Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted') and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer's "writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.
Podcasting since 2022 • 195 episodes
Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
Latest Episodes
Episode 195 - The adopt a dog technique.
One of the best ways to have readers like our story is to have readers like--maybe even love--our main character. But we usually don't want our protagonist to be a Pollyanna, always sweet and understanding. Rather we want to c...
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29:01
Episode 194 - How to invent a strong plot.
We want to write but we don't have our story fully figured out. What can we do? Here are thoughts on inventing plot, things we can do to shake loose the plot from our brains. Also, the techniques of a master of character descr...
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25:05
Episode 193 - Plotting: go big or go home.
Fiction's job is to entertain. A main way to entertain is to be bold with our plot. Here are thoughts on how to avoid the dull in our plot and how to create a story that keeps readers turning the pages. Also, how to invent str...
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26:43
Episode 192 - Plotting: the importance of conflict, crisis, resolution.
In fiction in all genres only trouble is interesting. How do we writers use trouble in our story? Here are thoughts on how we can plot using conflict, crisis, and resolution, a technique important for all genres. Also, should ...
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25:11