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Episode 97: Rachel Howard – Working on Why Now

Episode 97: Rachel Howard – Working on Why Now

by | Apr 23, 2019 | Show

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While Angie is prepping an after dinner chat for Sonoma County Writer’s Camp and Elizabeth continues to revise, they talk with Rachel Howard about her process. First having worked on a memoir, Rachel recently launched novel The Risk of Us. They discuss the “why now” aspect that is in both novels and memoirs, as well as the rhythms of three and how they can translate to books and not just on screen. They end with the idea of how writing is about paying attention to the world and making it into something. As ever, continue writing!

Rachel Howard

Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Maggie Nelson

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

storymakersshow.com/raffle

Rachel Howard

RACHEL HOWARD earned her MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College and is the author of a memoir, The Lost Night, and a novel, The Risk of Us. She is the recipient of a MacDowell Colony fellowship, and her fiction, essays, and dance criticism have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

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.

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Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

by | Apr 9, 2019 | Show

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Elizabeth continues to re-write and Angie is preparing to “collect rejections” as she begins submitting her film Lost in the Middle to festivals. They discuss complicated versus complex stories—is the difference in the eye of the beholder?  Elizabeth reads 16 tweets by author Mira Jacobs about her experiences in the literary world as a woman of color writing stories deemed to have “too many elements” and brings up Hilton Als’ recent review of Suzan-Lori Parks’ new play, White Noise. Story Makers Show is also holding a raffle to determine their new sign off!

Mira Jacob

Suzan-Lori Parks

Hilton Als

Association of Writers and Writing Programs

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

storymakersshow.com/raffle

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.

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Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

Episode 96: The Soul of Wit

by | Apr 2, 2019 | Show

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In today’s podcast Angie and Elizabeth discuss brevity. Briefly.

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.

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Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

Episode 95: ‘Tis a Gift? Simplicity in Story

by | Mar 25, 2019 | Show

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Elizabeth and Angie talk about simplicity. How to strip out what isn’t necessary. Why simple motives are more convincing, according to Angie and Matt Bird. What Einstein might have said about simplicity. What Elaine Scarry might have said about reading. Why the 5-whys method from systems analysis can help you understand your characters, their world views, decisions, actions and emotions. And that Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island brings emotion to the fore.

Write to us a @questions@storymakersshow.com or post them on the Story Makers Show page on Facebook or hit reply to this newsletter and ask away!

 

 

Links Discussed:

Matt Bird

Einstein Quote

Elaine Scarry

5-whys method

Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island

 

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

Episode 94: Of Mice and Marie Kondo

by | Mar 12, 2019 | Show

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After Angie almost pulls an all nighter and while Elizabeth exists in a new waiting state, they find themselves with their own inciting incident and metaphor for character. Mice. People and characters tend to take the path of least resistance, and it is that inciting incident that pushes them into action. While Angie and Elizabeth take stock of which physical things “spark joy,” Elizabeth wonders if perhaps the same KonMari method could be applied to writing. When you are stuck about how the character would approach bringing equilibrium to their situation, imagine: what if they had mice?

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

Marie Kondo

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

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.

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Episode 97: 16 Tweets from Mira Jacob

Episode 93: The Love and the Hate (of Writing)

by | Feb 26, 2019 | Show

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Elizabeth and Angie discuss what we LOVE about writing. Because, why not? The conversation also touches on how much we retrain of what we hear v. what we teach, Ellen Sussman’s Rule of Three, thinking about what’s going to happen next in a story, the joy of learning, the pleasure of getting swept up in the story you are creating, entertaining yourself, aspects of pre-writing, the advantage of boredom and reveries, being a wierdo and not worrying about it, deep focus, paying attention, pruning (not prose but fruit trees), taking the train to Reno, nonsense writing, morning writing, editing, napping, and writing to get clarity about what you think. But there’s more! We also talk about what we hate about writing, about shame, about the beginning and end of writing, about being edited, about the critical voice and negotiating with sanbateurs and the benefits and life-saving aspects of having life coaches. Finally we touch on Kim Addanizio, Franz Kafka, and Oliva Coleman’s Oscar speech. It’s a rich half hour. Join us!

“It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.” --Franz Kafka

 

Links Discussed:

Kim Addonizio poem
Vivian Maier photos and documentary
Olivia Coleman’s Oscar Speech

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS