Start With This

We talk a lot about creating with enough speed to turn writing into habit, but working slowly puts the finish line so far out of sight that you can focus on something other than the final outcome. Slowness is a way to make something big by allowing you to break your writing down into manageable parts, and gives you enough space to enjoy the process. It also means you can work a little bit on something everyday, even if you don’t know what it is yet. ** **Consume: The Taxonomy of Air, a visual art piece by Susan D’Amato Create: Every day for one week, set aside the time to write three sentences. For the first four days, just get those sentences out and don't think about the bigger picture. On day five, start thinking about where the piece is going. For the last three days, bring the piece to an end. 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/startwiththis Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (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.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com

Your writing needs a message. The way you deliver this message is up to you. Repetition is one way to get this message across. There’s almost a magic power in centering on a message, spiraling outward, and circling back to the message again and again. In this episode, we talk about using repetition to review an idea, create rhythm, reinforce comprehension, drive emphasis, and to disorient. Consume: Song Exploder Episode 28: The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud Create: Come up with a 3-10 word phrase. Now write a 200-word story and use your exact phrase at least 5 times. Concentrate on each iteration’s meaning, and how the repetition of the phrase affects your 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/startwiththis Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).  Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. 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.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com

In writing, words are your currency. So how can you maximize your spending on a budget? In this episode, we talk about how word counts can break up longer projects into achievable goals, are a form of accountability in your own process, and influence how your audience perceives your work. Plus, we discuss how knowing your own voice will help you decide how many words you want to dedicate to describing something in great detail or with great efficiency. Consume: Geoff Ryman’s novel 253. Learn more about it on Wikipedia and access it on Archive.org Create: Use a random number generator to generate ten numbers between 1-100. These ten numbers are now your word counts for each section of a ten paragraph writing piece. Follow the counts exactly and pay attention to how the word counts impact the pacing and flow. For added difficulty, find a way to let the word count influence the content of the 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/startwiththis Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. 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.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com

Working quickly means you can create faster than your doubt. In this episode, we talk about how using speed as a writing technique can be freeing and helpful. From setting timers to making word counts, writing without pausing allows you to simply get your ideas out now for you to shape later. Consume: Listen to the album, “All Hail West Texas” by The Mountain Goats Create: Set a timer for 7 minutes and write without stopping on the topic “Orange.” Then put your work aside for at least a day. After a day or two, set a timer for 23 minutes to edit and refine your piece. Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis See Start With This live in Boston on October 20. Tickets on sale now: http://startwiththispodcast.com 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), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. 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.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com

Explore the power and artistic techniques of stereo sound to enhance the listener's experience. Discuss the accessibility of stereo and analyze its use in Nickel Creek's album. Experiment with stereo techniques and share your creations on the membership forum. Get involved in assignments, creativity, collaboration, and Q&A in the membership community.

The podcast explores the process of punching up writing and knowing when to stop editing. They discuss analyzing overused words and avoiding harmful language, as well as the impact of ableist language. The hosts also delve into the challenges of the editing process and human interaction.

The podcast discusses anxiety in writing, including procrastination and distractions. They share strategies for staying focused and productive, as well as managing stress and finding balance. The importance of socializing and exploring anxieties as an artist is emphasized. They also give a writing assignment to create an experimental novel about body parts.

The heart of a good podcast isn’t in expensive mics or a nice  studio— it’s in the idea. We talk through four litmus tests to test the strength of your idea: specificity, novelty, practicality, and repeatability. Honing in on these elements will help you uncover what’s exciting about your idea, and what will make it successful. While this episode focuses on podcasting, these tests are good to consider for any artistic idea. Consume: Listen to The Worst Idea of All Time and think about how it’s specific, novel, practical, and repeatable. Create: Take a podcast (or any artistic idea) idea you have and walk through the four litmus tests. Specificity: Write the one sentence elevator pitch for your podcast. Novelty: Write one sentence about what makes your podcast different. Repeatability: Write one to two sentences to describe what Episode 40 would sound like, or what the arc of your limited series would be. Practicality: Make a list of equipment, people, and how much time you’ll need for each episode Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis See Start With This live in Boston on October 20. Tickets on sale now: http://startwiththispodcast.com 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), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. 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.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com

The podcast discusses the importance of feedback and how to effectively respond to it. It explores engaging feedback and comparing physical space versus social media platforms for receiving feedback.

Poetry can be intimidating. It’s more technical than prose, and there’s an extensive world of theory and study behind it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play around with it in your writing, and even be good at it! In this episode, Jeffrey and Joseph talk about how we naturally use poetic elements in our everyday speech, and how it can lend structure to get to the heart of what you’re describing. Consume: Read Ballad in A by Cathy Park Hong. Try to read it aloud if you can! Then check out this short feature article on Cathy Park Hong and her use of the univocalic. Create: Write a 4-line, rhyming, univocalic poem. That means you pick a vowel and use only that vowel when you write. It doesn’t have to be good, just done! Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis See Start With This live in Boston on October 20. Tickets on sale today: http://startwiththispodcast.com Not sure what t-shirt to wear today? Start With This: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at startwiththis@nightvalepresents.com or post it on our members message board. Produced by Night Vale Presents. http://www.startwiththispodcast.com http://www.nightvalepresents.com