The First Draft Club

This week I'm talking with my dear friend Greg Marshall, our memoir instructor inside the Book Incubator. Greg talks about how he wrote his own memoir, Leg, and how he didn't abandon the material in early drafts when it wasn't working. He just kept circling the same stories and recombining them until they found their shape. We also get into one of my favorite ideas from this conversation: "narrative perch," the question of exactly who is telling the story you're reading. We also talk about how nailing that down lets a memoirist time-travel through their own life without losing the reader.  Make sure to come back next week for part two of this conversation, where Greg breaks down how to write a better paragraph. About Greg: Greg Marshall is the author of Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It (2023) and The Book Incubator's current memoirist-in-residence. He's a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in Prose and a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers, and his work has appeared in The Best American Essays and been supported by MacDowell and the Corporation of Yaddo. Greg grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and now lives in Austin, TX, with his husband, novelist Lucas Schaefer (author of The Slip, winner of the Kirkus Prize), their son, and their dog. Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review! For more resources, visit thebookincubator.com. Want to watch the video episodes? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram: @book.incubator  Happy writing! — Mary ======================== RESOURCES: Ready to write your dream book? Apply for The Book Incubator with no obligation to enroll and get my free training HOW TO WRITE AN (ACTUALLY) GOOD BOOK IN 45 MINUTES A DAY: https://www.thebookincubator.com/ A Novel in 52 Prompts - A scene-by-scene blueprint for writing your novel: https://www.thebookincubator.com/novel-in-52-prompts  ======================== Hi, I'm Mary! I'm the author of the novels When You Read This (Indie Next Pick and “Best Book of 2019” by Good Housekeeping), Privilege (Today.com “Best Summer Read”), and Palm Beach (New York Post “Best Book of 2021” and “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable” according to the Associated Press). My memoir, You Might Feel A Little Pressure, was released by Third Rail Press in 2025. My books have been published in 13 countries, and I've written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. I founded an MFA-alternative, The Book Incubator, which has now helped hundreds of writers finish their books over 12 months and continues supporting them through publication (yes, forever!).  When I’m not writing, I’m probably building a fort with my 7-year-old son Finn or bathing with an overpriced Lush bath bomb. I live in Dallas, where I spend my free time trying to domesticate a stubborn tabby and shamelessly watching reality TV. ======================== Social: + Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book.incubator

Register for my free workshop, How Much Money Can You Make On Your Book?, at workshop.thebookincubator.com. Live on Sep 10th or register to get the replay! Publishing is a black box for aspiring authors. You don't know what you don't know about the industry. But Publishers Marketplace is an aspiring author's best untapped resource — the most useful resource you don't know you're missing until you have it. In this episode, I'm showing you what it is, how to use it, and why this website where publishing professionals report their book deals can be your most useful tool when preparing to get a literary agent and a book deal. Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review! For more resources, visit thebookincubator.com. Want to watch the video episodes? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram: @book.incubator  Happy writing! — Mary ======================== RESOURCES: + Ready to write your dream book? Apply for The Book Incubator with no obligation to enroll and get my free training HOW TO WRITE AN (ACTUALLY) GOOD BOOK IN 45 MINUTES A DAY: https://www.thebookincubator.com/ + A Novel in 52 Prompts - A scene-by-scene blueprint for writing your novel: https://www.thebookincubator.com/novel-in-52-prompts  ======================== Hi, I'm Mary! I'm the author of the novels When You Read This (Indie Next Pick and “Best Book of 2019” by Good Housekeeping), Privilege (Today.com “Best Summer Read”), and Palm Beach (New York Post “Best Book of 2021” and “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable” according to the Associated Press). My memoir, You Might Feel A Little Pressure, was released by Third Rail Press in 2025. My books have been published in 13 countries, and I've written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. I founded an MFA-alternative, The Book Incubator, which has now helped hundreds of writers finish their books over 12 months and continues supporting them through publication (yes, forever!).  When I’m not writing, I’m probably building a fort with my 7-year-old son Finn or bathing with an overpriced Lush bath bomb. I live in Dallas, where I spend my free time trying to domesticate a stubborn tabby and shamelessly watching reality TV. ======================== Social: + Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book.incubator

In this episode, I'm sharing six ways I've found to make my own writing more pleasurable—the actual habits that get me into the story faster and with less friction. Some are practical (like why I don't write sitting at a desk). One of them has been the single biggest game-changer for my writing life recently. Interested in dictation for your writing process? Here's the podcast episode I mention, How I'm Using Dictation to Write My Next Novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8d5vF0AVg  Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review! For more resources, visit thebookincubator.com. Want to watch the video episodes? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram: @book.incubator  Happy writing! — Mary ======================== RESOURCES: + Ready to write your dream book? Apply for The Book Incubator with no obligation to enroll and get my free training HOW TO WRITE AN (ACTUALLY) GOOD BOOK IN 45 MINUTES A DAY: https://www.thebookincubator.com/ + A Novel in 52 Prompts - A scene-by-scene blueprint for writing your novel: https://www.thebookincubator.com/novel-in-52-prompts  ======================== Hi, I'm Mary! I'm the author of the novels When You Read This (Indie Next Pick and “Best Book of 2019” by Good Housekeeping), Privilege (Today.com “Best Summer Read”), and Palm Beach (New York Post “Best Book of 2021” and “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable” according to the Associated Press). My memoir, You Might Feel A Little Pressure, was released by Third Rail Press in 2025. My books have been published in 13 countries, and I've written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. I founded an MFA-alternative, The Book Incubator, which has now helped hundreds of writers finish their books over 12 months and continues supporting them through publication (yes, forever!).  When I’m not writing, I’m probably building a fort with my 7-year-old son Finn or bathing with an overpriced Lush bath bomb. I live in Dallas, where I spend my free time trying to domesticate a stubborn tabby and shamelessly watching reality TV. ======================== Social: + Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book.incubator

For years I've said the reason I'm not an outliner is that once I've outlined a story, I feel like I've already written it—and it stops being fun.  But a writer in the Book Incubator recently brought me a more specific version of this problem: what happens when you love your outline, don't want to change a single thing about it, and you've still lost all your excitement to actually sit down and write it? In this episode: + Why losing interest in your own outline doesn't always mean the story itself needs to change + How to get to the part you're actually excited to write (and what to do with the rest) + The real reason writing while bored hurts both you and the reader Related episode: What to Do with Scenes You Don’t Want to Write but Think You Have to → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOqQkkqhk3A&t=4s Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review! For more resources, visit thebookincubator.com. Want to watch the video episodes? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram: @book.incubator  Happy writing! — Mary ======================== RESOURCES: + Ready to write your dream book? Apply for The Book Incubator with no obligation to enroll and get my free training HOW TO WRITE AN (ACTUALLY) GOOD BOOK IN 45 MINUTES A DAY: https://www.thebookincubator.com/ + A Novel in 52 Prompts - A scene-by-scene blueprint for writing your novel: https://www.thebookincubator.com/novel-in-52-prompts  ======================== Hi, I'm Mary! I'm the author of the novels When You Read This (Indie Next Pick and “Best Book of 2019” by Good Housekeeping), Privilege (Today.com “Best Summer Read”), and Palm Beach (New York Post “Best Book of 2021” and “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable” according to the Associated Press). My memoir, You Might Feel A Little Pressure, was released by Third Rail Press in 2025. My books have been published in 13 countries, and I've written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. I founded an MFA-alternative, The Book Incubator, which has now helped hundreds of writers finish their books over 12 months and continues supporting them through publication (yes, forever!).  When I’m not writing, I’m probably building a fort with my 7-year-old son Finn or bathing with an overpriced Lush bath bomb. I live in Dallas, where I spend my free time trying to domesticate a stubborn tabby and shamelessly watching reality TV. ======================== Social: + Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book.incubator

I was talking recently with a writer in The Book Incubator who'd hit a very specific kind of revision fear, and that conversation (along with being mid-remodel and thinking about load-bearing walls) led to today's podcast episode. I walk through a quick exercise for how to revise character arc in your own manuscript without unraveling the whole plot — and how to tell when it's actually a sign you need the bigger structural rewrite after all. In this episode: + Why deepening your character's arc can feel like it's about to topple your whole plot + The load-bearing wall metaphor I can't stop thinking about mid-renovation + How the Enneagram taught me that two characters can make the exact same choice for totally different reasons + A 10-minute exercise to test whether your revision needs a full rewrite — or just an interiority pass Mentioned in this episode: S11 E2: Not Only Do People Change, They ONLY Change: https://youtu.be/FZMMOoseCTQ  Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review! For more resources, visit thebookincubator.com. Want to watch the video episodes? Visit https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram: @book.incubator  Happy writing! — Mary ======================== RESOURCES: + Ready to write your dream book? Apply for The Book Incubator with no obligation to enroll and get my free training HOW TO WRITE AN (ACTUALLY) GOOD BOOK IN 45 MINUTES A DAY: https://www.thebookincubator.com/ + A Novel in 52 Prompts - A scene-by-scene blueprint for writing your novel: https://www.thebookincubator.com/novel-in-52-prompts  ======================== Hi, I'm Mary! I'm the author of the novels When You Read This (Indie Next Pick and “Best Book of 2019” by Good Housekeeping), Privilege (Today.com “Best Summer Read”), and Palm Beach (New York Post “Best Book of 2021” and “like a sandy beach, equal parts beautiful and uncomfortable” according to the Associated Press). My memoir, You Might Feel A Little Pressure, was released by Third Rail Press in 2025. My books have been published in 13 countries, and I've written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. I founded an MFA-alternative, The Book Incubator, which has now helped hundreds of writers finish their books over 12 months and continues supporting them through publication (yes, forever!).  When I’m not writing, I’m probably building a fort with my 7-year-old son Finn or bathing with an overpriced Lush bath bomb. I live in Dallas, where I spend my free time trying to domesticate a stubborn tabby and shamelessly watching reality TV. ======================== Social: + Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book.incubator