Podcast
Why Is This Good?
Hosted by Why Is This Good? · EN
The Naples Writers' Workshop presents lessons from successful writing
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
176: “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
3w ago00:23:44Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty. What can we learn from this story where nothing happens? What is the plot? Is it a character portrait? How can we decide where a story begins and how much of it to tell?
Transcribe →175: “Foster” by Claire Keegan
May 100:26:27Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “Foster” by Claire Keegan. What can we learn from this spectacular story? How does the pace of the story work with the point of view to develop tension? How can we show a character grow and learn through a story? What makes a happy ending? How can an action beat in dialogue reveal deep character truths?
Transcribe →174: “In the Heart of the Heart of the Country” by William H Gass
Apr 1500:31:26Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “In the Heart of the Heart of the Country” by William H Gass (starts page 172, click “borrow”). What can we learn from this vibrant, poetic story with an unusual structure? Is there a narrative arc? How can we shape our own stories? How do we develop and connect poetic images?
Transcribe →173: “Teenage Wasteland” by Anne Tyler
Apr 100:24:09Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “Teenage Wasteland” by Anne Tyler. What can we learn from this story? How can we think about the structure of a story in terms of a Greek tragedy? What’s up with JC’s image of a skipping stone as a story structure? How can we handle universal or timeless stories?
Transcribe →172: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
Mar 1500:35:39Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. (French version here.) What can we learn from this exemplar story? How can we fit characters to their stories? How can the shape of dialogue on the page help us guide the flow of the story? What did de Maupassant learn from Flaubert, and how has he guided the style of short fiction since? How does the ending of the story work? Where does the emotion come from?
Transcribe →171: The Wedding Party by Taylor Koekkoek
Mar 100:26:35Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “The Wedding Party” by Taylor Koekkoek. What can we learn from this simple story elevated by literary effects? How can a writer’s eye make a story feel important? How can a non-point-of-view character become the center of a story? How can we use dialogue to show who is controlling a conversation? How can we characterize a non-POV character?
Transcribe →170: “Eveline” by James Joyce
Feb 1500:28:00Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “Eveline” by James Joyce. What can we learn from this famous story? How does Joyce structure the epiphany? Can we use that structure in our own stories? Are there hidden symbolic depths to the details of the story? How can a writer characterize a mood by word choice? How can we distinguish between a plot of events and a plot of choices?
Transcribe →169: “A Millionaire’s Girl” by Zelda Fitzgerald
Feb 100:21:37Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “A Millionaire’s Girl” by Zelda Fitzgerald. What can we learn from this story written by the less-famous Fitzgerald? How would we describe the point of view of this story? How does the narrator mediate the story and depiction of Caroline? How good a writer was Zelda Fitzgerald?
Transcribe →168: “The Catbird Seat” by James Thurber
Jan 1500:24:58Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “The Catbird Seat” by James Thurber. What can we learn from this funny little story? How does point of view function in this story? How can an objective point of view allow us to balance what the character knows with what the reader needs to know? How does simple but elegant prose help guide the reader swiftly through the story?
Transcribe →167: “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket” by Yasunari Kawabata
Jan 100:27:07Tap to summarizeInterested in our novel mentorship program or have any other questions? Email us at napleswritersworkshop@gmail.com If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter at http://www.napleswritersworkshop.com In this episode, we discuss “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket” by Yasunari Kawabata. What can we learn from this Japanese short story? What is the role of the narrator in this story? How does the narrator offer literal perspective on the story? How can we capture the emotional core of a story?
Transcribe →