Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
James Thayer
Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted') and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer's "writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 9, 2024 • 24min
Episode 99 - Traps when writing character-driven stories.
Traps to avoid when writing character-driven stories. Kurt Vonnegut's technique of making a character want something right away. How Joyce Carol Oates works. The enduring appeal of Anne of Green Gables.
Feb 2, 2024 • 26min
Episode 98 - Counterintuitive techniques that new writers might resist.
At some point all writers are new writers. Here are some sure-fire fiction writing techniques that might not seem right, that are counterintuitive. These are big techniques new writers often get wrong because at first glance they don't make sense. Here's a list of these methods, and how to avoid getting them wrong. Support the show
Jan 26, 2024 • 25min
Episode 97 - Clothing our characters. Also, how to end a scene.
How we dress our character will show--that is, to reveal--much about our characters to the reader. Clothing is evidence of our character's personality, and a strong tool for us writers. Also, Jack Bickham has solid advice on how to end our chapters.Support the show
Jan 19, 2024 • 29min
Episode 96 - How to create emotions in our characters and readers.
Huge rewards for fiction readers are a character's emotions; love, fear, gratitude, respect, loathing, and many others. Here are techniques on how to create emotions in our characters that will be intensely rewarding for readers. Also: an example of the rule of exceptions regarding likeable characters..Support the show
Jan 12, 2024 • 24min
Episode 95 - More strong dialogue techniques.
In the last episode we talked about major dialogue techniques. Here are smaller ones--but still important techniques--that'll make our dialogue shine. And: how does the best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen work? We'll find out.Support the show
Jan 5, 2024 • 27min
Episode 94 - Seven big dialogue writing techniques.
Dialogue in fiction is fun to write and fun to read. Here are seven techniques that'll help make our dialogue shine. Also, why should we create a character readers hate? Because those characters can be riveting, and are a strong element in the story. Here are some famous examples from novels, not main villains, but rather secondary characters who make readers groan when they appear on the page.Support the show
Dec 29, 2023 • 30min
Episode 93 - Can we avoid stupid writing?
Let's talk about stupid writing, And: how to get our story going without over-explanation and back-story. How John Updike and Frank Baum wrote. And an encounter with Aphrodite in English 101.Support the show
Dec 22, 2023 • 27min
Episode 92 - Fourteen scene mistakes and how to avoid them.
Here is a list of the fourteen biggest mistakes we can make when creating our scene, and how to avoid them. Also, we'll talk about how to avoid the dull tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock metronome beat when writing sentences. And: showing rather than telling about a character's personality.Support the show
Dec 15, 2023 • 27min
Episode 91 - The benefits of a buddy, and Willa Cather and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Adding a close friend for our story's protagonist offers many benefits. Here are some thoughts on buddies. And: how did novelists Willa Cather and Nathaniel Hawthorne work? Plus, techniques for avoiding interior monologue when our character is alone in the scene. And: should we write the story that's loudest in our head or should we aim for the market?Support the show
Dec 8, 2023 • 26min
Episode 90 - Techniques for creating riveting settings.
Bland settings works against the story, and riveting settings propel the story forward. Here are techniques for creating powerful settings that will engage the reader. Also, the Wall Street Journal's interview of best-selling Ken Follett is fascinating, and here is some of it.Support the show
