Story Works Round Table | Conversations About Craft
Episodes
SWRT 257 | Trouble
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss trouble and your plot, character, arcs, craft and more. Sneak Peak: Ali...
SWRT 256 | Act I
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss Act I in this all new episode about opening your novel. What is the aut...
SWRT 255 | Using Repetition in Your Story
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the usefulness and drawbacks of using repetition in your story. What ki...
SWRT 254 | Motifs
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss motifs, those recurring elements in a story that seem to live in the ba...
SWRT 253 | Openings
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss openings, when and how to begin your novel. This episode will be linked...
SWRT 252 | Faces
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about describing your characters’ faces so they make an impression on yo...
SWRT 251 | Ambiguity in Story
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about that slippery subject, ambiguity. What is it? How does it function i...
SWRT 250 | Description
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, & Kathryn talk description. Have you considered the purpose and power of description in your narr...
SWRT 249 | The Writers Sketchbook
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Looking for inspiration or want to know you're not alone in this crazy creative process called storytelling? Curious about how other writers spe...
SWRT 248 | Prewriting
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about prewriting. There is so much to gain from this stage of the writing ...
SWRT 247 | The Writer's Mindset
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn dig into the writer's mindset. When we're facing challenges of motivation, inspiration, or...
SWRT 246 | Theme
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss theme. This episode will be linked in the show notes to all other episo...
SWRT 245 | Emotions: their effect on story & reader
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Kathryn talk about emotions. A critical element of any story, it's not always obvious why or when we need them. Even trickier is ...
SWRT 244 | Weaving Time into Your Narrative
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Kathryn go deeper into the subject of writing time, specifically how to handle chronology in narrative. We have three very short ...
SWRS 005 | Careless Whistle by Selene Castrovilla
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Story Works Reading Series, Selene Castrovilla reads the short story "Careless Whistle." If the title brings to mind a certain '80s pop tun...
SWRT 242 | What Goes into a Scene
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss what goes into a scene. Is there a recipe to follow? Kind of, but joke ...
SWRT 241 | Character
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk character. What to do when your supporting characters resist the roles you've ...
SWRT 240 | Time
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk time. It's about more than the passage of time in your story. Break out of the rut of chronological storyte...
SWRT 239 | A Cat in the Rain, Hemingway
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn discuss a Hemingway short-short story, "A Cat in the Rain." Listen to the story, followed by our discussion of...
SWRT 238 | Finishing Long Projects
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Kathryn and Robert put Alida on the spot. We talk about finishing a project you've already invested in a lot...
SWRT 237 | Idea to Draft
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about the alchemical (or so it seems) process of going from lightning bolt...
SWRT 236 | Co-authoring
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome Shari Medini and Karissa Tunis back to the Round Table to discuss co-authoring. They have a successful p...
SWRT 235 | Writing, Parenting, & Working from Home
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert welcome Shari Medini and Karissa Tunis to the Round Table for our annual New Year's episode. This year we take a...
SWRS 008 | Chris Hasara
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Story Works Reading Series, I am pleased to present Chris Hasara reading his short story, “Housekeeping.” After the story, we ch...
SWRT 234 | How to End Your Story
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about ending your story. What is the purpose of your ending? How do you create space for the reader to real...
SWRT 233 | When Your Writing Sucks
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered if your writing sucks? We're all plagued by doubt sometimes. And other times the work just doesn't flow. This week on the Story...
SWRT 232 | Voice
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Robert, & Kathryn use our voices to talk about voice. Not the spoken kind, but the written. What is an author's voice? Does it just happen ...
SWRT 231 | Backstory, Why Do We Need It?
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert,& Kathryn discuss backstory. Robert has been noticing novels that aren’t doing it well. ...
SWRS 007 | Recreation by Robert James Russell
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Story Works Reading Series, Robert James Russell reads "Recreation." He brilliantly takes on the challenging form of the epistolary, then t...
SWRT 230 | A Study of "The Log Jam"
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn examine an excerpt of a short story by author Barry Lopez. “The Log Jam,” in his colle...
SWRT 229 | Narrative Storytellers
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Kathryn dig into narrative storytellers on this week’s Story Works Round Table. Have you ever written a story with a storyteller as narrat...
SWRT 228 | NaNoWriMo
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn talk NaNoWriMo and pushing for big word counts. November is underway, but it’s not too l...
SWRT 227 | In Media Res
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Robert discuss what it means to open your story in media res. When is it a good idea to start in t...
SWRT 226 | Introducing Characters
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida & Robert talk about introducing characters to your readers on the page. After you've invested in y...
SWRT 225 | Fear
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alida and Robert sit down at the Story Works Round Table to talk fear this week. How do we get our readers to feel fear from just the written word? Wh...
SWRT 224 | Antagonistic Forces
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about villains you can't vanquish: How do you handle a villain that can't wear a hat, black or otherwise? W...
SWRS 006 | Eastern White Pine at the Corner of the Farm
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This month the Story Works Reading Series returns after summer break with a new piece of creative nonfiction by essayist, journalist, and writing prof...
SWRT 223 | Dystopian Fiction in Dystopian Times
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about writing dystopian fiction when the world we’re living in seems dys...
SWRT 222 | Storycraft Over Time
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about the changes we've noticed in storycraft when reading books of past e...
SWRT 221 | Writing BIG Scenes
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about those big, really BIG, scenes. When your story demands an epic battl...
SWRT 220 | The Writer as Student of Human Nature
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn ask, how can we develop our characters if we aren’t naturally curious about p...
SWRT 219 | Nitty Gritty: Grammar & More
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn ponder whether or not people with a creative license need to worry about the co...
SWRT 218 | Better Description through Revision
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, we cover one of Kathryn’s current pain points: when description doesn’t happen while drafting and how to...
SWRT 217 | What We're Reading Now & Why, part 2
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Alida, Robert, & Kathryn continue discussing what we’re reading now and why we chose it. Why would a successful, beautifully-written b...
SWRT 216 | What We're Reading & Why We Chose It
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return the subject of what we’re reading now. We get into not only the titles we’re into, but what makes them work and maybe not wor...
SWRT 215 | Epilogues
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, we talk about “those bits tacked on at the end of a story to explain everything…” Wait, who said that?...
SWRT 214 | Prologues
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert dissect the prologue. Can you be for or against prologues? When do writers do t...
SWRT 213 | Pacing Your Novel
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida Winternheimer, Robert Scanlon, & Kathryn Arnold talk pacing. Isn’t it about word count and how q...
SWRT 212 | Reconnecting with an Old Work-in-Progress
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk about reconnecting with a work-in-progress that has been shelved for a loo...
SWRT 211 | Dialogue, Natural & Unnatural
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Round Table, we talk about talking. What goes into writing natural sounding dialogue that is still artful in its delivery? What are t...
SWRT 210 | Emotional Wounds
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this weeks Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn are joined by Becca Puglisi to talk about emotional wounds, and writing deeper and more compe...
SWRT 209 | Encouragement & Growing Writers
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about budding writers, young writers, and old hands like ourselves. It see...
SWRT 208 | POV & Dramatic Tension
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk point of view & dramatic tension. How does your handling of POV affect...
SWRT 207 | Using Reader Feedback Effectively
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida & Kathryn welcome poet & publishing guide Scott James back to the Round Table. When is the right time to present your manuscr...
SWRT 206 | Plot & Character Arcs
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the relationship between your plot and character arcs. We have a modern...
SWRT 205 | Genre & Publishing Categories
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Scott James back to the Round Table to discuss how we can use genre considerations while we're drafting to avoid ...
SWRT 204 | Better Prose with Poetry
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Scott James to the Round Table to discuss the lessons prose writers can learn from the art of poetry. Are novelis...
SWRS 004 | A Family Miracle by Kristina Naydonova
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the Story Works Reading Series is an unusual one, showcasing 13-year-old, Sunday Times bestselling author Kristina Naydonova. Kristina...
SWRT 203 | Short Stories
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn discuss the short story. What are the particular considerations of short form f...
SWRT 202 | Villain Development
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss developing your villains. Besides making a real person out of that blac...
SWRT 201 | Single Character Scenes
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss single character scenes & stories. There are challenges to having a...
SWRT 200 | Ensemble Cast Fiction
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert delve into ensemble cast fiction. Does a team of protagonists require a team of...
SWRS 003 | Stuck by Laura James
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today's Story Works Reading Series, Laura James reads "Stuck." When an ex-pat drifts aggressively through Paris, in search of love and belonging, w...
SWRT 199 | Action Scenes!
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Robert talk all things action. What are action scenes and what you need to do to make your re...
SWRT 198 | Ghosting Your Protagonist
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert dissect an author’s very interesting point of view & narrative choices. W...
SWRS 002 | Black Bart by S.A. Wolter
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Reading Series, S.A. Wolter reads the short story “Black Bart.” This cowboy’s tale is a tribute to the last of a ge...
SWRT 196 | The Essential Nature of Story
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the ways in which story is all around us. What is it that makes story s...
SWRT 195 | The Velcro Between Your Pro- & Antagonist
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the critical relationship of protagonist & antagonist. If you don't...
SWRT 194 | Tropes
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert & Kathryn discuss the oft used and oft misunderstood trope. What is a trope really? How do we use them? Why and how are s...
SWRT 197 | Technology in Fiction
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn talk tech. Is technology just a concern for sci fi writers? Or does it pervade ...
SWRS 001 | Saving Annabelle
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we air our first episode of the Story Works Reading Series, sister podcast to the Round Table. Hear an author read an original short story ...
SWRT 193 | Is Your Hero Up for the Right Challenges?
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is your protagonist up to all the challenges your plot is throwing at her? Or is everything a little too easy? How do you create a character who...
SWRT 192 | Structuring Long Long-form Works
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn answer a fan's question on the Story Works Round Table Podcast. How do we organize topics & themes in long...
SWRT 191 | Routines & Why We Love Them
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Robert welcome Kathryn back to discuss routines. Why are we so interested in what other people do,...
SWRT 190 | Author Statement - Your North Star!
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany back to the Story Works Round Table for this author statement workshop. Grab ...
SWRT 189 | Revision, Series Drafting, & More! part 2
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Part 2: Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany to the Story Works Round Table to talk about her method of drafting a series, re...
SWRT 188 | Revision, Series Drafting & More!
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany to the Round Table to talk about her method of drafting a series, revising mu...
SWRT 187 | Creating Emotional Pull
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Robert, Carlee, and Alida get touchy feely as we explore the challenges and benefits of making your reader r...
SWRT 186 | Catcher in the Rye, Timeless Classic or Over?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is Catcher in the Rye worthy of its status as a timeless classic? Dust off your copy - I know you had to read it in high school -and join the conversa...
SWRT 185 | Writing Prompts
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the Covid-19 version of Thanksgiving weekend upon us, what better way to spend our alone time than with a writing prompt to boost our creativity ...
SWRT 184 | What Is Genre, Anyway?
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Carlee, and Robert go deep with the question of what is genre, anyway? It's far more useful to us wri...
SWRT 183 | Writing with All Your Senses
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At this week's Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Carlee discuss using all of your senses in writing. We focus so much on the movie in the mi...
SWRT 182 | Opening Scenes Shape Reader Experience
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Carlee explore opening scenes and what you should include right away to establish who and...
SWRT 181 | When to Kill a Story
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Robert are joined by Carlee Tressel to discuss the death…or possible resuscitation…of book pro...
SWRT 180 | Traits that Define a Character
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss traits that can make or break a character, those defining traits that bec...
SWRT 179 | Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn welcome Jennifer Bowen, Artistic Director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, to dis...
SWRT 178 | Writing with the End in Mind
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, & Kathryn discuss the benefits of knowing how your story ends before you begin. Page 1 se...
SWRT 177 | The Role of Agency in Reader Satisfaction
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert discuss the ways in which character agency is relevant to the whole of your sto...
SWRT 176 | Continuity
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about continuity. How important is it to maintain continuity throughout your...
SWRT 175 | Balance Restored
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about ending your story with balance restored. Does it always have to be hap...
SWRT 174 | Balance Tipping Points
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn talk about too much of a good thing. When do you tip the balance from just enough...
SWRT 173 | Character Agency in Memoir
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, and Robert continue their conversation with Molly McCloy, diving deep into character agency in non-fi...
SWRT 172 | Characters in Memoir
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, and Robert, are joined by Molly McCloy to talk about her recent memoir and the art of turning your fa...
SWRT 171 | Misunderstood Storycraft Rules
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss the rules of writing we all know but often don't fully understand, how they trip us up and actually become limiting...
SWRT 170 | The Art of Oral Storytelling part 2
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, and Robert continue their conversation with Molly McCloy. They talk about how oral storytelling can a...
SWRT 169 | Oral Storytelling with Molly McCloy part 1
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, and Robert welcome 4-time Moth Grand Slam Winner Molly McCloy to the show, discussing the performance...
SWRT 168 | Corona Check In
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn check in with each other. How are we handling the ever-changing world situation a...
SWRT 167 | In Media Res
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert talk about starting your story in media res, discussing everything from starting ...
SWRT 166 | Time
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss the ways to manipulate time in your writing. We cover everything from exp...
SWRT 165 | Writing Memoir with Mag Dimond part 2
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida continues her conversation with author Mag Dimond about her memoir Bowing to Elephant, discussing life...