Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers

How Being Fascinated and Daunted Can Drive Your Writing, featuring Edwidge Danticat Oct 28, 2024

It could be said of this week’s guest that she, like the title of this week’s show, is fascinating and daunting. And that this is a pull toward the things we’re interested in, that we want to dive more deeply into, is the subject of this week’s show. Edwidge Danticat is a powerhouse in the literary world who’s written about immigration and poverty, exile and political upheaval, and so much more. There’s much to learn from the wisdom of a writer like Danticat who has been well and widely published for three decades, and who offers up insights across form—from memoir, to fiction, to essay. Tune in to hear from a literary force of nature.

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Optimism and Pessimism in Book Publishing—Because It’s Always Both, featuring Michael Castleman Oct 21, 2024

As Write-minded is wont to do, we bring you another tell-it-like-it-is reality bites episode about book publishing. And while the news isn’t all good, it’s also not all bad—and guest Michael Castleman is living, breathing proof that it’s worth it, as long as you’re ready to do the work and understand what you’re getting yourself into. Join us on this journey from the Gutenberg Press to modern-day publishing. Whether you’re a reader, writer, author, or industry person, you’re bound to learn something new from this week’s show.

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Writing as a Way to Champion People and Causes, featuring Maggie Tokuda-Hall Oct 14, 2024

This week’s Write-minded is a thoughtful conversation about where writers’ values meet public persona and the writing life. Guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall treats us to her thinking about career, ambition, and why she writes what subjects and characters she writes, and why she doesn’t write for adults. We get into the important topic of what’s at stake when writers speak up and out—touching upon the tensions that exist between standing up for what you believe in and a literary world that doesn’t always make those choices easy. Substackin’ this week takes a look at Brooke’s post about genre and category, “Your Story Is More Important Than Your Category.”

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Don’t Let Your Comfort Zone Become Your Doom Zone, featuring Joshua Mohr Oct 07, 2024

A rocking ride through punk influence on prose and story, this interview with guest Joshua Mohr is, more than anything, about pushing your limits and getting out of your comfort zone. In his new book, Saint the Terrifying, Josh does a few things he’s never tried—and he walks us through why that’s been so invigorating, and how it’s pushed his limits as a writer. We delve into not outlining and the power of alternative histories, and get to hear about why Josh wrote this book wanting it to feel like it might fall apart at any moment.

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How to Be Compulsively Readable, featuring Anne Lamott Sep 30, 2024

Anne Lamott joins Write-minded this week to talk about so many things—what she writes about; how she kills her darlings; her process with her early readers and editors; and more. On the question of being compulsively readable, she shares with us some of the ideas from Bird by Bird that have stood the test of time, why to cut your darlings, and how she thinks about those early first shitty drafts. Write-minded and Anne Lamott also invite you to join us the last weekend in October for a special writing retreat in Los Angeles. Visit WritersRising.com and enter code writeminded10 to get 10% off. And this week’s Substackin’ is drawn from Brooke’s Substack, Why You Maybe Should Write a Memoir.

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The Era of Banning Librarians, featuring Amanda Jones Sep 23, 2024

This week, to draw attention to Banned Books Week and to stand in solidarity with publishers, authors, and all industry professionals who fight to keep diverse voices on library shelves, Write-minded features guest Amanda Jones, an educator and librarian whose book, That Librarian, is necessary reading. Amanda shares her more than two-year journey of being bullied, harassed, and smeared because she dared to stand up for diverse books and diverse voices. The phenomenon of canceling librarians or get them fired is not singular, and Amanda Jones’s story serves as a stark reminder about what’s at stake in our country right now. She draws attention to efforts to defund libraries and shares why representation in literature matters so much. Listen and take action. And check out Grant’s Substack about another kind of banning—banning the story we want to tell—in this week’s Substackin’.

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The Rejection Episode, featuring Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner Sep 16, 2024

This week’s episode is inspired by Grant’s recent rejection journey. Yes, listeners, Grant’s book about rejection has been roundly rejected—so we’re taking an excursion into the world of rejection, how we deal with it, and what some options might be for a book that doesn’t get picked up by a publisher. Grant and Brooke explore their relationship with and to rejection—and unpack all the ways in which rejection is interconnected to the publishing journey—and not just for authors. This goes for publishers, agents, editors, and other publishing-adjacent folks too. This week’s Substackin’ gets into self-pity, which we might take straight up, or neat, or on the rocks with our rejection. Grant and Brooke are drawing from their own Substacks and others for these features, and we invite you to find us at https://grantfaulkner.substack.com and https://brookewarner.substack.com.

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Unclassifiable and Uncontainable: In Celebration of Art That Can’t Be Pinned Down, featuring Brontez Purnell Sep 09, 2024

This week’s guest, Brontez Purnell, is the kind of writer who’s either hard to pin down, or just won’t be. As such, he’s inspired an episode about who gets to draw outside the lines and why in the realm of book publishing. Whether you love your lane, feel confined by your lane, or insist on busting out of your lane, we invite you to consider what it means to be classifiable and contained, and whether or not it suits you to be so—or to refuse the categories and labels publishing loves to put on authors. An existential episode inspired by an author who’s blowing up the boxes and having fun doing it.

This week’s Substackin’ is based on Brooke’s post, “Why You Can't Equate Your Substack Posts to a Book: On the Staying Power of the Book.” Grant and Brooke are drawing from their own Substacks and others for these features, and we invite you to find us at https://grantfaulkner.substack.com and https://brookewarner.substack.com.

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Structure and Form, featuring Jane Alison Sep 02, 2024

We kick off a new season with the brilliant Jane Alison and a wide-ranging conversation about form and structure in fiction and memoir. Brooke and Grant were so inspired by Meander, Spiral, Explode, Jane’sher book about craft and the theory of writing, that this episode is dedicated to the ideas around structure and form that are at the heart of that book. This is a nerdy, writerly deep dive to welcome listeners to a new season. Also of note is a new feature, Substackin’, which will be rounding out each episode this season. This week’s Substackin’ is inspired by Brooke’s post.

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New Ways of Thinking About Memoir, featuring Maggie Smith and Shze-Hui Tjoa Aug 26, 2024

For our final summer round up of our favorite shows, Write-minded chose Maggie Smith and Shze-Hui Tjoa, highlighting two bright lights in the Memoirsphere who are elevating the genre and showcasing new ways of thinking about memoir. It’s an exciting time to be a memoirist and a memoir reader, and if you missed these two interviews the first time around—or even if you didn’t—make sure to catch the insights and inspiration of these two groundbreaking writers.

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Fiction Outliers, featuring Rainbow Rowell and Isabel Cañas Aug 19, 2024

In celebration of the kind of fiction readers love but the industry doesn’t always know what to do with comes two past episodes honoring fan fiction and gothic fiction, respectively. Revisiting these episodes is a reminder of the vast world of fiction outside the narrow confines of upmarket or commercial or historical fiction. Our two past guests, Rainbow Rowell and Isabel Cañas, take us on a journey through their respective inspirations, views of the industry, and insights into the world of writing fiction that exists in the margins.

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Self-Exposure and Writing the Story You Have to Write, featuring Javier Zamora and Susan Kiyo Ito Aug 12, 2024

In this second week of Write-minded’s August mashups, we bring back the heartfelt interviews with Javier Zamora and Susan Kiyo Ito, both of whom spoke so honestly and supportively about writing and sharing stories they’ve carried with them their entire lives. Javier’s harrowing journey from El Salvador to the US border when he was just nine years old, traveling as an unaccompanied minor is the subject of his memoir, Solito, and Susan’s I Would Meet You Anywhere centers her adoption story, touching upon themes of longing, abandonment, identity, and more. Both authors grapple with exposure in these soul-searching stories of identity and survival.

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Wisdom from the Publishing Trenches, featuring Lisa Leshne and Kathleen Schmidt Aug 05, 2024

Every August Grant and Brooke share their summer plans and writing aspirations and hopes and fails, along with some mashups of their favorite interviews of the year. Write-minded kicks off this best-of series with two beloved industry experts—agent Lisa Leshne and publicist Kathleen Schmidt. There’s real wisdom and straight-talk in these conversations that writers and authors will want to take in and absorb. So even if you heard these the first time around, take it in again—and have a wonderful start to your August.

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Getting Reinspired after Failed or Abandoned Book Projects, featuring Paolo Bacigalupi Jul 29, 2024

Most writers either have or will have a failed or abandoned book project—or two, or three, or four—over the course of their lifetimes. The more you write, the more crisis moments you’ll face. It can be hard to come back from those moments, which is why this week’s episode with Paolo Bacigalupi is so encouraging. He shares with us his journey back from the edge of despair, having lost all motivation to write—and how he found his way to his latest book, Navola. This inspiring episode closes out our fifth season, and includes tips for world-building and wise words about this existential question so many of us face: why write.

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Being a Voice for Causes That Matter, featuring Naomi Klein Jul 22, 2024

This week’s episode airs Brooke in conversation with Naomi Klein at this year’s Bay Area Book Festival. While this interview does not hew to Write-minded’s effort to offer weekly doses of inspiration for writers, Brooke and Grant decided to make this available both because our listeners requested it and because we admire the work Naomi Klein is doing in the world. This is a conversation about Israel/Gaza, Jewish heritage and history, American politics, and about Doppelganger, Klein’s 2023 book, which was Brooke’s favorite book of last year.

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How Secrets Fuel Memoir Writing, featuring Margaret Juhae Lee Jul 15, 2024

Secrets come in all forms, big and small. We inherit secrets, carry the secrets of others, and struggle with the burden of all they hold and how they sometimes fester within us. This week’s episode with guest Margaret Juhae Lee explores the difference between people who want to keep the past buried and those who want to set it free. We explore intergenerational trauma and how that’s often its own form of carrying secrets forward from the past.This week’s trend is about book festivals, so please follow the link to find a festival near you.

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On the Awards We Receive and the Rewards We Make, featuring Jayne Anne Phillips Jul 08, 2024

This week’s guest, Jayne Anne Phillips, is a Pulitzer prize-winning author for her latest book, Night Watch, which gives Write-minded an opportunity to muse about awards—why they matter, what we make of them and do with them, and where we might find awards from things we seek out in addition to those we receive. Join us for this wide-ranging literary conversation about storytelling, language, flash fiction, reading, and, of course, awards.

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How Big Questions Inform Fiction, featuring Rachel Khong Jul 01, 2024

This week’s Write-minded centers questions, and how questions guide writers, drive fiction, and unearth important stories. Guest Rachel Khong shares how the big and provocative question of who’s a “real American” informed her new novel and why she writes without an outline. We also talk about ambition and drive, why novelists have to grapple with people speculating what in their fiction is “real,” and much more.

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Breaking New Ground in Memoir, featuring Shze-Hui Tjoa Jun 24, 2024

Write-minded is celebrating memoir as an evolving form this week, tackling the difference between imaginative writing in memoir and writing in memoir that might not be true. Memoir is increasingly embodying its rightful spot in the realm of creative nonfiction, in that there’s allowance for writers to explore ideas and truths within the realms of creative devices, imagined conversations, different points of view, and more—and yet how do we keep that within the container of Truth? Listen in to this episode to find out more, and to hear from a rising talent, guest Shze-Hui Tjoa.

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The Big Novel, featuring Garth Risk Hallberg Jun 17, 2024

This week we take on The Big Novel and unpack our thoughts on novel length, the very concept of The Great American Novel, advances, and more. Guest Garth Risk Hallberg joins us to talk about his own long works of fiction, as well as his writing process that involves seeing where his characters want to take him. We touch upon characterization vs. plot, the nature of long stories, and finding what motivates your characters in fiction. There's a lot to take away from this episode, so tune in!

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Remembering and Forgetting: The Refugee Journey, featuring Viet Thanh Nguyen Jun 10, 2024

It’s Write-minded’s 300th episode! And we’re celebrating by bringing listeners the esteemed Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose novel, The Sympathizer, was adapted for HBO Max and started streaming in April. In this interview, Nguyen addresses didacticism as a craft choice, the mindset of writers who, like him, find themselves between two languages, and how his desire to capture the Vietnamese perspective on the Vietnam War (and more) made him a writer. Nguyen’s generosity and enthusiasm for his work and his craft shine through in every answer, and Write-minded is grateful to cap this milestone with such a beloved author and guest.

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Behind the Scenes of Selling Books, featuring Josh Cook Jun 03, 2024

This week’s episode is one for book lovers, book collectors, aspiring authors, and every kind of writer. It’s always helpful to know what booksellers know—because bookstores do so much more than just provide a place for browsing and buying books. Join us to talk with Josh Cook of Porter Square Books about his new book, The Art of Libromancy, and why bookselling is political, what authors should think about when speaking to booksellers, and what you need to know about Amazon and Bookshop and the landscape of buying books. Plus, Grant and Brooke swap stories about their time working in bookstores, and Brooke promised to share in the show notes a link to her essay about her months spent working (and bunking) at Shakespeare & Co. in Paris in 1999.

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Be the Change You Want To See, featuring Dhonielle Clayton May 27, 2024

In this week’s extra-inspiring show, guest Dhonielle Clayton treats us to a generous conversation about effecting change in the industry and how that inevitable comes with backlash. We talk about representation in publishing, Penguin Random House’s recent firing of two high-profile publishers, and book bans—among other important topics, like packaging and IP and how kids seeing characters that look like them in fiction opens up unimagined possibilities for their futures. We also encourage you to check out the work being done at We Need Diverse Books as supplemental to this episode.

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The Raw Truth About Exposure, featuring Susan Kiyo Ito May 20, 2024

What will other people think? What will be the consequences of sharing my truth? These are among some of the questions that hold memoirists back, and their realities post-publication can cause “vulnerability hangovers.” Exposure, fear of fallout, concern for people we love—memoir doesn’t make it easy. With very recent experience informing her, this week’s guest, Susan Kiyo Ito, generously wades into the territory of these themes. If you’re grappling with exposure pre- or post-publication, you won’t want to miss this show.

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Deep Memoir, featuring Jennifer Leigh Selig May 13, 2024

We’re living through a golden age of memoir, and guest Jennifer Leigh Selig’s Deep Memoir is a new contribution to the “how-to” space for memoirists who want to explore the how and the why of memoir writing. This episode will help listeners consider their own “why” when it comes to that age-old question of why to keep at it, and also to celebrate a genre that’s finally getting its due.

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Grief: The Hardest Emotion to Write, featuring Claire Jiménez May 06, 2024

This week’s Write-minded takes on grief, and why, as our guest Claire Jiménez says, “it’s where language collapses.”Jiménez’s new book deals with loss and grief and what happens in a family in the aftermath of a disappearance of a child, and yet, she weaves in humor and the history of American colonization of Puerto Rico and so much more. Grant and Brooke share their own experiences with grief, and also writing and thinking about grief as it manifests on the page and in the body, and why feeling grief is a gift of the human experience.

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Creating New Forms—and Rearranging the Alphabet, featuring Elwin Cotman Apr 29, 2024

This week Write-minded is interviewing an established writer whose star is on the rise. Elwin Cotman’s new story collection blew us away for how he played with form and takes readers on an expected journeys. His stories don’t fit into any box—including length, and we loved it! On this week’s show Grant also announces his departure from NaNoWriMo and what some of his new ventures will be. We’re celebrating creation and recreation and taking on new forms, on the page and in real life.

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The Art of Intimacy, featuring Stacey D’Erasmo Apr 22, 2024

This week Write-minded reaches broadly into the topic of intimacy to explore its many permutations—not just romantic, but innocuous, violent, collective, and more. Guest Stacey D’Erasmo invites us to consider intimacy in writing, how we do it, how we feel it as readers, and also to consider acts of intimacy, like an older actress showing her authentic self as she ages. Intimacy is felt, and not always something we know how to put words around, so this conversation is a particular treat, thought-provoking and enticing.

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The State of the Book Review, featuring John McMurtrie Apr 15, 2024

This week’s guest is John McMurtrie, the esteemed former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle’s book review section. Join us as we explore the transition of book reviews from traditional media like TV and radio to online outlets like Amazon and Goodreads. His is an interesting take about how things were and how things are, along with insight about what a book reviewer is looking for when considering what books to review. Join us as John shares valuable insights on breaking into book reviewing and what he considers to be the key elements of a great book.

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Social Responsibility in Fiction, featuring Naomi Kanakia Apr 08, 2024

What does it really mean to consider your own social responsibility as a fiction writer? Guest Naomi Kanakia confronted that very question as she considered her modeling as a trans author writing YA books for teens. What if hers was the first book a genderqueer or trans kid ever read? What did she owe her reader? These are some of the questions at the heart of this week’s episode, but we also look under the hood of the publishing industry a bit, too, from the perspective of an author who’s “inside/outside,” who’s writing across many genres, from sci-fi to lit fic, and who has a certain kind of privilege but still lives on the margins. A truly interesting episode with a guest who’s not afraid to speak truth to power.

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Getting Real About Book Publishing, featuring Kathleen Schmidt Apr 01, 2024

Strap on your seatbelts ’cause we’re going for a ride—into the wild world of book publishing. Guest Kathleen Schmidt is a leading voice in publishing. Her popular Substack, Publishing Confidential, is a go-to source for tell-it-like-it-is realities about the industry and what authors can and should expect. We talk shop this week, touching upon author platform, Barnes & Noble, and why advances make no sense. This is a not-to-be-missed episode for anyone who’s ever published or wants to be published.

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The Big Familia of Writing Inspiration, featuring Tomas Moniz Mar 25, 2024

An episode about friendship, writing about friendship, and how friendship influences our writing lives. As a community-minded podcast, Write-minded has often touched upon the importance of a broader net of friendship on our writing. This week we get a bit more specific with guest Tomas Moniz, who’s written a new book about male friendship and whose entry into the writing world was shaped by his community of writer friends. This week we’re reminding you to reach out to a friend, thank a friend, be grateful for our friends, and we thank our listeners for being a friend to Write-minded!

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Other People’s Words, featuring Lissa Soep Mar 18, 2024

This week’s Write-minded show examines the nuanced and deep exploration at the heart of guest Lissa Soep’s new book, Other People’s Words. A consideration of the ways others’ voices echo in our own, her book and this episode shows us a kaleidoscope of how we conjure and recycle and tap into the words of others. There’s much to unpack here, too, from how we inner monologue in a way that is really dialogue to honoring the collective legacies we carry and give voice to. It’s easy to get philosophical with this week’s theme and guest, and we do, covering everything from death and loss, to letters written and kept, and even AI.

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Light-hearted Writing During Heavy-hearted Times, featuring Neely Tubati-Alexander Mar 11, 2024

Ready for a reprieve? Join Brooke and Grant and this week’s guest, NeelyTubati-Alexander, for a conversation about whether romance and rom-com writers are having more fun. We dive into questions of the success of the genre, what publishers are looking for, and how a writer gets into romance writing in the first place. A light-hearted episode in celebration of escapism and reading as brain candy and Tubati-Alexander’s latest release, In a Not So Perfect World.

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Strategies for Writing About Childhood Trauma, featuring Javier Zamora Mar 04, 2024

This week Write-minded wades into the important topic of writing about childhood trauma. Trauma is at the heart of many of our stories, whether you’re writing coming-of-age or only touching upon childhood stories in the context of specific memoir scenes (or raw material for fiction). Javier’s memoir, Solito, is a stunning book about his nine-week journey from El Salvador to the US as an unaccompanied minor when he was just nine years old. The original journey nearly killed him, and in this generous interview he speaks to how the journey of writing about his experience saved him.

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Recovering from the Stigma of a "Failed" First Novel, featuring Ethel Rohan Feb 26, 2024

It's important to learn from the challenges of a failed book rather than allowing it to define your career. The publishing industry can be harsh and unforgiving to writers in this situation. Unforgiving as in agents abandoning the writer or publishers turning away future work, not because of its quality, but because of the one book that didn’t sell well. This week, we're joined by guest Ethel Rohan, whose story serves as a reminder that regardless of how brutal this industry can be, perseverance and reinvention can lead to triumph, and Ethel’s story is testament to that truth. This episode is a great reminder to keep moving forward through the challenges.

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Journeying into Writerly Aesthetic, featuring K-Ming Chang Feb 19, 2024

A fun episode about aesthetic, language, and paying attention to style and taste in writing. This week’s guest K-Ming Chang talks about disorientation as a style, language as something that lives in the body, and hating plot. This is a playful interview that focuses on the experiential and reminds us that we all have an existential position on our own writing. Chang’s meditation on language is expansive and inviting, and invites us to consider all the ways we are the stories we’re told.

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Breaking Into Ghostwriting and Work-for-Hire Writing, featuring Aubre Andrus Feb 12, 2024

Ghostwriting and work-for-hire are great ways to break into the publishing industry and to make a living as a writer. Guest Aubre Andrus shows us a side of the writing and publishing business that can seem a bit elusive. And more and more writers are taking on work for hire projects due to mass media layoffs and greater transparency by celebrities when it comes to writing collaborations. Also, this week’s book trend features Womb House Books, found online here.

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How Stories Get Carried Through the Generations and in Our Bones, featuring Ingrid Rojas Contreras Feb 05, 2024

This week’s Write-minded floats into the magical and surreal world of Ingrid Rojas Contreras, who talks about her new memoir, The Man Who Could Move Clouds, about her curandera-storytelling mother and their shared history of amnesia, and about why to her magical realism is just realism. Grant and Brooke consider what gets passed down to us from our families and how our stories and histories are in our bones and lived experience, and how reading stories from writers whose lives are vastly different from our own can invigorate our writing.

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Get Into Your Writing Using All the Senses, featuring Janet Fitch Jan 29, 2024

In this gorgeous, sensualistic, tactile, provocative episode of Write-minded, we explore the senses with Janet Fitch of White Oleander fame. In this interview, Janet takes us on a tour through the senses, making the point that our language is impoverished and we can—and must—do more to become more sophisticated observers on the page. This is an episode you’ll carry with you into your next writing or reading session, keeping an eye out (and tastebuds at the ready and an ear attuned and the nose trained) for the next sensual experience or opportunity. Revel in the possibilities and ideas Janet offers to employ the superpowers each of our senses hold.

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How to Be Self-Revealing in Memoir When You're Not In Real Life, featuring Dr. Brian H. Williams Jan 22, 2024

This week's episode moves beyond inspiring and into the territory of important, essential, and recommended listening—and reading. Guest Dr. Brian H. Williams, author of the debut memoir, The Bodies Keep Coming, joins us to talk about his experience as a trauma surgeon, and what being on the hospital frontlines can teach us about racial inequities in America. On the writing side of things, Brooke and Grant talk about how hard it can be for memoirists to truly open up, especially if you’re not used to sharing your feelings, or if there’s a perception that you don’t want the book to be too much “about you.” Dr. Williams touches upon all this, and shares how, as a self-professed man of few words, he pushed himself to be so self-revealing in his memoir.

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Hidden Stories, featuring Vanessa Chan Jan 15, 2024

Hidden stories are at the heart of many a novel and memoir, driving writers, often from very young ages, toward exploration, uncovering, and the desire to seek for and know truths. Vanessa Chan’s new novel, The Storm We Made, is one such story, spawned by the unlikeliest of spies—a discontent mother and wife in 1930s British Malaya who, in becoming a spy for the Japanese, unwittingly ushers in the most violent war her country has ever seen. Vanessa talks about her novel, its journey, and the idea that she herself is a hidden story. This is a not-to-be-missed interview with an exciting debut author whose book is getting tons of buzz.

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The Future of the Book, featuring Maja Thomas Jan 08, 2024

Books were just books for hundreds of years, but in the past 20 years, we've experienced major shifts in how we read and write. Plus, we’re on the brink of another revolution with AI that will change what we know and think we know about book publishing. This week’s guest, Maja Thomas, is the Chief Innovation Officer at Hachette, and her job, essentially, is to figure out the future of the book. She’s the only Chief Innovation Officer in all of publishing, so it’s a treat to hear what she has to say about trends, disruptions, innovations, and yes, AI. Don’t miss her insights! Also, in the trend we mention this Foreign Policy article from Dave Karpf about the future of AI maybe not being as disruptive as we all think. Worth a read.

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The New Year's Un-resolution Show Jan 01, 2024

Happy New Year! On this week’s Write-minded, Brooke and Grant take stock of last year’s resolutions and hold their own feet to the fire on what was cast out for resolutions, and what was accomplished (or not). We’re probing the resolution, therefore, as we head into 2024—assessing its pros and cons, musing about who we’d be without a goal, and considering whether all the resolution really needs is not to be bound by such a tight timeline. Tune in to probe, explore, turn over, and consider your own relationship with resolutions as we head into a new year.

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The Subtle Art of Attunement and Its Bearing on Our Writing, featuring Baron Wormser Dec 18, 2023

This week we’re slowing down, inviting listeners to contemplate another world both far and not far away from this one where there’s no electricity, no internet, no immediate access to all the information of the world at your fingertips. This was the world our guest Baron Wormser occupied for nearly twenty years, and the subject of his memoir, The Road Washes Out in Spring. We’re channeling a state of mind, beckoning listeners to attune to your surroundings, to what calls and what moves you. And maybe you’ll emerge out the other side of today’s show having reached a meditative, ruminative state. We hope so.

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Finding and Building the Community That’s Right for You, with Alexa Bigwarfe Dec 11, 2023

This week on Write-minded we’re coming back to a well-loved topic: Community! Only we’re tackling it from some new angles, like the notion that not every community will be the right community for you, and the fact that there are shadow sides to community, and how we and others behave in community. Guest Alexa Bigwarfe talks about her experience in the community of writers and within the publishing community—what it was like to be new to this space, how she grew into her leadership role, and why it’s so meaningful to take advantage of what publishing has to offer authors, from trade shows, to industry events, to writing and publishing conferences. Tune in to start to think about one event you might attend in 2024!

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The Higher Truth of Fiction, featuring Jamila Minnicks Dec 04, 2023

Join Grant and Brooke this week for a conversation about truth—emotional truth, essential truth, truth as the core driver of all stories. Plus, they share how many words they wrote during November—not nearly as many as either had hoped. Guest Jamila Minnicks speaks about her new novel, Moonrise Over New Jessup, and its powerful protagonist, sense of place, and homage to her ancestors, all of which delivers on this show’s promise of weekly inspiration.

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The Origin Story, featuring Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro Nov 27, 2023

This week's guests are the coeditors (and contributors to) Letters to a Writer of Color. Listen in to hear the profound insights and inspirational origin story that led to Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro’s collaboration on their powerful anthology. Contributors to this collection include Kiese Laymon, Myriam Gurba, Madeleine Thien, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and others. Our conversation this week circles how writers of color write and talk about and translate their experiences, the ways writers can get hemmed in and how they refuse to be hemmed in, and also the power of commonalities across experiences, even when those experiences are so varied. Not to be missed!

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One Sentence Leads to a Second Sentence: Pushing Through the Muddy Middle of NaNoWriMo, featuring Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner Nov 13, 2023

Pep Talk alert! Whether you’re writing a ton or writing a-none, this week’s episode is geared toward writers who are feeling the strain of the Muddy Middle. Grant and Brooke talk about strategies for staying on track and offer up encouragement for ways to keep with it—including how to break the wall. Brooke’s references to Esther Perel’s podcast episode, “Breaking News Is Breaking Us,” can be found here.

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Get Inspired to Write from One of the Most Prolific Women Writers in History, featuring Allison Gilbert Nov 06, 2023

This week Brooke shares an interview she recorded with Allison Gilbert about her new book, Listen World!, a biography of the most famous woman writer you’ve never heard of. If you’re any writer, but particularly a woman writer, knowing about Elsie Robinson (1883-1956) will bring you needed inspiration during this NaNoWriMo season. She models how to believe in yourself, how to face rejection and keep going, and how perseverance is the most necessary skillset when it comes to getting our work out into the world. You’ll marvel at what she was able to do—way pre-Internet. For reference, find Allison’s CNN article about the reparative efforts underway to retag history so that gender is included/searchable.

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Gothic Stories’ Long History of Drawing from Everyday Monsters, featuring Isabel Cañas Oct 30, 2023

Happy Halloween Week and Happy Start of NaNoWriMo. This week’s episode is a twofer because we’re bringing you a little dose of horror through our exploration of gothic stories with this week’s guest Isabel Cañas, who also happens to be a ten-year veteran of NaNoWriMo. Watch magic happen as Write-minded intertwines these two cultural events—one spooky-scary and the other downright inspiring. We’re kicking you off with some great advice and a big high-five—and if you’re still on the fence about whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo, get off and join the November writing craze.

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Playing with Narration in Memoir, with Maggie Smith Oct 23, 2023

With her new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, guest Maggie Smith provides an example of how to break conventional form to gorgeous results. This interview covers narration, structure, and Maggie’s process of constructing this memoir, as well as how her background as a poet informed her approach to the writing. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation mostly about narration, but we also touch upon writing about others and Maggie confesses she’s surprised by the gigantic success of this book. You’ll want to tune in to hear why.

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For the Love of Fanfiction, featuring Rainbow Rowell Oct 16, 2023

Whether you already love fanfiction or don’t really get it, you’ll want to tune into this episode for the sheer appreciation of its presence in the literary world. More than 100 million people worldwide are reading or writing fanfiction. We know that fanfiction writers have been wild over the years for Star Wars and Harry Potter and Twilight, but now fanfiction is increasingly likely to be a source of content for movies and TV shows—and community and friends!

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The Art of Coauthoring, featuring Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché Oct 09, 2023

This week’s co-authoring duo, Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché, take us inside their relationship and share authentically and honestly about some of the considerations unique to writing your book with someone else. With tools available to authors that allow writing together over distance and time zones, many writers are keen to coauthor and explore new terrains with a creative collaborator. This week offers insight and permission, and a few tips from lessons learned on the journey.

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The Best Way to Learn to Write a Novel? Write It!, featuring Kayvion Lewis Oct 02, 2023

One month out from National Novel Writing Month, this episode hopes to inspire listeners around the truism that the very best way to write a novel is simply to try it. NaNoWriMo encourages that effort, outcome irrelevant. Take heed from guest Kayvion Lewis who suggests in this episode to write the thing that sets your heart on fire. Also, as promised in today’s Book Trend, we encourage you to check out Dave Chesson’s video on Amazon’s recent category changes which can be searched on YouTube: “INSANE Amazon Category Change.”

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Dreaming and Writing, featuring Tzivia Gover Sep 25, 2023

This week’s episode considers the intersection between dreaming and writing and how to harness not dreaming per se, but the midnight mind. The midnight mind speaks to a kind of liminal state where we can be more open, more creative, less blocked—and Gover’s interview and new book are encouraging to writers and authors around writing for writing’s sake, and not only for publication and outcome. There’s much to unpack this week as we settle into the joy of writing, accessing more subconscious creative states, and thinking about how our dreams are sources of creativity for us whether we remember them or not.

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What Short Stories Do That Novels Can’t, featuring Ghassan Zeineddine Sep 18, 2023

This week’s episode is an exploration of form, and why some stories are better contained in short story form rather than a novel. Guest Ghassan Zeineddine shares the evolution of his short story collection, Dearborn, as well as some of his process, including research and spending serious time with subjects who sometimes play roles in stories years down the road. Dearborn is part-celebration, part-astute observation of the Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan. This episode also contains a bit of history about how Dearborn became the US city with the highest concentration of Arabs and Arab Americans, and also lends insights into process, craft, and why the short story form is sometimes just right.

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Unconventional Points of View, featuring Jimin Han Sep 11, 2023

This week Write-minded explores point of view, especially those stories told with less conventional points of view. Uncommon points of view stick with you—and Brooke and Grant cover books they love that have ghost points of view, dog points of view, and the kind of point of view where the reader is part of the story. This week’s guest Jimin Han walks us through some of her narration choices for her new novel, The Apology, and shares insights into her writing process, her characters, her inspirations, and so much more.

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Agent Insights, featuring Lisa Leshne Sep 03, 2023

Write-minded is kicking off our sixth year this week with an episode focused on the skinny around what agents do, what they’re thinking about, and how to think about working with an agent—all through the lens of our guest, Lisa Leshne of The Leshne Agency. Lisa brings an honest and fresh perspective to the hard work of agenting, how authors want to think about being strategic partners with their would-be agents, and we touch upon some recent publishing news, like the future of AI and the Simon & Schuster buyout.

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The Art of Memoir, featuring Rebecca Carroll and Jeannine Ouellette Aug 28, 2023

Two of our favorite memoir episodes from last year revisited, with guests whose memoirs showcase exceptional craft—so much so that they’ll be teaching a fall memoir course with Brooke that starts next month. We’re revisiting these two authors whose memoirs have so much to teach writers about good writing, storytelling, and creating an experience that has real staying power. Tune in or relisten—and we’re back next week with fresh episodes and a brand-new season.

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Storytelling from Legacy Authors, featuring Gish Jen and Peggy Orenstein Aug 21, 2023

This week we’re celebrating two of our more accomplished guests of last year. Grant and Brooke talk about the joy of interviewing authors we’ve long admired, and highlight these two fabulous shows with Gish Jen and Peggy Orenstein, two authors at the top of their game. These are great shows to revisit for their insights from writers who’ve been at their craft for a while, and have a thing or two to impart to writers at all stages of their career.

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The Business of Publishing, featuring Rachael Herron and Joe Biel Aug 14, 2023

This week we’re revisiting our favorite two book biz episodes from last year. Both episodes got more listener feedback than any others—and if you missed the money episode, there’s so much here to be inspired by. For all writers and aspiring authors, there’s not enough we can say about being savvy about the business side of authorprenuership, which is why we’re spotlighting these two shows for our August round-up of our favorite shows of the past year. Happy Summer!

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High-Stakes Fiction, featuring Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Ana Reyes Aug 07, 2023

This is the first of our summer favorites series, featuring Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Ana Reyes. We’re revisiting our favorite episodes of the past year during the month of August, so we invite you to tune in or relisten as we celebrate and honor high-stakes fiction with two writers whose books we felt pushed the limits of fiction and made us think more critically about complex topics that wiggle their way into readers' hearts and souls. Happy Summer!

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Parent-Adult Child Dynamics for Writers, featuring Gail Warner (Brooke’s mom) Jul 31, 2023

This week’s show takes on an age-old topic—that of all the ways family’s feelings, impressions, and reactions play a role in our writing. No relationship is more complex and multilayered than that of the parent and adult child, which is why Brooke wanted to bring on her mom, Gail Warner, as a guest to discuss writing and how the act of self-expression is not an isolated experience. We have considerations, many of which involve our family—and this episode opens that conversation between one mother and daughter. It’s also the final episode of the fifth year of Write-minded, for which Grant conjures up an imagined parade to celebrate.

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The Art of Writing Unlikeable Characters, featuring Ben Purkert Jul 24, 2023

This week's guest Ben Purkert, author of the newly released novel, The Men Can’t Be Saved, gives us some insight into the art of writing complex characters, including the downright unlikeable ones. Atrocious acts and bad behavior are at the center of storytelling, and when constructed well, supposedly unlikeable characters are often more gripping and memorable than likable ones. We’re titillated and drawn forth by a character’s conflict, bad behavior, and perhaps even downfall. A good author challenges their readers to be interested in their unlikeable characters—even through their flaws.

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Community as Muse, featuring Kellye Garrett Jul 17, 2023

On this community-minded podcast, we love to host a community-focused episode from time to time. Guest Kellye Garrett shares the many ways that community has been a boon and a boost in her writing life and writing career. She shares about communities she’s founded, communities she’s been a part of, and the ways that community has supported her and championed her along the way. Grant and Brooke touch upon how and why building community can be hard for people, recognizing the reality that finding community can be anxiety producing, too. Brooke recalls an early She Writes mantra—“Writers don’t let writers write alone”—which encapsulates the energy behind this week’s show.

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Coming-of-Age Stories, featuring Yasmin Azad Jul 10, 2023

This week’s episode spotlights one of the most popular types of stories we see in both memoir and fiction—the coming-of-age narrative. Guest Yasmin Azad, author of Stay, Daughter, shares her considerations for writing her coming-of-age memoir. An episode about craft, the timeline of coming-of-age, why coming-of-age stories endure the way they do, and Brooke and Grant share some of their favorite coming-of-age memoirs and novels.

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Graphic Novels, Literary Collage, and Poetry Comics, featuring Kelcey Ervick Jun 26, 2023

This week Write-minded is expanding our literary horizons beyond the written word and into the myriad forms of visual creative expression that can accompany text. Guest Kelcey Ervick joins us to talk about her new book, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Graphic Literature, Artists and Writers on Creating Graphic Narratives, Poetry Comics, and Literary Collage, a compilation of pieces from graphic and visual artists of all sorts. In the episode we touch upon how to approach this space if you’re not artistically inclined, and what it means that “outside” forms are becoming more mainstream. Lots of interesting food for thought, and inspiration for getting more expansive with your own creative process.

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Leveraging Your Why, featuring N.D. Jones Jun 19, 2023

This week we’re talking about purpose and passion with guest N.D. Jones, a prolific author of fantasy stories and series who’s also a nonfiction author and publisher with a beautiful and creative online presence. This week’s show is inspired by Jones’s desire to articulate her “why,” and Brooke and Grant discuss how important purpose—the why—is for authors who might be feeling a little lost in the quest to get published. This week’s focus is platform, brand, spin-offs, content—all within the context of purpose.

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Taking the Dare, featuring Krystal Marquis Jun 12, 2023

This week Grant and Brooke return to a topic we love—taking the leap, saying yes to the dare, finding inspiration in the thrill of writing the book you want to read. Guest Krystal Marquis has a special personal story, too, about taking on the dare to write a book from her brother. If you’re a writer who’s trying to find a story to write, or someone looking for a little boost of creative inspiration in your life, this episode will surely light a little fire. And maybe help you set your sights on saying yes to your own dare, and certainly saying yes to the many opportunities NaNoWriMo offers writers for staying on top of their goals.

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Stories That Must Be Told, featuring Nicole Chung Jun 05, 2023

This is an onstage interview with Brooke Warner and this week’s guest Nicole Chung. Brooke interviewed Nicole at the Bay Area Book Festival in May. The conversation is wide-ranging and covers the topics and themes central to Nicole’s new memoir, A Living Remedy, as well as questions and considerations central to memoir and telling the stories that must be told. Don’t miss this thoughtful and relatable interview. If you’re writing your story, Nicole’s words will make you feel like you can and should keep going! Also, Write-minded is celebrating our 250th episode this week. We thank you for your loyal listenership!

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Writing a Violent Story with Love, featuring Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah May 29, 2023

We bring you a powerful show stemming from a powerhouse of a guest this week. Write-minded examines the intersection of activism and writing and love with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain Gang All Stars. This week’s episode also makes a case for why dystopian fiction needs to be rethought and reclassified, and provides insight in the form of the reminder that the best stories are those that must be told because they shine light on uncomfortable truths.

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Investigating Toward Deeper Truths, featuring Gretchen Cherington May 22, 2023

This week’s episode covers the importance of investigation and research in works of family and personal histories and memoirs. Guest Gretchen Cherington shares the many ways she researched her latest family memoir, The Butcher, The Embezzler, and the Fall Guy, through first-person narratives, interviews, and countless documents and letters. Hers is a book that attempts not so much to solve a crime as to understand the powerful men at the center of a scandal, making for a rich interview about men and power, the legacy our families leave us, and how writing can help us see varying perspectives as we uncover complicated truths.

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The Mystery Is the Clarity, featuring Charif Shanahan May 15, 2023

If you’re a longtime listener, you know Write-minded loves a good show on the mystery, on the magic, on the questions. And that’s because so much of the inspiration that propels us forward in our writing journeys is centered here, in the unexplainable that writers wrangle with, using language to make sense (and sometimes just mirror) the human experience. This conversation goes straight into the heart of the magic, stemming from guest Charif Shanahan’s assertion that the mystery is the clarity. Tune in to hear more about what that means to him—and much more.

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Pushing Boundaries in Book Publishing, featuring Joe Biel May 08, 2023

Resist, push back, go your own way! These are themes of today’s show as we talk about book publishing with a publisher, Joe Biel, who’s doing things a lot differently from your average indie publisher. Biel shares why Microcosm Publishing stopped selling on Amazon and why that’s not as scary as it may sound. Microcosm was a few years ahead of its time, and now the world is catching up in time for Biel to revel in its well-earned success. For this episode, we invite listeners to check out Microcosm’s software to support other publishers to accomplish what they have at WorkingLit.com, and also to purchase How to Resist Amazon and Why here.

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Writing with Raw Honesty about Family, featuring Rebecca Carroll May 01, 2023

When it comes to writing about family, in memoir or fiction, writers must consider the ramifications. To write honestly, writers must know what’s at stake, and be ready. This week’s guest, Rebecca Carroll, shares with Write-minded her own experience with family fallout, and subjects ranging from her readership, to her literary heroine Toni Morrison, to her thoughts on trans-racial adoption. There’s a lot to unpack this week, from a guest who sets the gold standard for radical honesty on the page.

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Dollars and Cents—the Money Episode, featuring Rachael Herron Apr 24, 2023

If you’ve been taught never to talk about money, or if the idea of sharing your earnings publicly makes you uncomfortable, this is a must-listen episode because we’re pulling back the curtain on author earnings and disclosing dollar amounts. Guest Rachael Herron walks us through why she started talking about how much she makes as an author—and tells how much she earned last year and from what streams of income. Grant and Brooke jump on the bandwagon, too, and share expenses (Brooke) and earnings (Grant). This week’s show shines a light on money—and encourages authors everywhere to be more transparent, and especially never to apologize about talking about money.

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On Pioneering and Why It Matters, featuring Donna Hill Apr 17, 2023

This episode honors a pioneer of a genre with guest Donna Hill, who pioneered a genre and hasn’t looked back. With more than 100 published books to her credit, Hill is a force. This episode covers the stamina it takes to publish so prolifically, a bit of history about what the publishing industry was like way back when in the early 90s, especially for a Black romance novelist who wasn’t seeing the books she was writing represented—anywhere, and much more. Hill is a generous guest who’s truly been around the block, so her tips and story are not to be missed.

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Executing an Ambitious Book Project, featuring Jinwoo Chong Apr 10, 2023

This week’s episode features a bright new star in the literary universe, Jinwoo Chong, whose debut novel, Flux, was also his masters’ thesis. Brooke and Grant loved the book—and the subject of conversation in this week’s show is wide-ranging: what does it mean to execute an ambitious project? How does future dystopia meet ’80s nostalgia make for a great book? And what are our favorite time travel books? Tune in for an ambitious interview that covers lots of ground, necessarily so given the author who set its baseline.

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The Themed Poetry Collection, featuring Heather Bourbeau Apr 03, 2023

This week Write-minded rings in National Poetry Month with guest HeatherBourbeau in a conversation about poetry, working with themes, and collaborations. Grant shares what he’s planning to do this month to celebrate National Poetry Month, and this episode invites you to think about how poetry informs your writing, and ways to invite it in.

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The Literature of Longing, featuring Madelaine Lucas Mar 27, 2023

Longing is a subject, topic, theme, and obsession of countless stories that have shaped our literary landscape. Grant and Brooke take a good hard look at longing this week and hold it up against its companion emotion, desire, and consider some of the most enduring narratives of longing we know. Guest Madelaine Lucas shares her take on the prism of longing that shines through her debut novel, Thirst for Salt, and opens up this conversation for all of us to consider how the ache of longing may inform our stories and our characters.

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The Self-improvement Memoir, featuring Peggy Orenstein Mar 20, 2023

Peggy Orenstein joins Brooke and Grant this week to talk about a number of ideas at the center of her newest memoir, Unraveling. We cover sheep shearing, the fast fashion industry, the crafts(wo)manship that came out of Covid, and taking the time to learn new things. This episode covers how books are often an adventure, and how writing leads to exploration and discovery. And we just happen to have a guest who’s a master at this style of storytelling, so listeners are in for a treat!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Getting Reinspired, Again, with Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner Jan 02, 2023

Happy New Year! This short show to ring in the new year starts with a confession from Brooke about Write-minded’s annual New Year’s show—this is Number 5! Grant and Brooke share updates on current writing projects (including goals), episodes that rose to the top in 2022, and one creative takeaway from our writing lives. We invite you to reflect and get reinspired along with us as we forge ahead into a bright new year! And we hope you’ll check out Brooke’s class, 5 Things I’ve Learned about What It Takes to Get Published, coming up on February 19. Find the details at: https://myfivethings.com/class/brooke-warner-what-it-takes-to-get-published.

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Having Fun with Book and Amazon Marketing, featuring Dave Chesson Dec 19, 2022

This week’s episode is an upbeat and fun look at marketing with guestDave Chesson, who’s on the cutting edge of Amazon and other book marketing strategies. We cover Amazon rankings, marketing ideas for fiction writers (who too often get left out of these conversations), and why to share your personal story out in the world. This episode includes concrete types and explains some things about Amazon that often feel elusive, so it’s worth your time even if your next published book is a ways out there on the horizon. Oh—and happy holidays. We’re off next week so Write-minded will be back in your queue on January 2!

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A New Take on Climate Fiction, featuring Aya de León Dec 12, 2022

Aya de León returns to Write-minded to share an announcement about her new climate fiction imprint, Fighting Chance Books, that she’s launching in partnership with She Writes Press in 2023. This is an inspiring conversation about why a climate fiction literature of winning is so important. Aya makes the case that the future isn’t written yet—and we need more stories in which humanity fights back and wins in order to create a different narrative than the dystopian stories that currently dominate CliFi. An important conversation—with a mission at its core. Please help us spread the word about Fighting Chance Books!

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No Wasted Words, featuring Sarah Manguso Dec 05, 2022

An episode that covers so much—the power of writing what’s essential; an exploration of two kinds of abysses: total noise and total silence; and a forthcoming recounting of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of problematic reviews. Guest Sarah Manguso has been called a virtuoso, and her takes on the literary world and writing in her compelling, spare style remind us why we love a meaty interview. Brooke and Grant revel in Sarah’s responses and candor this week—and know listeners will too.

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Unexpected Creative Intersections and Influences, featuring Angie Cruz Nov 28, 2022

This is an episode that will validate every creative impulse you’ve ever had and forgive any creative lapses you might be judging yourself for. Join Grant and Brooke in this inspiring episode with Angie Cruz, who’s faced rejection and overcame it to become a celebrated published author, and who shares with us how she’s in conversation with her characters, pursues other creative interests as a way to inform her fiction, and how she’s balanced her writing with the many other demands of life. A relatable and permission-giving episode!

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Radical Fiction Packaged as a Trojan Horse, featuring Xochitl Gonzalez Nov 21, 2022

Olga Dies Dreaming is guest Xochitl Gonzalez’s new novel—and how you interpret it might tell you something about your political persuasion. This week we are exploring what it means to be radical in fiction—especially when what you’re trying to be radical about is packaged as a fast-paced story. This is the subversive (meant in the best sense of the word) nature of fiction with a cause—which we explore this week in all its nuanced glory. Adelante!

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Writing Racial Dynamics in YA fiction, featuring David Yoon Nov 14, 2022

This week, guest David Yoon joins us in a conversation that takes on often-fraught topics with humor and candor. We talk about why YA is such fertile ground for representative stories about race, culture, and identity, and David’s mission to bring more visibility to writers of color. We talk about his approach to writing and how he writes not for or to a particular genre, but to sort out the questions he’s grappling with—something so many writers will relate to.

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The Writer’s Ego, featuring Steve Almond Nov 07, 2022

We’re diving into ego this week—including, yes, its benefits. All writers, after all, are ego-invested in their work. They want what they’re writing to be good, to have an impact, to be well received. In this week’s episode Grant and Brooke speak with Steve Almond about how his ego got in the way of the work he wanted to do, and also the way that we must contend with our egos when we write. There’s so much to unpack here—and Steve’s honest take on his own journey is as refreshing as it is inspiring.

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Craft-minded series: Trusting the Craft You Already Know, featuring Andrea Bartz Oct 31, 2022

This week we’re kicking off NaNoWriMo (Happy November) with a final bonus craft-minded episode. Grant and Brooke talk with thriller writer Andrea Bartz about her process—including the Pomodoro Method, creating fake deadlines, and writing discovery drafts. This is a perfect episode to GET YOU STARTED, which Andrea acknowledges is one of the hardest things a writer can do. This week’s show is also a reminder about how much you already know about craft that you don’t even know you know. Tune in to discover more.

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Craft-minded series: How or Whether to Evolve Your Aesthetic or Style, featuring Lan Samantha Chang Oct 24, 2022

Tune in this week to geek out on aesthetic. Maybe you’re a writer who’s changed your aesthetic, wants to, or a reader who’s noticed the evolving aesthetics of the writers you love. How and why does this happen? How can you invite change into your process? In addition to thinking about style and craft, Grant and Brooke speak with guest Lan Samantha Chang about writing and MFA programs, whether we’ve saturated the writing about writing market, and how taking time away from your work and coming back to it is another way to shift or broaden perspective.

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Craft-minded series: Reflection as a Way to Make Meaning in Memoir, featuring Prince Shakur Oct 17, 2022

As we make our way through our Craft-Minded series this fall, heading straight into NaNoWriMo, we have a special topic for memoirists—but which will benefit any writer who thinks about reflecting, musing, or meaning-making as a way to reach their readers’ minds and hearts. This week’s guest, Prince Shakur, takes us on a journey of how and why reflection matters, and offers examples and tips, too. This episode offers up other writers who reflect masterfully, and as has been the case with each of these craft episodes, we invite listeners to consider how and whether you might invite new ways of seeing into your own creative process.

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Craft-minded series: Placing Yourself in Broader Historical Contexts, featuring Danyel Smith Oct 10, 2022

This week Write-minded is exploring the ways authors place themselves into stories with broader cultural or historical contexts. Guest Danyel Smith has done just that with her new genre-crossing book, Shine Bright, that’s both an examination of black female music artists and those artists’ impact on Danyel. Books like these are popular and often difficult to pull off, since writers must be aware of the balance between journalism and personal story—which is why Shine Bright is such a satisfying example of how to do this style of writing well. As a bonus, this episode also offers up a music fandom, an inside story about Whitney Houston, and a peek behind the curtain of Danyel’s journey with this book.

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Craft-minded series: Writing "Imaginative Fiction," featuring Jeff VanderMeer Oct 03, 2022

As we continue on with our Craft-minded series, Write-minded is honored to have Jeff VanderMeer speaking about imagination and how to mine the depths of your imagination to make yourself a better writer. Jeff’s classic craft book, Wonderbook, is written for the “imaginative fiction writer” rather than the “realistic fiction writer,” so we’re taking a dive into imagination, into creativity. This is an episode about keeping an open mind and having fun, which is the kind of energy anyone who’s going into NaNoWriMo next month needs to cultivate. So come on the journey with us. We have your supplies all ready for you!

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Craft-minded series: Craft as Shaper of Story, featuring Morgan Talty Sep 26, 2022

In this third of six episodes in the Craft-minded series, Grant and Brooke speak with guest Morgan Talty about story form and how to listen for what your book wants to be. If, as a writer, you believe in the power of being in conversation with your own book, you’ll find a lot of comfort in Morgan’s articulation of that relationship between self and creative output, in addition to concrete ideas about how we shape our work by listening, patching together bits and pieces from here and there, and growing alongside our stories. An episode for the spirit, as well as the craft-minded.

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Craft-minded series: Characterization, featuring A.M. Homes Sep 19, 2022

This week kicks off a 6-week craft-minded series, starting with the great A.M. Holmes on characterization. In this episode we talk about dialogue, indirect and direct characterization, character tics, and how to pay attention to your own writing tics and “bad habits.” Homes is a seasoned writer of many books and teaches creative writing at Princeton, and she’s known for her depth and breadth of character—so you’re in for a treat on this topic that feels like it could be endlessly mind. Much food for thought for the craft-minded!

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How to Have an Opinion in Memoir, featuring Mychal Denzel Smith Sep 12, 2022

This week’s episode is a celebration of opinion, of boldly stating what you mean and what matters to you and why. Writing is an exercise in truth-telling, and when it’s your personal truth—no matter what your genre—it’s scary as hell. And while this week centers memoir, the episode is for anyone who’s trying to write what they think. It’s about why it matters that writers synthesize, interpret, make meaning, extrapolate, and also examines consequences—for you as a writer, and also for the world outside of you. If you’re wrestling with truth, with fallout, with consequences, with what’s at stake—Mychal Denzel Smith will provoke many questions and leave you inspired.

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On Writing and Selling Trauma, featuring Stephanie Foo Sep 05, 2022

In her profound and moving new memoir, What My Bones Know, guest Stephanie Foo writes about trauma, and about a diagnosis of Complex PTSD that is lacking first-person narratives. In this week’s episode, the first of Write-minded’s fifth year, co-hosts Brooke and Grant talk about why trauma is a slippery subject to sell to publishers, and why Stephanie’s book is a breakthrough kind of memoir that paves the way for more of these kinds of narratives in the future. Stephanie is an insightful guest, offering valuable tips for how to write trauma and sharing how this was a book she had to write, and some of the considerations and fears she faced on the memoir journey.

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How to Follow Your Passions When the Creative Expression Feels Elusive, featuring Charlie Jane Anders and Azar Nafisi Aug 29, 2022

In our final summer episode, we bring you two voices of advocacy in an episode that will both stoke your passions and remind you to be gentle with yourself at the same time. Guests Charlie Jane Anders and Azar Nafisi both speak to why we must write our truths, pay attention, bear witness, and remember the power of one person’s voice and words to save and change lives.

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Emotional Expression Is as Scary and Important as You Think It Is, featuring Erica Jong and Lilly Dancyger Aug 22, 2022

This week Write-minded revisits two powerful interviews in which guests Erica Jong and Lilly Dancyger shared with us about the power of emotion on the page. Erica Jong’s work has often centered fear and desire while Lilly Dancyger’s work has circled anger. Both women share the power of unlocking emotion on the page, and touch upon the ways in which women are expected to be more confined in their emotional expression. This is exactly why it’s so important to feel those emotions and express them on the page, and these two authors give the absolute permission to do so, and model how in their wonderful works of fiction and nonfiction.

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Using Subtext and Omission to Achieve More by Writing Less, featuring EJ Koh and Charmaine Wilkerson Aug 15, 2022

This week’s episode is chock-full of craft tips and ideas for thinking about the subtle art of subtext and omission, featuring two of our favorite craft episodes from the past year. E.J. Koh and Charmaine Wilkerson will help you think about what to leave out, how to help your readers read between the lines, and why these craft techniques are an exercise in building trust with your readers. Two excellent writers on two important craft points that create more depth and sophistication when it comes to storytelling and scene-writing.

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For the Love of Fantasy, featuring Kwame Mbalia and Namina Forna Aug 08, 2022

In this week’s remembrances of some of the best episodes of the past year, we’re highlighting fantasy’s importance as a genre with guests Kwame Mbalia and Namina Forna. There’s so much goodness packed in here—about process, about why we write, about inspirations, and some fabulous tips for staying the course even when you feel like you don’t have the time. This isn’t so much an episode about fantasy as it is about writing intentionally and infusing meaning into genre writing just as you would any writing you do.

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Writing Intimate Truths, featuring Ashley C. Ford and Melissa Febos Aug 01, 2022

All August we’re celebrating with our favorite guests of the past year—but with a fresh take on the topic at hand and a new book trend. This week’s episode basks in the smart, intimate, and insightful energy of Ashley C. Ford and Melissa Febos, two wonderful memoirists who share about writing intimate truths. Brooke gives her take on why memoir is a force that’s changing the culture, and we celebrate Grant’s latest side gig, the Reality TV project “America’s Next Great Author”—which we’re excited to share about on this week’s show.

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The Collaborative Force of Anthologies, featuring Stephanie Raffelock Jul 25, 2022

Anthologies date all the way back to the Renaissance and earlier, when important works of various authors were collected and bound. This week, Brooke and Grant discuss the modern anthology—what kinds of works lend themselves to collections and what publishers are looking for. Guest Stephanie Raffelock joins the show to discuss her latest book, Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis, a joint project with She Writes Press that collects the work of 80+ She Writes Press authors and which emerged from the premise Stephanie posed in her call for submissions—that art can and will carry us, even save us, during turbulent times.

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Straddling Lusciousness and Social Consciousness in Romance, featuring Angelina Lopez Jul 18, 2022

Romance often gets the short-shrift for being not a serious genre, or for being a guilty pleasure—and yet, it’s the best-selling genre there is. Which is why Grant and Brooke chose to explore with Angelina Lopez, touching upon the sexiness of romance, yes, but also the fact that it’s so much more than that. Romance can be socially conscious, and importantly—there’s romance out there for every kind of reader. Listen in to open your horizons to new reading experiences, or if you’re already a big romance lover, to be nodding your head, knowing you’ve been on the money all along.

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Executing Funny in Memoir with One of the Most Celebrated Cartoonists of Our Time, featuring David Sipress Jul 11, 2022

Do you have to be a comedian or a humorist to execute funny in memoir? We don’t think so—and this episode tackles how humor shows up in the everyday, in universal experiences, and through the journey of looking inward. Guest David Sipress, whose New Yorker cartoons are recognizable worldwide, talks about his own insecurities in approaching memoir and how he worked through them, how he mines for funny, and shares with us some insight about his cartoonist brain. You’re in for a treat—and Grant is holding out for a cartoon portrait to arrive in his mail any day now.

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Genre-Blending and Bending, featuring Barbara Graham Jul 04, 2022

We’re having fun this holiday week talking about genre-blending and bending, and why it’s fun and freeing, but also often problematic from an industry standpoint when stories are not easily categorized. Join Brooke and Grant this week in their conversation with Barbara Graham, a long-time nonfiction writer who breaks the mold with her debut novel, and shares about how intuitive her process was, and how and why she was compelled to write the story that became her book, What Jonah Knew.

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Making and Finding Meaning, featuring Kathryn Schulz Jun 27, 2022

This week’s episode brings to the fore why meaning in all its outward, bigger-than-a-single-individual forms is so profound in writing. The notion that your story is broader than your limited experience is something memoirists know, but too often fail to fully execute on the page. Kathryn Schulz is a master of this form. Tune in to hear about what Brooke calls “litle-T takeaway” and the conversation that ensues with Kathryn, whose recent book, Lost & Found, offers up so much for discussion and emulation.

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The Power of Omission, featuring Charmaine Wilkerson Jun 20, 2022

Omission—it’s something writers understand as meaningful to story, but don’t often execute well on the page. In this week’s episode, guest Charmaine Wilkerson offers solid pointers on how to think about omission and why it will make your writing more meaningful. Join Grant and Brooke for this week’s craft-based conversation on the power of omission as we consider some of the best books we’ve read lately that do omission well. We’ll also explore human behavior—like lying, secret-keeping, betrayal, cheating, protecting, and more—that lends itself to exploring omission more deeply.

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Changing Your Life Story, featuring Linda Holmes Jun 13, 2022

Write-minded is celebrating Episode #200 and a move to be part of the Lit Hub Radio family this week with guest Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, who joins Grant and Brooke to talk about her recent novel, imposter syndrome, and following the path life offers up. This episode is a celebration of shape-shifting and getting bitten by the novel bug—with a fun guest who knows a thing or two about writing, podcasting, and changing your life story—all while going with the flow.

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Writing from Inside Your Industry, featuring Zakiya Dalila Harris Jun 06, 2022

Write-minded is honored to be celebrating a few milestones this week—with guest Zakiya Dalila Harris’s paperback release and our announcement that starting next week, we are joining the Lit Hub Radio family! It’s a perfect episode to talk about publishing, since Zakiya’s novel, The Other Black Girl, points a finger at the industry—and because there’s so much else to say. Also, since this week’s book trend spotlights DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), we draw your attention in the show to the Independent Book Publishers Association’s DEI Resource Center: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/dei-resource-center

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Reading Dangerously, featuring Azar Nafisi May 30, 2022

This week’s episode inspires and challenges and encourages all of us to embrace the magic of subversive reading. This conversation with Azar Nafisi, the best-selling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, about her new book, Read Dangerously, is a reminder of what’s at stake for us right now in the US, why we need to engage and not check out, or worse, employ the same tactics as extremists in the fight for democracy. Tune in for an episode that’s political and urgent and necessary—and if you’re not reading dangerously, make the next book on your reading list a subversive one.

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Imagining and Reconstructing in Memoir, featuring Julie Metz May 23, 2022

This week we’re focusing on how to step into the point of view of another character in memoir. Increasingly memoirists are wanting to take risks with memoir, to fill holes in their knowledge but not be relegated to writing fiction. Guest Julie Metz provides a beautiful template for how to do this with her new memoir, Eva and Eve, which reconstructs her family’s 1940 escape from Vienna when Hitler was annexing Austria and ridding it of its Jewish population. Beyond a harrowing and beautifully rendered tale of family, Eva and Eve is a story of how history repeats itself and the legacies we carry.

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The Skinny on Book Coaching, featuring Jennie Nash May 16, 2022

This week we’re looking at book coaching—who might need one, why you might want one, or maybe you even want to become one. Guest Jennie Nash has resources and answers for anyone in this space because she trains book coaches through her Author Accelerator program, and has an incredible stable of coaches that authors can work with. So much good food for thought this week! Also, in today’s book trend on hybrid publishing, we mentioned Jane Friedman’s recent article, “IMHO: A Nuanced Look at Hybrid Publishers,” which you can find here: https://hotsheetpub.com/2022/05/imho-a-nuanced-look-at-hybrid-publishers/

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Writing with Sensuality, featuring Leesa Cross-Smith May 09, 2022

Sensual details, it’s said, make scenes come alive on the page. Today’s guest Leesa Cross-Smith is a master of the sensual, and you’ll see why when you listen to her interview. A listmaker, a word handler, a Janeite who owns 25 copies of Pride and Prejudice, Cross-Smith helps us think about the sensual and how to bring it to your awareness and to your writing. We touch upon form, too, short and long, and why sensual detail matters so much, no matter what you’re writing.

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Writing What Terrifies You, featuring Ashley Woodfolk May 02, 2022

Imagining the life you might have had. Assessing mistakes you undoubtedly made. Voicing the truth about your true feelings and desires. All terrifying, and all fodder for good storytelling. This week’s episode goes right to the heart of all that with guest Ashley Woodfolk, whose most recent book, Nothing Burns As Bright As You, is an exploration in verse of what might have been had she realized at an earlier age that she was gay. An interesting thought experiment for any writer to consider—whatever your what-if, Sliding Doors (you can catch it on Netflix) moment might have been.

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Helping Books Remain a Vital Part of Our Culture, featuring Andy Hunter Apr 25, 2022

If you’ve been listening to Write-minded for a while, you might know we have indie fever, and we hope our show is catching that way because “indie” is key to a thriving book ecosystem—which is exactly at the center of this week’s show. We’re joined by Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter to talk about book culture, what “literary” means, and why we can’t trust Amazon when it comes to books—and what we as individuals can do to ensure books remain a vital part of our culture.

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Moral Ambiguity in Fiction, featuring Quentin Lee Apr 18, 2022

In this week’s episode, Grant and Brooke probe at questions of moral ambiguity with guest Quentin Lee, whose new book, The Secret Diary of Edward Ng, is a sexual coming of age story set in the 1990s. Centering queerness and the Asian and Asian American experience, this work of short fiction is a meditation on otherness, and raises lots of good conversation about auto-fiction, what and how we explore with our fiction, and why staying true to the stories you want to tell is always better than writing to the market.

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All About Book Festivals, featuring Cherilyn Parsons Apr 11, 2022

This week’s show is a love letter to book festivals—and a conversation about why they matter, how authors can pitch themselves and get involved in local festivals, and what the considerations entail for those people who are behind the scenes organizing such festivals. This week’s guest, Cherilyn Parsons, is the founder and executive director of the Bay Area Book Festival based in Berkeley, California, and she’s interviewed by Brooke while Grant is away, who’s been a longtime board member and is the current Chairperson of the festival. Enjoy!

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Setting Stories Free, featuring Caits Meissner and T Kira Madden Apr 04, 2022

This week’s episode features the editor and a contributor to the new anthology, The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison. This book is at the heart of today’s interview as we explore the power of writing—and how it can set us free, literally and metaphorically. Editor Caits Meissner shares with us PEN America’s mission and vision, and why there’s a Prison and Justice Writing program there in the first place, while T Kira Mahealani Madden shares about how her life has been shaped by prison and what kinds of advocacy work is out there and why it matters.

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Probing the Line Between Insanity and Art, featuring Lee Kravetz Mar 28, 2022

The idea that creativity and "madness" are connected has been around since humanity’s earliest days. As such, this notion of "suffering artists" often gets idealized, even romanticized. Psychotherapist and author Lee Kravetz shares his take on the correlation between mental illness and creativity in this week’s episode, in the context of his new book, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., that explores the life of Sylvia Plath. Listen in to hear about the inspiration behind the novel, how he thought about mental illness in the book given the strides we've made since the 1950s in this arena, and much more. Also, today’s book trends include some upcoming PitchFests to check out online: APR 01 #CookiePitch; APR 14 #LGBTNPit; MAY 05 #APIPit; MAY #PitDark; JUN 23 #PitchDis; AUG #DVpit

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Tough-Love Marketing, featuring M.J. Rose Mar 21, 2022

No author or aspiring author will want to miss this week’s episode with marketing guru M.J. Rose, who doles out some tough love about the realities of publicity and marketing. Though she calls herself the Voice of Doom, her message is surprisingly inspiring and reassuring, because the realities of this industry are twofold: it’s hard to sell books, and writing books is one of the most rewarding experiences there is. Rose is a wealth of information and advice, so you’ll want to bookmark this one and listen to it again and again.

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How We Think about Anger on the Page, featuring Lilly Dancyger Mar 14, 2022

Rarely are writers encouraged to be angry on the page, and this is especially true for women writers of personal narratives. In this week’s episode, we’re exploring anger’s purpose in writing with guest Lilly Dancyger, who gives permission to lean into anger, and whose memoir, Negative Space, has, by Lilly’s own estimation, an angry central protagonist (her younger self) and an angry narrator (her older self). An important conversation for anyone who’s been told they’re too angry, or not to be angry, in their writing.

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Can Writing Be Taught? featuring Lisa Stringfellow Mar 07, 2022

In this week’s episode, Grant and Brooke tackle the question of whether writing can be taught—and why this is even a question that’s up for debate in the first place. Guest Lisa Stringfellow has a lot of great insights about the intersection of writing and teaching, what she’s learned about writing through her teaching, and the rewards of writing to an audience in the form of her students. We cover why reading is the most important portal we have to becoming better writers, the value of mentor texts, and the power of community.

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How We Think and Write about Intimate Experiences, featuring Melissa Febos Feb 28, 2022

This week’s episode champions personal narrative, which is one of guest Melissa Febos’s primary goals in her new book, Body Work. We talk about why memoir needs badasses this week, and if ever there was one, it’s Melissa. An enlightening conversation that touches upon diary-writing, confession, secret-keeping, tell-alls, the essay, and memoir craft, any writer who thinks about writing (all of you!) should take in this interview—and be fortified by it. Check out the video we share in the Book Trend, a rad rap protesting banning books: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZSjRmdj2Lp/

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The Art of Writing Forgiveness, featuring Ashley C. Ford Feb 21, 2022

This week’s powerful episode features Ashley C. Ford, sharing about writing influences, forgiveness, and how superheroes influence her writing, among other topics. Ford has written one of the most powerful memoir scenes we’ve read in a long while, and she speaks to the process and evolution of that story and what she learned in the telling of it. Lots of inspiration in this interview, and we want to let you know that you can be with Ashley for The Heart of Memoir, April 5-May 10, where she’ll will be guest teaching about “the protagonist,” which in memoir is YOU. See more details at: https://magicofmemoir.com.

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Writing to Make the World a Better Place, featuring Parker J. Palmer Feb 14, 2022

In celebration of Valentine’s Day week, this week’s podcast honors heart-centeredness, and writing from the heart and with openness, and the inherent and implicit ways that makes the world a better place. Join Brooke and Grant to bask in the wisdom of Parker J. Palmer’s words on everything from welcoming the stranger, to what he loves about speaking, to the legacy of his friend and colleague, the great bell hooks. Please also check out Parker Palmer’s March 20 webinar, which is pay what you can and can be found at: https://couragerenewal.org/wpccr/events/divided-no-more-rejoining-our-inner-and-outer-lives-a-webinar-with-parker-j-palmer/

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The Drama of Friendships, featuring Jean Chen Ho Feb 07, 2022

Friendship is often the backdrop of story, but rarely is it centered. In this week’s episode Grant and Brooke name some of their favorite books where friendship is centerstage, as is the case with guest Jean Chen Ho’s new novel, Fiona and Jane. Friendship, like love affairs, offer such rich territory to explore interpersonal dynamics, how friends show up (and don’t) in our lives over time, and how we invariably feel mixed emotions toward our friends. An important episode for considering the rendering of friendships on the page—centerstage or not.

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Research Is Not Just for Facts, featuring Margaret Verble Jan 31, 2022

In this week’s episode we’re exploring the idea of experiential research, of soul research, of the kind of writing that involves the body, the heart, and the soul as much as the mind. Guest Margaret Verble shares with us how writing fiction is a way for her to keep the dead alive, to have conversations with those who have passed on. Her easy connection to the past and her family line is inviting in that she suggests what you “know” doesn’t necessarily involve research—and it’s all a continuum anyway. We were inspired to think about what lives in our cells, and serendipity of certain stories and how they show up, and what it looks like to write the stories that land in your lap, or show up calling your name.

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Out in the Open about Erotica, featuring Rachel Kramer Bussel Jan 24, 2022

Sex sells—and sex writing shows up in countless genres beyond just erotica. So while we’re focusing on erotica this week with guest Rachel Kramer Bussel, who’s edited more than 70 erotica anthologies, we’re also talking about sex writing more generally—the history of erotic literature, why erotica collections tend to be anthologies rather than single-author books, and some tips to think about if and when you come to the page to write your own sex scenes.

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Risk It Like You Mean It, featuring Angela Engel Jan 17, 2022

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Borrowing from Mythic Structures, with Michelle Ruiz Keil Jan 10, 2022

This week’s episode starts by addressing some of the burnout lots of us are feeling with yet another phase of the pandemic among other crises. And yet, because Write-Minded is committed to bringing you doses of inspiration each week, this week we’re talking with Michelle Ruiz Keil about changing up your routine, borrowing (in this case from mythic structures), and even rethinking or reworking your existing content with fresh ideas. Also, we’re wishing for our listeners all the REs: revitalization, re-emergence, resets, and more.

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The Gift of Multitudes of Perspectives, featuring Farah Ali Jan 03, 2022

This week’s episode with Farah Ali dives into perspectives, and how short stories open up so many portals for writers and readers alike—and yet, short story writers will always be pressured to write a novel next. Ali is one of those writers who knew she wanted to be a writer since she was very young—and though she was encouraged, she also faced the obstacle of where her stories are set, in Pakistan, and people’s assumptions about her culture. Lucky for readers, her new collection, People Want to Live, challenges those assumptions, as does Farah herself.

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Ringing in the New Year with Book-to-Film Recs! Dec 27, 2021

Happy New Year to all—and get ready for some film recommendations from Brooke and Grant this week. Why? Because after putting out a call for favorite memoirs-turned-movies, 100 responses flowed in, offering up some exciting options for kicking back this holiday season with your Netflix subscription and a mug of hot chocolate. Today’s book trend references the Netflix Book Club, and you can find the URL mentioned here:
https://www.julesbuono.com/netflix-book-club. Thank you and goodbye, 2021!

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Conviction—When You Know Your Story Resonates, featuring Alka Joshi Dec 13, 2021

This week we’re talking about conviction—and why it’s something writers generally start their writing journeys with, but which tends to get a bit eroded along the path to publication. This week’s guest, Alka Joshi, reinvented herself after sixty with her debut novel, The Henna Artist—a book that started with plenty of conviction, and also needed passion and perseverance on Alka’s part to get to the finish line. And what an extraordinary result. This fun and upbeat interview is inspiring and hopeful—and reminds us of a truth that how we write is how we live our lives, too.

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Fear and Desire, featuring Erica Jong Dec 06, 2021

This week’s guest, Erica Jong, burst onto the cultural and literary scene in 1973 with her debut novel, Fear of Flying. In the nearly five decades since, her work has circled the themes of fear and desire—subjects that anchor this week’s show. What a treat to hear from one of our foremost feminist legends about what drove her to the page in the early ’70s, about the legacy of her own body of work, and how important it is for women to write their desires.

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Migration as an Essential Shared Story, featuring Shanthi Sekaran Nov 29, 2021

This week we ask you to consider the places in your own life where you’ve experienced migrations—whether you’re an immigrant or your family has been in the same place for generations. We all experience migrations throughout our lives, in the form of life events, identities, and movements across time and place—and this week’s guest, Shanthi Sekaran, has much to say on this all-important topic and much more.

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Challenging Your Perspective on the Journey to Getting Published, featuring Bella Mahaya Carter Nov 22, 2021

This week’s episode is for anyone seeking that elusive thing called peace of mind when it comes to the writing, publishing, or promotion part of getting a book out into the world. Inspirational and straight-talking, guest Bella Mahaya Carter shares how she learned to let go of what she thought she wanted from traditional publishing to spread her wings as an author who’s writing and publishing on her own terms, and with peace of mind. A perfect episode to conclude the final days of NaNoWriMo, and as we face the pressures of the holidays and ambitions for 2022. Just breathe.

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Why Retelling Stories Is Always an Act of Creation, featuring Kwame Mbalia Nov 15, 2021

Retelling stories—family tales, myths, fairytales, and stories of all sorts—is always an act of creation because of what you, the author, bring to the telling. In this week’s fun interview, guest Kwame Mbalia speaks to inspiration, living with your characters, who he’s inspired by, and why he’s doing NaNoWriMo for the fifth year in a row. Don’t miss it—and we’re cheering you along if you’re writing every day this November. You got this!

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Owning Your Authority as an Author, featuring J. Allen Cross Nov 08, 2021

This week’s witchy, crafty, spell-binding episode gets into authors’ authority to write the books they write, the responsibilities authors must content with when writing about a group they’re a part of, and especially about groups they’re not a part of. And because today’s guest, J. Allen Cross, is a practicing witch, there’s an extra dose of magic, along with a dash of folklore and sprinkle of the occult—a perfect recipe for a fun and inspiring episode of Write-minded.

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Allowing Anger to Fuel Your Writing, featuring Namina Forna Nov 01, 2021

Happy National Novel Writing Month, listeners! We’re eager to start writing with you this week—and we’re bringing you some food for thought about what fuels your writing and your creativity. Guest Namina Forna has been fueled sometimes by anger and injustice. Meanwhile, her light-heartedness and love of fantasy and the magical creates a dynamic counterbalance to the themes that drive her to the page. She ends the episode with such great advice for all of you writers out there doing NaNoWriMo, so get ready—and let’s write!

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Get Ready for NaNoWriMo, featuring Chris Baty Oct 25, 2021

National Novel Writing Month starts next week, so it’s time to get your minds and hearts ready to throw down tons of words next month—and we know you’ve got this. We’re bringing back Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo, the very best person to get you inspired to do this thing. Don’t doubt for one minute that the world needs your story. And there’s no better way to get a lot of writing done while having a lot of fun than participating in NaNoWriMo. We’ll be doing it, too, so we’re with you, and you’ve got this!

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The Art of Subtext, featuring EJ Koh Oct 18, 2021

Subtext is the art of the implicit, and this week’s guest, E.J. Koh, has written a gorgeous memoir, The Magical Language of Others, in which the subtext nearly drips from the page—to gorgeous and astounding results. This week’s show, therefore, explores what subtext is, how to use it, how to watch out for it, and how to practice it. We want all of you writers out there to make your readers hungry for your stories, and this is one way you can entice, delight, and tantalize.

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The Difficult Balance of Writing and Self-Care, featuring Charlie Jane Anders Oct 11, 2021

How can we practice self-care, stay open and vulnerable, and have enough discernment to know how much to keep pushing ourselves creatively when we feel depleted? This episode is a show for our times, as we tackle with guest Charlie Jane Anders all the ways that global and personal crises challenge our creative and writing lives. We recommend you check out Charlie Jane’s talk on YouTube, Never Say You Can’t Survive, which inspired the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ItTO9DDhCI.

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The Staying Power of the Mother-Daughter Story, featuring Laura Davis Oct 04, 2021

This week we’re talking about the mother-daughter story, which is equally powerfully conveyed in both fiction and memoir. This week’s guest, Laura Davis, has a gripping new memoir about her relationship with her mother, structured as a countdown to her mother’s death. Laura explores in the book and on the show topics including estrangement and caregiving someone who’s betrayed you. We also talk about writing about other people, and Laura shares a bit about her past, having co-authored the best-selling book, The Courage to Heal, and bringing her writing chops to a new genre.

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Books That Help Start Conversations with Kids, featuring Anastasia Higginbotham Sep 27, 2021

In honor of Banned Books Week, this week’s show dives into books that help start conversations with kids, even and especially when they’re touching upon tough topics. Anastasia’s Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness struck a chord last year as parents looked for books to help kids understand our national racial reckoning, and her entire series, Ordinary Terrible Things, is a conversation-starter for kids and parents alike about topics that are hard, sometimes taboo, and always important.

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Using Storytelling to Inform and Educate, featuring Kaitlyn Greenidge Sep 20, 2021

This week’s episode features Kaitlyn Greenidge being interviewed by Brooke as part of the San Diego Writers Festival. Her recent novel, Libertie, is a tour de force and examination of Reconstruction-era America through the story of Libertie, born black and free during a time when America’s attempts to right the wrongs of slavery were being met with great promise and great resistance. How storytelling informs and educates shines through in this conversation, and we thank the San Diego Writers Festival for this collaboration.

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Craft Is Never Neutral, featuring Matthew Salesses Sep 13, 2021

An episode for our times, today’s show features Matthew Salesses in conversation with Grant and Brooke about his newest book, Craft in the Real World. Listen in as he unpacks the inherent biases of how the dominant culture teaches and writes and thinks about craft. Matthew’s book addresses how and why craft inextricable from identity and lived experience—bringing some explosive new energy to our thinking about craft that’s both empowering and long overdue.

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Confronting Shame, featuring Firoozeh Dumas Sep 06, 2021

It’s a brand-new season and Year 4 of Write-minded, and we’re diving headfirst into shame, a feeling that often attacks on the sly, and that seems to show up even in the most innocuous of places. Guest Firoozeh Dumas talks us through shame as a writer, through the lens of culture, and through the lens of humor, too. Plus, we touch upon her story of being an Iranian immigrant writer, and what’s changed—and hasn’t—in the publishing industry since Firoozeh published Funny in Farsi in the early 2000s.

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Best of YA, featuring Laurie Halse Anderson and Marie Lu Aug 30, 2021

It’s our final A+ August episode—and we’re ending the summer with YA superstars Laurie Halse Anderson and Marie Lu, who treated us earlier this year with deep insights about the genre, and about mining your memories and your stories regardless of genre. They speak about inspirations and starts and what moved them along in their journeys. Which is a perfect segue to our new season—Year 4—which starts next week. Happy end of summer.

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Best of Sex Writing, featuring Deesha Philyaw and Kim Addonizio Aug 23, 2021

As summer slips away, what better interviews to revisit than two that feature writing about sex in all its myriad forms—desire, confession, and as thinking pieces that speak to who we are, what we crave, and also how we’re controlled and boxed in and limited. Two of our favorites from this past year, Deesha Philyaw and Kim Addonizio, give writers a lot to think about on the subject of sex writing, and so much more.

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Best of Memoir, featuring Mary Karr and Elizabeth Gilbert Aug 16, 2021

Our next A+ August mash-up features two of Brooke’s absolute favorites—Mary Karr and Elizabeth Gilbert. Mary’s episode, In Defense of Memoir, is a deep dive into memoir writing, while Liz’s, Following the Thread of Your Inspiration. Both guests have been so influential to this genre, and this wide-ranging conversation will leave any aspiring writer motivated to get writing—and don’t forget to go back and listen to the full interviews in our archives.

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Best of Debut Fiction, featuring Mateo Askaripour and Sameer Pandya Aug 09, 2021

This best of features two guests whose debut novels focus in on racial issues in the workplace with Askaripour’s novel, Black Buck, set in the sales industry and Pandya’s Members Only homing in on academia. Both guests speak to their inspirations, drawing from life experience, and the nuance and complexities (and also the importance) of tackling racial issues in fiction.

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Best of Fantasy, featuring Hugh Howey and Victoria “V.E.” Schwab Aug 02, 2021

In this first of our A+ August mash-up we’re revisiting interviews with two of the most popular fantasy authors we know—Hugh Howey and Victoria “V.E.” Schwab. There’s so much good stuff here to inspire any kind of author. We talk about process, confidence, why we write, and then yes, there’s some magic talk in here, too, since fantasy allows you to rewrite the rules and build your own worlds . . . something a lot of us might be doing this summer as we think about escaping into other realities.

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The Joy and Angst of a Newly Released Book, featuring Grant Faulkner Jul 26, 2021

In the final show of Year 3 of Write-minded, Brooke interviews Grant about his newest book, a collection of stories called All the Comfort Sins Can Provide. In the interviewee chair, Grant shares the highs and the lows of publishing a new book—the fear and the angst and the joys and the expectations. Having doled out excellent advice over these past three years, Grant realizes during this week’s show that it’s not so easy to follow all our great advice.

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To Plot or Not? featuring Jean Hanff Korelitz Jul 19, 2021

This week’s show is a great episode for any writer who’s ever thought about plotting—how much they love it or hate it, whether they’re even doing it, and why plotting matters anyway. Our guest is Jean Hanff Korelitz, who’s most recent book, The Plot, has one of the best plots ever—and even she says sometimes you have to forget about the plot. We touch upon literary vs. commercial fiction, whether Jean agrees with Stephen King’s advice about plotting, and what some of her favorite books are that center writers as the primary protagonist. This is a writer’s episode—and yes, that means you. Enjoy!

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Writing the Body and Sex in Memoir, featuring Gina Frangello Jul 12, 2021

This week’s episode is an intense, powerful, and frank interview with author Gina Frangello as part of WomenLit, a Bay Area program dedicated to elevating women’s voices. Gina’s latest book, Blow Your House Down, is a tour de force and a memoir that’s had everyone talking—because she really goes there: into her shame, into her fear, into abuse, into sex and body, and into what it’s like to live a double life since the book is about having a clandestine affair for three-plus years. This is a brave book that’s making some people uncomfortable and has many reevaluating how truthful and brave they want to be on the page.

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Permission To Write and Getting It Right, featuring Rebecca Makkai Jul 05, 2021

Creative empathy is no longer enough of a foundation when it comes to what kinds of characters and situations novelists can or should write, and yet permission to write is the foundation of this week’s how featuring Rebecca Makkai. In this wide-reaching conversation Brooke and Grant talk with Rebecca about the value of research, the challenges all writers face in prioritizing their writing, and getting it right when it’s so easy to get it wrong.

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Unearthing Unknown Stories, featuring Stacey Lee Jun 28, 2021

All around us, there are stories waiting to be unearthed, storylines there for the taking. Grant and Brooke discuss this and more—plotting v. pantsing; researching; understanding your readers—in this week’s episode. Importantly, this week’s show with guest Stacey Lee is about why we write, how it’s our birthright, and how we can push through some of the guilt and/or apathy some writers have felt over this past year-plus about whether or how much their writing might matter, especially in the face and wake of greater suffering.

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Ready, Set, Memoir, featuring Lindsey Grant Jun 21, 2021

In this week’s episode we celebrate Lindsey Grant’s new book, Ready, Set, Memoir, a new book out in collaboration with NaNoWriMo, and which features many Write-minded past guests. This week’s show is full of memoir tips, and also supports aspiring memoirists to stay the course in their process—because we know it’s challenging. Ready, Set, Memoir is a book—and an episode—that touches upon the highs and lows of memoir writing.

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Comedy as Tragedy Plus Time, featuring Annabelle Gurwitch Jun 14, 2021

Oh, the challenge to be funny on the page. This week’s episode includes actual tips from guest Annabelle Gurwitch for how to do just that, as well as warnings from Brooke and Grant, like why to avoid comparing yourself to other comedic writers. They also discuss why the short form lends itself to humor writing, and share some of the funniest writers they love—all while getting a little punchy. The episode was recorded late in the day—so blame it on that.

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“Whodunnits” and Other Genre Fiction We Love, featuring Tracy Clark Jun 07, 2021

Whether you love genre fiction already, or wonder why you never pick it up, this episode is an informative and eye-opening delve into crime fiction (and other genre fiction generally). We talk about the “genre wars” (what is that?) and also hear from Tracy about her amazingly disciplined approach to getting the job done. Tracy talks about her process, her mentors, and how she learned to write crime, and she leaves listeners with some inspiring words of encouragement for their own writing.

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