In this week’s episode, Angie and Elizabeth chat with one of Elizabeth’s high school classmates, Daniel Jokelson, about being a maggid—a kind of wandering storyteller. Storytelling has worked its way into every aspect of Daniel’s life, from being a singer-songwriter to acting with a company in Ashland Oregon even to teaching stories with the local Jewish youth group. And while the modes of story are incredibly different, Daniel finds a common thread in seeing the big picture of each art form, and connecting that to the audience who is hearing it. His work is all about finding the curiosity, bringing authenticity to preconstructed story, and most importantly, finding the medicine each tale has to offer.

Rogue World Music

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

So I Married An Axe Murderer

Twelve Angry Men (1997)

Marathon Man

Article on Avoiding Cliches

Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister

Music & storytelling: reverbnation.com/danieljokelson

Blogging about sustainable agriculture: dannyfarmboy.blogspot.com

Current production: roguetheatercompany.com

This week Angie and Elizabeth welcome back Devi Laskar to talk about how far she has come in a year. From finding an agent, to being about to be published, to hearing a sample from the audiobook of her debut novel, Devi is a powerhouse of creation. Since 2010, when her writing was seized from her by government agents, she’s found a way to persevere and generate more material. Angie asks about this material generating, and Devi talks about how she gets itchy and grumpy and upset if she’s not doing something every day, knowing full well that not every day will be as productive as the rest.

Episode 61 with Devi

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

Citizen by Claudia Rankine

Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison

Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli

Sonoma County Writer’s Camp

One Day At a Time theme song

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Women In Madness by Phyllis Chesler

Devi Laskar

In today’s episode, Angie and Elizabeth check back in to see how Angie’s experiment with “bad” writing went. When working to write badly, Angie found that she was not writing terribly enough. And that these kinds of judgements, be it failing to write well or poorly, limit creativity. Drop the wall of expectation and write. Think of it as an experiment or whatever makes most sense to you, and most importantly, play. Try not to limit yourself and instead reinvigorate the joy that writing brings. Quiet that little voice in your head and write. As the Bard says, “for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” If you have any questions, comments, or experiments you think Angie and Elizabeth should try, please send them to questions@storymakersshow.com

Annie Dillard

Steven Pressfield

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Sonoma County Writers Camp

The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi Laskar

In this today’s episode, Angie and Elizabeth chat about Bad Writing and how sometimes purposefully writing “badly” can show you how much you know (or don’t) about writing. We often have a mystical approach to creativity, and if we lower our expectations some we won’t succumb to perfectionism. Angie accepts Elizabeth’s challenge to sit down and write “badly” in the upcoming week, in order to see whether or not the wording of the challenge will build an identity of a bad writer or provide a measure of freedom. And they both agree that art isn’t about good or bad, it’s about creating. So tell that little voice in your head that offers nothing but criticism to take a breather and just write.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Love Simon

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott

Jody Picoult

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Why People Like Us Do This chat with Seth Godins

“I should hate forever to be a burden to you” Lessons in Love from Virginia Woolfe and Vita Sackville-West by Jeanna Kadlec

The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi Laskar

Crave by Christine O’Brien