Memoir Nation
Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner
Memoir Nation: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is an extension of the Memoir Nation community hosted by Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner, two friends and colleagues who bring a community-minded sensibility to the writing journey. Originally launched as Write-minded in 2018, this is a weekly writing podcast that focuses on memoir and personal writing, as well as industry trends and tips and resources for writers and authors. Memoir Nation features a segment called Substackin’ at the end of each episode to talk about topics, ideas, trends, and writerly inspirations that Brooke and Grant are tracking in their weekly Substacks (Writerly Things and Intimations). Brooke and Grant bring to this weekly podcast their deeply held belief that everyone is a writer, and everyone’s story matters. Discover more about Memoir Nation at memoirnation.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 19, 2022 • 42min
Having Fun with Book and Amazon Marketing, featuring Dave Chesson
This week’s episode is an upbeat and fun look at marketing with guest Dave Chesson, who’s on the cutting edge of Amazon and other book marketing strategies. We cover Amazon rankings, marketing ideas for fiction writers (who too often get left out of these conversations), and why to share your personal story out in the world. This episode includes concrete types and explains some things about Amazon that often feel elusive, so it’s worth your time even if your next published book is a ways out there on the horizon. Oh—and happy holidays. We’re off next week so Write-minded will be back in your queue on January 2! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 12, 2022 • 38min
A New Take on Climate Fiction, featuring Aya de León
Aya de León returns to Write-minded to share an announcement about her new climate fiction imprint, Fighting Chance Books, that she’s launching in partnership with She Writes Press in 2023. This is an inspiring conversation about why a climate fiction literature of winning is so important. Aya makes the case that the future isn’t written yet—and we need more stories in which humanity fights back and wins in order to create a different narrative than the dystopian stories that currently dominate CliFi. An important conversation—with a mission at its core. Please help us spread the word about Fighting Chance Books! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 5, 2022 • 50min
No Wasted Words, featuring Sarah Manguso
An episode that covers so much—the power of writing what’s essential; an exploration of two kinds of abysses: total noise and total silence; and a forthcoming recounting of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of problematic reviews. Guest Sarah Manguso has been called a virtuoso, and her takes on the literary world and writing in her compelling, spare style remind us why we love a meaty interview. Brooke and Grant revel in Sarah’s responses and candor this week—and know listeners will too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 28, 2022 • 43min
Unexpected Creative Intersections and Influences, featuring Angie Cruz
This is an episode that will validate every creative impulse you’ve ever had and forgive any creative lapses you might be judging yourself for. Join Grant and Brooke in this inspiring episode with Angie Cruz, who’s faced rejection and overcame it to become a celebrated published author, and who shares with us how she’s in conversation with her characters, pursues other creative interests as a way to inform her fiction, and how she’s balanced her writing with the many other demands of life. A relatable and permission-giving episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 21, 2022 • 42min
Radical Fiction Packaged as a Trojan Horse, featuring Xochitl Gonzalez
Olga Dies Dreaming is guest Xochitl Gonzalez’s new novel—and how you interpret it might tell you something about your political persuasion. This week we are exploring what it means to be radical in fiction—especially when what you’re trying to be radical about is packaged as a fast-paced story. This is the subversive (meant in the best sense of the word) nature of fiction with a cause—which we explore this week in all its nuanced glory. Adelante! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 14, 2022 • 41min
Writing Racial Dynamics in YA fiction, featuring David Yoon
This week, guest David Yoon joins us in a conversation that takes on often-fraught topics with humor and candor. We talk about why YA is such fertile ground for representative stories about race, culture, and identity, and David’s mission to bring more visibility to writers of color. We talk about his approach to writing and how he writes not for or to a particular genre, but to sort out the questions he’s grappling with—something so many writers will relate to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 7, 2022 • 41min
The Writer’s Ego, featuring Steve Almond
We’re diving into ego this week—including, yes, its benefits. All writers, after all, are ego-invested in their work. They want what they’re writing to be good, to have an impact, to be well received. In this week’s episode Grant and Brooke speak with Steve Almond about how his ego got in the way of the work he wanted to do, and also the way that we must contend with our egos when we write. There’s so much to unpack here—and Steve’s honest take on his own journey is as refreshing as it is inspiring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 31, 2022 • 43min
Craft-minded series: Trusting the Craft You Already Know, featuring Andrea Bartz
This week we’re kicking off NaNoWriMo (Happy November) with a final bonus craft-minded episode. Grant and Brooke talk with thriller writer Andrea Bartz about her process—including the Pomodoro Method, creating fake deadlines, and writing discovery drafts. This is a perfect episode to GET YOU STARTED, which Andrea acknowledges is one of the hardest things a writer can do. This week’s show is also a reminder about how much you already know about craft that you don’t even know you know. Tune in to discover more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 24, 2022 • 43min
Craft-minded series: How or Whether to Evolve Your Aesthetic or Style, featuring Lan Samantha Chang
Tune in this week to geek out on aesthetic. Maybe you’re a writer who’s changed your aesthetic, wants to, or a reader who’s noticed the evolving aesthetics of the writers you love. How and why does this happen? How can you invite change into your process? In addition to thinking about style and craft, Grant and Brooke speak with guest Lan Samantha Chang about writing and MFA programs, whether we’ve saturated the writing about writing market, and how taking time away from your work and coming back to it is another way to shift or broaden perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 17, 2022 • 44min
Craft-minded series: Reflection as a Way to Make Meaning in Memoir, featuring Prince Shakur
As we make our way through our Craft-Minded series this fall, heading straight into NaNoWriMo, we have a special topic for memoirists—but which will benefit any writer who thinks about reflecting, musing, or meaning-making as a way to reach their readers’ minds and hearts. This week’s guest, Prince Shakur, takes us on a journey of how and why reflection matters, and offers examples and tips, too. This episode offers up other writers who reflect masterfully, and as has been the case with each of these craft episodes, we invite listeners to consider how and whether you might invite new ways of seeing into your own creative process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
