Start With This

Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing. Guest: Sarah Maria Griffin, https://twitter.com/griffski CONSUME: “AACK Cast!” a podcast about the comic strip Cathy by Jamie Loftus CREATE: Write a 200-400 word monologue for a live audience. Interact with your audience in some way. Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular. Guest: Janina Matthewson, https://twitter.com/j9andif CONSUME: Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! (anime series) CREATE: Think of a story or project you’ve let sit idle. Write a letter from the point of view of someone who has just bought, or commissioned, or earned the distribution rights for this work. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Writing more with less. Guest: Brie Williams, https://twitter.com/briezillionaire CONSUME: Getting on with James Urbaniak (podcast), specifically episode 22 “Status” CREATE: Write a 200-400 word short story, It can be a monologue. Or it can be a dialogue. But every sentence must be short. Make them 6 words or fewer. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

How do you land the ending? CONSUME: Three options: 1)The last three pages of Inherent Vice, starting where the character gets on the freeway. 2) The last four minutes of Six Feet Under. Easily found on youtube by searching “Six Feet Under ending”. 3) Pick one of your favorite ending. Could be a podcast, movie, tv show, book, whatever. Reexamine it carefully. What kind of ending is it? Is it mirroring the opening? Is it following the characters to the end? Is it a tangent? Or is it doing something else? Does it have a button? Most importantly, what specifically makes it a great ending for you? The more you can pay attention to that, the more you can develop your own tastes of what you like in your own work. CREATE: Think of your least favorite film or book or show. Not one you hate or one that is offensive and irredeemable in your mind. Just a story you found lacking. Now write a 200-400 review of that film, book, or show. But make it a rave review. No need for superlatives like masterpiece or perfection. Focus your review on all the things that this story got right. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Elevating basic language to something special. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure. CONSUME: Podcast ¡Uy Que Horror! particularly the episode “2012: Kurse a di Xtabai (Belize)” CREATE: Think of your least favorite film or book or show. Not one you hate or one that is offensive and irredeemable in your mind. Just a story you found lacking. Now write a 200-400 review of that film, book, or show. But make it a rave review. No need for superlatives like masterpiece or perfection. Focus your review on all the things that this story got right. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

What makes a good tease? Listen and find out. CONSUME: “Lupin” French Crime/Adventure Drama on Netflix CREATE: Write a 200-600 story that follows the line: “I found them/her/him waiting for me when I got home, but they/she/he had been dead for 10 years.” Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Just follow these simple rules and something something... CONSUME: Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-rules-for-good-writing CREATE: Write a 200-500 word story about a ship at sea during a bad storm, and the attempts at the crew to keep it afloat. Now write a 200-500 word story with the same premise, but try to follow Elmore Leonard’s rules exactly. Keep strictly to the letter and the spirit of it. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

What makes something weird, and is that a good thing? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest literary peaks! Or… work on your craft. CONSUME: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or its sequel, World Without End. Or, for a less committal and free option, the BBC fiction podcast "Home Front" CREATE: Think about an obscure subject you know a great deal about. Now write a 200-600 word story that has the following plot: Person A, who is evil, kidnaps Person B, who is good. Person C, who is also good, rescues Person B, goodly, and in the process, Person A accidentally falls off a cliff because they are evil and that’s what happens to evil. Person B and Person C live happily ever after. You can play with the details but you get the point, a simple melodramatic story. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Good artists borrow; great artists steal. What? Let's break this down. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Getting there is 1/x the fun! CONSUME: “The Sink” a 6-episode podcast by Natasha Hodgson, produced by the BBC CREATE: Write a 200 word murder “mystery” that explains who the murder is, how they did it and why. Don’t worry about building tension or detailed descriptions. Just give the spoilers. Now write 200-400 words describing the birth of a child. This child will eventually become the murderer in your first story, but don’t address that here. Just describe the birth of a child. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

You’re a writer, because you write. Don’t tell yourself otherwise. CONSUME: “Dead Eyes” a podcast by Connor Ratliff CREATE: Pick a creative idea that you haven’t executed yet. Write a 200-400 word review of the finished work. Imagine, of course, that it’s already done, even though it’s not. Write as a critic. Find the positives of your work. And offer some critiques too, but don’t make this a negative review. Every masterpiece has its shortcomings. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Celebrating the act of daily creation with Jonathan Mann. CONSUME: Go listen to more of Jonathan Mann’s podcast “As It Happens” CREATE: Start with the same basic image as Jonathan: the growing cloud of space debris around earth. Write a 100-200 word piece about the space debris. But more important than the final product, think through your creative decisions. Notice yourself deciding on tone (angry? Sad? Playful?). Notice what images interest you. Notice the metaphors you use, and why you chose those ones. Try in writing this very short piece, to be aware of the choices you make every time you create anything, and why you make those choices (and also if there are choices you usually make, and if you could choose something else instead) Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Stop and describe the roses. CONSUME: Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden CREATE: Write a 200 or so word description of your neighborhood. Give us a texture of the sights and the smells and the sounds. Remember that what you’re going for here is more poetry and language than storytelling. Write something real pretty. Now go to the Random Mood Generator (https://perchance.org/mood). Get a random mood. And write another 200 or so word description of your neighborhood, that in some way reflects that mood. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

There's so much more to horror, we couldn’t stop at Lovecraft. CONSUME: Watch any of the movies on Joseph’s horror movie recommendation list: https://twitter.com/PlanetofFinks/status/1311695218505379841?s=20 CREATE: Think about an irrational fear you have of something real. This should not be a fear that is reasonable, but something like: fear of flying, fear of wasps, fear of the dark (these are all just fears Joseph has, I’m sure you have your own). Now instead of thinking about the source of that fear, think about your own feelings. What kinds of fears are activated by this phobia? Loss of control? Fear of the unknown? Fear of pain? Now write a 300-500 word story about that fear, but replace the focus of your fear (wasps, flying, etc.) with a supernatural entity. Could be a ghost or a zombie or a demon or an alien or whatever. But still, even though it’s now a supernatural story, try to recreate the exact feeling of fear your phobia gives you. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

Lovecraft was a racist and a bad writer, yet his ideas and his stories live on. So what do we do with them? CONSUME: “The Ballad of Black Tom” (novella) by Victor Lavalle, “Lovecraft Country” (tv series) on HBO, “The City We Became” (novel) by NK Jemisin CREATE: 1) Write 100-200 words about a hole that appears in the sky. Use this to explore fear of the unknown. When did the hole appear? What is it doing from our perspective? Don’t describe what’s in the hole or how it formed. Just describe how people react to its appearance. 2) Write 100-200 words about exactly what the hole is, and what it does. This second story can just be a sketch. Allow yourself to strip away all horror and just see the hole for exactly what it is. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com

A character has a problem. As a result of that problem, they make a decision. As a result of that decision, they change. CONSUME: “Schitt’s Creek” on Netflix CREATE: Write a 200-word story about a super spy who has been incapacitated by a super villain. He’s chained to a conveyor belt on his way into an incinerator. Or locked inside a cage being lowered into the ocean. Then they make a decision based on their experience. Maybe it’s action, strength, wit, or intelligence. But they make a decision, and that decision has a consequence (they escape! They get injured! A bystander gets hurt!). And in the end, something significant has changed for them, and it’s because of that choice and the consequence. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or share it in our membership community. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com