Tiffin Inn Writing Workshop (with Imposter Syndrome & Unlimited Refills)

Tim and Art welcome acclaimed writer and editor Aaron Burch to the corner booth to talk about his process and his newly released novel Tacoma. Aaron Burch is the author of the essay collection, A Kind of In-Between; the novel, Year of the Buffalo; the memoir/literary analysis Stephen King's The Body; and the short story collection, Backswing. He edited the craft anthology How to Write a Novel: An Anthology of 20 Craft Essays About Writing, None of Which Ever Mention Writing, and is currently the editor of the journals Short Story, Long and HAD. He grew up in Tacoma and lives in Michigan, where he teaches at the University of Michigan. To contact us, e-mail TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Tim tries to answer the question from the end of last episode: "What about the work that you are doing makes you feel like it matters so much that you want to finish it?" To contact the show, email us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Art comes clean about his current aversion to writing fiction, where he is struggling to find the relevance of fiction amidst the chaos of modern life. Tim asserts a much more optimistic perspective and tries to convince Art to explore his own personal history as way to reignite his love of writing, whether creative nonfiction or fiction. Enjoy the unfiltererd angst of the creative process! To contact us, e-mail TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Art explores how mining your own personal history can help create characters who feel real by sharing an embarassing similarity between his life and The Great Gatsby. To contact the show, email us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Tim and Art welcome "friend of the show" Emily Rinkema to the corner booth! Emily shares that she is now an Assistant Editor at FlashFrog. The gang discusses how to write into a narrative with dialogue and spends a good deal of time exploring the pros and cons of the components of "Point of View" - person, tense, and mood - in practical terms so they can apply it to their own fiction. The following were resources were referenced in the discussion: How to Kill a Fisher (2nd person) : Mudroom Magazine (by Emily Rinkema) Matt Kendrick's amazing writing resource page The Power of Love (3rd person) : Jake (by Tim Goodwin)   To contact us, e-mail TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Art describes what "Draft Zero" is in his novel writing process and outlines a four-step process for drafting the novel in 2026. To contact the show, email us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Tim reveals how he is prepping for his 2nd draft of his novel while Art explores how his process differs from Tim's, especially in what constitutes a "first draft." Join this spirited discussion already in progress to compare the ah-ha! moments to your process. To contact us, e-mail TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Art describes three different stages of story development and explains how and why he and Tim provide different types of feedback depending on the stage the story is in. "Feedback on a work in progress can nurture a story or kill it, so we try to give feedback that helps enhance its strengths rather than showcase its flaws." To contact the show, email us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Heather Colley, author of the debut novel The Gilded Butterfly Effect. Heather Colley's short fiction has won awards including the Oxford Review of Books short fiction prize, the Hopwood Award, the BNU-Oxford short fiction prize (runner-up), and the Desperate Literature Prize shortlist. Heather is a PhD student in English Literature at Oxford University. She holds a master's degree in literature from St Andrews University and a bachelor's degree in the same subject from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. You can find out more about Heather Colley at https://www.heathercolleyauthor.com/. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Art explores how to get closer to feeling unstoppable. By uncovering why you want to do the work, you can fuel the creative mind to pursue your goals. Join Art as he reveals his own inner cycle of learning, forgetting, and reediscovering the simplicity of his writing fuel. To contact the show, email us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

A new chapter of the show is upon us! Tim and Art welcome each other back to the corner booth with the classic "What I Did Last Summer" style recaps. Art does a deeper dive on writing professionally for others, specifically what worked and what didn't in his game writing gig.  Tim recounts his process improvements arising from his job change and his renewed focus on managing time more effectively. Both Tim and Art pledge new targets for Chapter Six of the show and identify goals on sharing work in progress. To contact us, e-mail TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. 

Tim and Art recap their highlights of Season 5, from the outstanding guests and friends of the show to the lessons learned, before looking ahead to Season 6 and beyond. While Tim and Art are on hiatus (returning in early October), feel free to contact them at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always here to support you on your writing journey.

Tim discusses how he uses prompts to keep his creativity flowing, then proposes a way to use genre (especially genres you don't usually visit) to spark new story ideas.  Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Megan Michelle, author of the debut novel Skylark. Megan Michelle's stories blend the raw emotions of military life, the strength of feminism, and the passion of forbidden love. Her stories invite you to dive deep into the hearts of women who don't just survive—they thrive, reclaiming their power and rewriting their stories on their own terms.  Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Art discusses the elusive sources of "inspiration" in our work, reading a long lost story fragment into the record as an object lesson in how the thing that inspires you might not be the thing you ultimately end up writing about. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Tim and Art discuss why they write and it has only a little to do with hot tubs! Join Tim and Art in the corner booth as they reveal why it is essential to articulate your personal "why," how that has changed over time, and what that knowledge can do to energize your current work.  Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Art explores the value in understanding "why" we want to write fiction, how that "why" can change over time, and how this knowledge can improve our overall quality. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Nick Peck, a 24 year-old California native and award-winning journalist, to discuss his debut novel "Only Way Out" available here. Tim and Art discuss how Nick's mining of his own emotional story made the novel feeling "easy" to write. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Art presents a straightforward, 3-stage approach for writing a short story (Start, Say Something, Finish) that can lower those mental barriers and simplify the work of getting that magical first draft out of your head. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.

Tim shares his perspective on publishing in his dream lit mag a whopping three times! Tim and Art discuss the best ways for Tim to revisit his novel to jump-start his progress. Then, Art teases thoughts about his latest ghostwriting opportunity and how satisfying it is to make money from creative writing. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at TiffinInnWritingWorkshop@gmail.com. Tim and Art are always happy to get the conversation started.