Okay, maybe that's a bit of hyperbole, but not by much. In this stand alone episode we talk with Erik Klass, the entrepreneurial editor behind the submission service Submitit about what literary journals are looking for in short stories and creative non-fiction.  He also discusses how his company evaluates and chooses particular journals for their client's stories.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Last week we covered time in memoir, specifically how the writer can jump back and forth in time and the reader can follow along easily.  In this episode, we identify signposts and time jumps in two short memoir pieces. One by one of Kim' s favorite science writers, Rebecca Skloot.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Memoirs are rarely straight chronological narratives, what with the musing we talked about last episode, and they almost always jump forwards and backwards in time. We discuss Judith Barrington take the mental Time Machine from her book Writing the Memoir, specifically the idea of the “Now” and how with a little signposting, readers can follow along. We also do a bit of grammar review (just a little) and how we use tenses in our own books.Then it’s onto the nearly ubiquitous chapter that every writing craft book has on sensory detail. We cover the difference between concrete and abstract detail and the best practices for describing characters. This week’s exercise is some text analysis where we pick apart a short memoir timeline. Time to get our literature geek on.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We’ve gotten to the part of Judith Barrington’s Writing the Memoir  where she covers the actual writing of in a memoir, the words on the page. In addition to scenes, which we’ve covered in our fiction writing podcasts, Barrington says memoirs contain summaries and musings. In this episode, we discuss all three (with examples!) and talk about how they fit together. And if you’re still not clear about the musing, check out our writing exercise where Renee writes about an awful Great America experience, with and without musings.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Readers seek out memoirs because they want true stories. But the truth, according to Judith Barrington in her book Writing the Memoir, is more than using Google to fact check. There are also emotional truths, which are harder than factual truths due of our imperfect memories, because they might offend our friends, families and communities, and because they can be painful, both to write, and to read. All of these ideas made for a fascinating podcast conversation. Also in this episode, we interview Raime Liddle, whose on-the-road life adventures with her mother-in-law went viral and led to a her writing Driving Miss Norma. And then in our writing exercise, Kim recounts a harrowing bike accident she had as a teen. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Chronological, essays, skipping through time, interspersed non-fiction — there are so many forms that memoir can take. Judith Barrington covers several in her book, Writing the Memoir, and in this episode we discuss the options, and why you might choose one for your memoir. As a bonus, Renee shares an exercise she’s come up with for finding your memoir’s theme. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Baring one's soul in a memoir is hard work. Convincing others to care, to engage in your life story may be even harder. In her book, Writing the Memoir, Judith Barrington says the first step is getting ourselves to care about our memoir. In this podcast we discuss both her philosophical reasoning and practical advice. In this week's writing exercise, Kim tries to come up with what her memoir should be about.Iit does not go well. Thankfully Renee is there to pep-talk Kim off the edge. Fun times! Plus we have two short interviews with memoirists, Marlene Bumgarner and Janice P. Kehler,  about how they included self analysis and judgement in their memoirs.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We’re starting a NEW BOOK - Judith Barrington’s Writing the Memoir. And what better place to start than by discussing what a memoir is, and what memoir isn’t, and just how truthful do you need to be, important questions that are addressed in the book’s first chapter. But that’s only half the episode. We once again have a book with writing prompts at the end of the chapters. We might be a bit rusty at following instructions, but the results are a hoot to listen to.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

How do you tackle one of the most famous writing craft books, you take it “Bird by Bird.” That’s what we’ve done with Anne Lamott’s book over the past 12 episodes and in this final episode we cover her end of the class advice, along with how to avoid libel (not sure why that got placed there) and give our opinion about the book as a whole. And then, because there’s always another writing craft book, we reveal what we’re reading next … Judith Barrington’s Writing the Memoir. Finally, we have a great discussion about memoir writing classes with one of Renee’s favorite memoir writing instructors, Joselin Linder.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Well,  why do you? The answer for most authors is to get published. But is that the only reason, or even the best reason? As we near the end of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird we investigate other rewards for writing, like to to find ones voice, or as way of giving. And then we get back to publishing (this is a writing advice podcast) and discuss Lamott’s opinion that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. We also check in with writers Patrick Dugan and John Gibson about how they deal with writers block. And for our writing exercise, Kim takes a stab at writing a page of her humorous fantasy in the voice of George R.R. Martin.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Anne Lamott (in her Bird by Bird book) says the dreaded writer’s block isn’t about being blocked, it’s about being empty. In today’s podcast we discuss Lamott’s approach to writer’s block, as well as her technique of letter writing to get at the heart of your story. We also have an insightful conversation on exactly why memoirists (or at least Renee) want strangers to read about their lives.But before that, we have an interview with Kerry Muir from the The Writing Salon on what makes a workshop successful. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Behind most successful authors there is a writing group (at least according to their novel's acknowledgment section). But how does one find a writing group, and how do you get the most of out of one once you're in? In todays episode, we discuss the chapters "Writing Groups" and "Someone to Read your Drafts" from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird. We also recall some WTF moments from our own writing workshops and address the dangers of toxic beta readers.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Some advice is timeless, some is not. In this episode we evaluate  writing techniques from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and see if they still have value in our current Information Age. Specifically, Lamott writes about capturing one's thoughts on index cards, and how to use a telephone to get information and also, to get a larger sense of people's views. Although we now use our phones for much more, there's still some nuggets of inspiration in these chapters of the book.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Sometimes just showing up isn’t enough. You’ve set time aside for writing and instead of your story unfurling on the page (or screen) other things come out. In this episode, we’ll discuss author Anne Lamott’s struggle and solutions to this problem from her book Bird by Bird. First we’ll tackle the good voice, the inspiration that we keep ignoring, Lamott calls this the “Broccoli” then the bad voice “Station K-FUK” and finally that thing that will tear you apart, jealousy. And, as a bonus, Kim talks about the highs and lows from her trip to Japan (check out our show notes for a very scary video of mountain leeches)Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We're onto the second section in Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird -- The Writing Frame Of Mind -- and it's getting a bit nebulous folks. In Looking Around, Lamont encourages us to see, truly see, the world. That sounds like mindfulness training to Kim, it sounds like something else to Renee. And then it's onto The Moral Point of View which brings out an even more heated discussion. In the end, we're not sure if we learned anything, but we definitely got some stuff out of systems.On a practical useful note, we have a great interview with editor Kristen Tate about how developmental editing can be used to save a novel, with some excellent advice about how she does this with her clients.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Even published authors have problems getting the magical stories in their heads into finished manuscript. But Anne Lamott’s account of how, over the course of three years, she completely rewrote what would be her second novel several times, probably deserves a prize for perseverance (or stubbornness). In this podcast we discuss what was wrong with each of those drafts and the techniques she used to fix them. We even try her idea of writing a plot treatment for our own chapters.  Also in this episode, we have an interview with Catherina Hill about how she researched a largely forgotten dark moment of American history that personally affected her family and how she used research for her historical-fiction novel. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We’re covering two different topics from Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First off is scene setting, both their importance for your characters and how to get all the details right (quick answer, ask an expert) Then we’re back to finding out what your story is about, how to return to a scene or chapter again and again (and again) until you can finally say, “Yes, that is how it needs to be written.”Also, following up on last week’s episode about character verses plot driven stories, we talk to three genre writers about their approach. Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

We’ve gotten to some hearty chapters in Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First up is plot, which “grows out of characters.” We discuss what this means and if it’s applicable to genre writing. Then we turn to dialog, and how you distill intent from the rambling conversation of what people say while maintaining their unique voice. Putting our writing chops to the test, Renee took a hilarious 3000 word monolog by the Afternoona Delightpodcast ladies and condensed it down to 600. Definitely worth a listen before you go hiking to the top of Mt Washington.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

So you’ve committed to Anne Lamott’s daily writing practice (as discussed in our previous podcast), good for you. Now let’s find out how to turn those embarrassing word scribbles into profound and meaningful insights. In this episode we start with the Bird by Bird chapters, School Lunches and Polaroids, which, trust us, are about that transformative process. Then it’s onto the Character chapter where we talk about giving the people in your novel their own emotional acre. Also in the podcast, we interview three authors, Delta Jones, Richard Risemberg, and MJ Brunnabend on how they draft their novels.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

How does one write an entire novel? It’s a bit like the advice for eating an elephant, one bite at a time. In this episode we cover Anne Lamott’s novel biting tips from her book, Bird by Bird. First comes her 1-inch picture frame technique, then her most famous suggestion, shitty first drafts. Finally, we tackle the anti-writing mindset, perfectionism.  Also on the podcast, we interview literary agent and podcaster, Erik Hane, about the fantasies and realities of publishing one’s first novel.Remember, we have a Writers Process/Writing Sprint meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.