This week, our hosts explore kishōtenketsu, an Asian story structure that appears under different names in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Unlike the Western three-act structure, it isn’t built around conflict. Instead, it moves through four stages: introduction, development, t ...Show more
21.34: Knowing the Distance
How close is your reader to the story? Should they be closer? Today, our hosts get nerdy about narrative distance: the space between reader, narrator, character, and world. We talk POV, sensory detail, and familiarity—and how each can zoom a reader in or pull them back. From The ...Show more
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 u ...Show more
Today we are transitioning from Taylor-as-poet to Taylor’s literal poetry, circa 1999 and 2017. We’re reading Taylor’s three published poems — A Monster In My Closet!, Why She Disappeared, and If You’re Anything Like Me — and talking about why they feel like a new kind of peek in ...Show more
It's Poetry Week in Night Vale and folks get a look at a place that should never be seen. Plus, strange new billboards about town and renovations completed at the Night Vale Zoo. This week's episode features writing contributions from: Trilety Wade, Russel Swenson, Vanessa Iren ...Show more