Start With This
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Perceiving the Audience w/Sarah Maria Griffin
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing. Guest: Sarah Maria Griffin, https://twitt...
The Burnout Cycle w/Janina Matthewson
13 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular. Guest: Janina Matthewson, https://twitter.com/j9andif CONSUME: Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! (...
Minimal w/Brie Williams
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Writing more with less. Guest: Brie Williams, https://twitter.com/briezillionaire CONSUME: Getting on with James Urbaniak (podcast), specifically ...
But How Does It End?
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do you land the ending? CONSUME: Three options: 1)The last three pages of Inherent Vice, starting where the character gets on the freeway. 2) Th...
Like This But Better
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Elevating basic language to something special. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis) J...
How to Like
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure. CONSUME: Podcast ¡Uy Que Horror! particularly the episode “2012: Kurse a di Xtabai (Belize)” C...
Low Barrier to Entry?
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http...
The Tease
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a good tease? Listen and find out. CONSUME: “Lupin” French Crime/Adventure Drama on Netflix CREATE: Write a 200-600 story that foll...
How to Dislike
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/...
Five Easy Rules to Become a Great Writer!
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just follow these simple rules and something something... CONSUME: Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox...
Keep It Weird
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What makes something weird, and is that a good thing? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwitht...
Melodrama
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest literary peaks! Or… work on your craft. CONSUME: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Foll...
Borrow or Steal
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Good artists borrow; great artists steal. What? Let's break this down. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patre...
Journey Vs. Destination
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Getting there is 1/x the fun! CONSUME: “The Sink” a 6-episode podcast by Natasha Hodgson, produced by the BBC CREATE: Write a 200 word murder ...
Imposter Syndrome
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You’re a writer, because you write. Don’t tell yourself otherwise. CONSUME: “Dead Eyes” a podcast by Connor Ratliff CREATE: Pick a creativ...
As It Happens
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Celebrating the act of daily creation with Jonathan Mann. CONSUME: Go listen to more of Jonathan Mann’s podcast “As It Happens” CREATE: Sta...
Hooptedoodle
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stop and describe the roses. CONSUME: Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden CREATE: Write a 200 or so word description of your neighborhood...
Non-Lovecraftian Horror
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's so much more to horror, we couldn’t stop at Lovecraft. CONSUME: Watch any of the movies on Joseph’s horror movie recommendation list: ht...
Lovecraftian Horror
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Lovecraft was a racist and a bad writer, yet his ideas and his stories live on. So what do we do with them? CONSUME: “The Ballad of Black Tom” (...
Agency
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A character has a problem. As a result of that problem, they make a decision. As a result of that decision, they change. CONSUME: “Schitt’s Cree...
Exaggeration
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fiction is a lie. Hopefully a good, fun lie. CONSUME: “Small Triumph Big Speech” podcast by Dylan Marron CREATE: Write a 200-word story about ...
Exposition
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What do you need to set the scene? CONSUME: "Anthropocene Reviewed" podcast by John Green CREATE: Write a 200 word story about a child. Give it a ...
Perfection Is for Assholes
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Perfection is a target, not a goal. CONSUME: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson CREATE: Spend 58 minutes brainstorming and refining the title o...
Five Senses
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We experience more than what we see. CONSUME: “How to Meet and Dance with Your Death” by Larissa Shmailo (http://larissashmailo.blogspot.com/20...
Writer's Voice
09 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What do you sound like, as a writer? CONSUME: “Exercises in Style” by Raymond Queneau (excerpt: https://monoskop.org/images/4/49/Queneau_Raymond...
Present Tense
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You write in the here and now. CONSUME: “Girls, at Play” by Celeste Ng https://blr.med.nyu.edu/content/archive/2010/fall/girlsatplay CREATE: W...
Second Person
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You are intrigued by second person narratives. CONSUME: GirlsArePretty.com CREATE: Write a 200-400 word story in Second Person POV that begins wit...
Negative Space
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's there that's not there? CONSUME: “Dear Committee Members” by Julie Schumaker CREATE: Set a timer for 15 minutes. Create a character (a ...
Narrative Structure
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is the shape of your narrative? CONSUME: “17776 Football” by Jon Bois https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football CREATE: Write a 100 word...
To Write in a Plague
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How are you doing? CONSUME: The podcast Our Plague Year https://ourplagueyear.libsyn.com/ and the webcomic Valley Ghouls https://www.webtoons.com/...
Satire
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How strong is your satire? CONSUME: Two podcasts: "A Very Fatal Murder" and "This Sounds Serious." Both podcasts are a riff on the true crime podcas...
Absurdity
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Writing what's absurd. CONSUME: Clip from You, the Living. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOwpd2I_4mo CREATE: Write a 200 word description of you...
Stage Directions
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When do you use stage directions, and how descriptive do you get? CONSUME: "How to use stage directions" by Sam Graber https://samgraber.com/2017/0...
The Possibility of Failure
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Failure is scary but it can also be interesting and even fruitful. (like when Jeffrey posts the wrong episode file to the podcast feed. here’s the c...
Monologue
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes our writing flow doesn’t flow. What’s causing this and how do we get it moving again? Consume: Magnus Archives podcast Create: Pick ...
Writer's Block
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes our writing flow doesn’t flow. What’s causing this and how do we get it moving again? Consume: Have You Heard George’s Podcast by Ge...
Honesty
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to tell your story honestly? Consume: Moonface by James Kim Create: Take a moment in your life in which you remember exactly how...
Don't Forget Your Story
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of writing is fine-tuning your writing, or creating clever structure, but the most important thing is the story itself. Consume: Read “Husba...
Writing for Performance (Live from Boston)
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’re live from Boston with special guest Bilal Dardai, alum of the Neo-Futurist theater company and writer for the podcast “Unwell.” In this ep...
Outlining
10 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Outlining your story is like a puzzle for plot. In this episode, we talk about how mapping out what will happen before you start writing gives your st...
Slowness
29 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk a lot about creating with enough speed to turn writing into habit, but working slowly puts the finish line so far out of sight that you can fo...
Repetition
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Your writing needs a message. The way you deliver this message is up to you. Repetition is one way to get this message across. There’s almost a magi...
Word Count
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In writing, words are your currency. So how can you maximize your spending on a budget? In this episode, we talk about how word counts can break up lo...
Speed
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Working quickly means you can create faster than your doubt. In this episode, we talk about how using speed as a writing technique can be freeing and ...
Stereo
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Stereo is a powerful, audio-specific tool that can fill out a sound in the same way that we experience sound in the world. We talk about how using ste...
Punching it Up
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There will always be something to improve about your writing, but you can’t revise forever. We talk about developing processes so you know what to i...
Anxiety
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever had a big deadline and all of a sudden you have to listen to that new audiobook? In this episode, we talk about how anxiety about your w...
I Have an Idea for a Podcast
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The heart of a good podcast isn’t in expensive mics or a nice studio— it’s in the idea. We talk through four litmus tests to test the strength...
BONUS: Q&A #2 Preview
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a short preview of our second members-only bonus Q&A episode. To hear the whole thing and to ask your own follow-up questions, join our commu...
Rhythm & Rhyme
09 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Getting Intimate
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We think the joy of a podcast is the personal relationship you develop with the podcasters you listen to. It’s a unique medium that creates a listen...
Silence
12 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Silence can be terrifying— Any moment that you’re not creating sound can feel a moment when you’re not keeping your listener’s attention. But ...
Art is Disposable
28 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When do you let a project go, and why might you want to move on in the first place? Jeffrey and Joseph discuss the fine line between knowing when to t...
Dialogue
14 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Writing dialogue can be daunting because you can’t rely own your own narrative voice— the characters have to speak for themselves. Joseph and Jeff...
Playing Games
31 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At its core, a game is a set of fun rules. From acrostic poems to following mathematical progressions, games can take the pressure off of creating and...
Towards a Poor Podcast
17 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How can you create something with only the most bare elements? There’s a lot you can do with just a story, a microphone, and a voice. Jeffrey and Jo...
Collaboration
03 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jeffrey and Joseph talk the history of their collaboration, and how working together made them better writers in their own right. Then they discuss th...
BONUS: Q&A Preview
26 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jeffrey and Joseph answer listener questions for Episode 1 (Idea to Execution) and Episode 2 (Know Your Limitations). Join the SWT Membership communit...
Feedback
19 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our art is personal so sometimes receiving feedback can feel overwhelming. In this episode, Jeffrey and Joseph talk about how to give and receive comm...
Know Your Limitations
05 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How do you deal with the limitation of an inherently audio-only medium? Jeffrey and Joseph discuss how artistic restrictions and resource limitations ...
Idea to Execution
22 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s natural talent, and then there’s practice. You can only control that last bit. Joseph and Jeffrey talk building habits of creation so that...
Start With This: Trailer
08 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The creators of Welcome to Night Vale Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink believe the only bad writing is not writing. Start With This is a podcast gone cr...