Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Elizabeth and Angie were thrilled to talk with author and journalist Vanessa Hua about her award-winning novel, A River of Stars, her collection of short stories Deceit and Other Possibilites, and her work as a journalist. Vanessa is in the process of revising her actual first novel, which will be forthcoming from the publisher of her official first novel. Topics of dicussion include: Juggling and balancing projects and genres; thinking about a book of stories as an album not a series of singles; focused v diffuse thinking and the varying role of outlines or “scaffolding” for journalism and for fiction; the way the context of the present impacts the writing of historical fiction; and how and what to get right about, for example, the flow of time in your story. Research, Vanessa says, should be the floor and not the ceiling. They delve into the limits and freedoms of historical fiction and how to write about what is outside the historical record; platform, engaging in the conversation, building relationships with bookstores and festivals, as a fan and maybe as a volunteer; disclosure and concealments; theme; and to whom a narrator addresses a book.
Vanessa Hua
Author and Journalist
Vanessa Hua is an award-winning, best-selling author and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her novel, A River of Stars, was named to the Washington Post and NPR’s Best Books of 2018 lists, and has been called a “marvel” by O, The Oprah Magazine, and “delightful” by The Economist. Her short story collection, Deceit and Other Possibilities, received an Asian/Pacific American Award in Literature and was a finalist for a California Book Award, and will be reissued by Counterpoint in 2020.
Photo credit: Andria Lo
Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.
The hosts:
Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.
Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.