCOY LINKS: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KYfFNW Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormaxmccoy Website: http://www.maxmccoy.com News Articles: https://kansasreflector.com/author/max-mccoy Professor: https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1086091 * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com * * * Buy our books! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com/

SW 130 INT Rennie Saunders talks SHUT UP & WRITE! Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

SW INT 130 Rennie Saunders talks SHUT UP & WRITE In this episode, we talk to Rennue Saunders, founder of Shut Up & Write, and organization designed to give writers camaraderie and motivation to complete their writing goals. Watch the interview video here: https://youtu.be/RGKwlIEBmpM * * * LET’S BE FRIENDS: If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com Support us on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/StartWritingPodcast And buy our books! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com * * * REFERENCES: https://www.shutupwrite.com https://shutupwrite.com/prompts https://shutupwrite.com/challenges/free-association-challenge Milford Writing Workshop Rules Pale Angel by Rennie Saunders Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by Buckminster Fuller

SW SPECIAL J‘s Beginner‘s Guide (part 10) EDITING TOGETHER Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

SW SPECIAL J‘s Beginner‘s Guide (part 10) EDITING TOGETHER WATCH ON YOUTUBE (with cool visuals): https://youtu.be/wsDodceAOqg Episode 10 of A BEGINNER'S GUIDE to Writing a Novel teach about getting feedback from peers and readers. First, Raiders of the Lost Ark is an excellent example of how to cut all but the best stuff. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time shows us that the mundane can be made magical with very small tweaks. Harry Potter Illustrated has tons of typos, which means it’s okay to not have perfect copyediting. The different levels of editing are CONTENT, CHAPTER, and COPY editing. J believes content editing is by far the most important. His ideal writing group is one that trades full-length manuscripts, not chapters. You can sign up to be a J Washburn beta reader at http://betareader.jwashburn.com. Give your readers just two instructions: Let me know what you think and feel as you go, and I’ll call you when you finish. J gives his copy editors direct access to the manuscript. All early readers are given an ebook and instructions on how to share their highlights. J shares the list of questions he asks his readers. Don’t get discouraged, but do ask for really candid advice, even if it hurts. In the end, you’re the artist and get to decide what to do. Draft your covers and titles as early as you can. (Or, bump this over into the marketing phase.) P.S. It’s stream of CONSCIOUSNESS! P.P.S. I’m sorry I had a cough and that it’s so choppy! * * * If you have questions, EMAIL US: pleasestartwriting@gmail.com * * * Buy our books! JOSEPH BENDOSKI: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Bendoski/e/B06XX7LYKL J WASHBURN: http://library.jwashburn.com/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected