Writing with Friends – Details, episodes & analysis

We’ll be talking about something that can really elevate your writing: the power of subtext in storytelling. It’s one of those elements that, when done right, adds a whole new layer of meaning to your work!

Picks of the Week:

BJ: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

H: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Mentioned in the Episode:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Breaking Bad (TV Show) 

Mad Men (TV Show)

Welcome to a tool deep dive episode, where we highlight the features and the challenges of a tool we think you’ll find helpful as a writer. And the tool we’ll be talking about today is Tarot! Are you curious about tarot? Using a tarot deck can be a fun way to infuse your writing life with inspiration and encouragement. 

Picks of the Week:

• H: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

• BJ: A Descent into the Maelström by Edgar Allan Poe

Mentioned in the Episode:

• This Might Hurt Tarot Deck

• Modern Witch Tarot Deck

• Good Karma Tarot Deck

• The Biddy Tarot Podcast

• Guided Tarot by Stefanie Caponi

• The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean

• Tarot for Writers by Corinne Kenner

• Tarot for the Fiction Writer by Paula Scardamalia

• Typewriter Tarot (Creative Coven)

Welcome to a tool deep dive episode, where we highlight the features and the challenges of a tool we think you’ll find helpful as a writer. And the tool we’ll be talking about today is Grammarly. Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and even some style suggestions. It’s like having a personal editor at your fingertips! But there are some downsides to using Grammarly, too. We’ll discuss both the pros and cons of this tool for writers on today’s episode.

Picks of the Week:

H:  The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

BJ: Jumper by Steven Gould

Mentioned in the Episode:

Grammarly

Show Notes

Today, we’ll be talking to writer Dr. Alexandra Middleton. She’s an Assistant Professor of medical anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, creative nonfiction writer and essayist, runner, swimmer, and more! Tune in to hear about her career as well as her advice for aspiring writers. 

Mentioned in the Episode: 

Alexandra’s Work

• https://www.liminalliety.com/ (Alexandra's Website)

• https://therumpus.net/2023/04/11/terra-incognita/

Other Works Mentioned

• https://1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/about

• https://www.oprah.com/spirit/writing-every-day-writers-rules-aimee-bender/all

• https://www.accountabilityworkshops.com/

• https://pod.link/1623390096

• https://lidiayuknavitch.net/

• https://www.melissafebos.com/

• http://www.jordankisner.com/thresholds

• http://link.chtbl.com/tcahp

Craft Books

• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

• Steering the Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin

• How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

Essays and Books on Motherhood (from The Liminal Substack)

• “The Birth of My Daughter, The Death of My Marriage” by Leslie Jamison

• My Work by Olga Ravn

• “I Shock Myself” from The Ann Friedman Weekly newsletter
  

Today, we’ll finish up our summer quote series.

I’m excited to announce that this is the last episode of Season 4. BJ and I are cooking up a new season for you right now– with lots of craft tips, tool deep dives, fireside chats, and interviews with other writers. That season – Season 5 – will begin releasing every Monday starting September 16. We can’t wait.

Other mini episodes in our quote series: 

S4E21 MINI: Standing on the Shoulders of Literary Giants

S4E22 MINI: Paradox and Playfulness in the Writing Life

S4E23 MINI: Why Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels Matter

Mentioned in the Episode:

Wired for Story:The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron

The Quest to Understand Consciousness – A TedTalk by Dr. Antonio Damasio

Unmasking the Muse (blogpost by Lisa Cron)

Mentioned in Episode:

Other mini episodes in our quote series

S4E21 MINI: Standing on the Shoulders of Literary Giants

S4E22 MINI: Paradox and Playfulness in the Writing Life

Books by Madeleine L’Engle:

Many Waters

A Ring of Endless Light

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

And Both Were Young

Newbery Award Acceptance Speech: The Expanding Universe (1963)

On today’s mini episode, we’re looking at another of my favorite quotes about the writing life.

“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Let’s discuss how this quote might speak to us about the lightness and playfulness required to creativity. 

Mentioned in Episode:

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The first episode in our quote series: S4E21 MINI: Standing on the Shoulders of (Literary) Giants

On today’s episode, we’ll begin a short series looking at some of my favorite quotes as they apply to writing.

And today’s quote is:

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton

Let's think together about the tension between the ideal of the creative genius and the reality of the creative process.

Mentioned in the Episode:

The Marginalian: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Story Behind Newton’s Famous Metaphor for How Knowledge Progresses by Maria Popova

Paper Lantern Writers: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants by Jonathan Posner

Isaac Newton by Games Gleick

Our question for today’s mini episode is...

How and why should I write until failure?

Today we'll talk about how to write to failure both in terms of honing your craft and in terms of sharing your work with an audience.

Do you have thoughts on failure and the writing life? Do you have ways you push to failure that I didn’t mention? We'd love to hear from you. Our email address writingwithfriendspodcast@gmail.com.

Mentioned in the Episode

Zone of Proximal Development by WestEd

How Often Should You Take Your Sets to Fail? (StrengthLog Podcast)

Our question for today’s mini episode is...

How do I keep up a writing practice when life gets busy?

We'll discuss four strategies for staying engaged in your writing practice when other responsibilities loom large. Mentioned in the Episode:

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Revision Spreadsheet (WWF Episodes S4E3 and S1E10)