Tiffin Inn Writing Workshop (with Imposter Syndrome & Unlimited Refills)

REFILL: Narrative Distance

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores a recent epiphany and how it can apply to your work in narrative distance at the sentence level. Check us out on Linktree to connect with...

Interview with Eric Scot Tryon

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome acclaimed writer and editor Eric Scot Tryon to the corner booth to talk about his writing process, his new novel I'm The Underto...

REFILL: Conflict First

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art describes his participation in a month-long writing workshop and reads his first attempt at microfiction into the record, which serves as a great ...

Bravery and Making AI Your Personal Assistant

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the concept of "bravery" in how challenging it can be to be vulnerable and emotionally honest in our fiction. Then Tim and Art exp...

REFILL: Finding Relevance in your Work

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art celebrates Tim's personal challenge that helped Art break out of his creative rut and love the process of writing once again. To contact the show,...

Interview with Aaron Burch

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome acclaimed writer and editor Aaron Burch to the corner booth to talk about his process and his newly released novel Tacoma. Aaron B...

REFILL: Reality TV and Making Cool Stuff

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tim tries to answer the question from the end of last episode: "What about the work that you are doing makes you feel like it matters so much that you...

What Makes You Want To Write?

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art comes clean about his current aversion to writing fiction, where he is struggling to find the relevance of fiction amidst the chaos of modern life...

REFILL: Writing Away From Safety

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores how mining your own personal history can help create characters who feel real by sharing an embarassing similarity between his life and ...

Choosing Point of View (with Emily Rinkema)

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome "friend of the show" Emily Rinkema to the corner booth! Emily shares that she is now an Assistant Editor at FlashFrog. The gang di...

REFILL: Rediscovering Draft Zero

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Art describes what "Draft Zero" is in his novel writing process and outlines a five step process for drafting the novel in 2026. To contact the show, ...

Preparing for Your Second Draft

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim reveals how he is prepping for his 2nd draft of his novel while Art explores how his process differs from Tim's, especially in what constitutes a ...

REFILL: Matching Feedback with Story Stages

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art describes three different stages of story development and explains how and why he and Tim provide different types of feedback depending on the sta...

An Interview with Heather Colley

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Heather Colley, author of the debut novel The Gilded Butterfly Effect. Heather Colley's short fiction has wo...

REFILL: Approaching Unstoppable

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores how to get closer to feeling unstoppable. By uncovering why you want to do the work, you can fuel the creative mind to pursue your goals....

Starting a New Chapter (of the show)

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new chapter of the show is upon us! Tim and Art welcome each other back to the corner booth with the classic "What I Did Last Summer" style recaps. ...

Season 5 Finale

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art recap their highlights of Season 5, from the outstanding guests and friends of the show to the lessons learned, before looking ahead to Se...

REFILL: Genre and Prompts

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim discusses how he uses prompts to keep his creativity flowing, then proposes a way to use genre (especially genres you don't usually visit) to spar...

An Interview with Megan Michelle

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Megan Michelle, author of the debut novel Skylark. Megan Michelle's stories blend the raw emotions of milita...

REFILL: Inspiration and "The Gunner's Story"

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art discusses the elusive sources of "inspiration" in our work, reading a long lost story fragment into the record as an object lesson in how the thin...

Why We Write...Pretty Much Hot Tubs

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss why they write and it has only a little to do with hot tubs! Join Tim and Art in the corner booth as they reveal why it is essenti...

REFILL: Understanding Why You Write

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores the value in understanding "why" we want to write fiction, how that "why" can change over time, and how this knowledge can improve our ov...

An Interview with Nick Peck

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome into the corner booth Nick Peck, a 24 year-old California native and award-winning journalist, to discuss his debut novel "Only Wa...

REFILL: How to Write a Short Story

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art presents a straightforward, 3-stage approach for writing a short story (Start, Say Something, Finish) that can lower those mental barriers and sim...

Celebrating Your Wins

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim shares his perspective on publishing in his dream lit mag a whopping three times! Tim and Art discuss the best ways for Tim to revisit his novel t...

REFILL: Creating With Lists

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim sets aside a couple of moments to share his thoughts on using lists to spur creative thought and maybe jump start another piece. Feel free to shar...

Writing for Screens Both Big and Small (featuring Cat Hammons)

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art wlecome "Friend of the Show" screenwriter Cat Hammons back to the corner booth to discuss writing for screens big and small, using AI as a...

REFILL: On Writing Prompts (featuring Bethany Jarmul)

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Friend of the Show" Bethany Jarmul slides into the corner booth to offer her own Refill episode on writing prompts. Bethany breaks down what makes a ...

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During an innocent conversation, Tim experiences imposter syndrome in real time. Luckily, we were recording it! Settle in to the corner booth with Tim...

REFILL: Tapping into Emotions with Creative Nonfiction

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art sets aside logic and process to explore how creative nonfiction, and the emotional vulnerability it can uncover, are powerful tools in creating me...

An Interview with Emily Rinkema

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art are joined in the corner booth by author Emily Rinkema for a lively discussion of how to create memorable flash fiction. Emily Rinkema liv...

REFILL: Constraints Build Character

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores how to use a specific writing prompt as a constraint in building a character background. The prompt is "Describe your most unlikely relat...

Finding Writing Prompts

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss where they find writing prompts and how they use them to jumpstart creativity in drafting new pieces. They propose sharing writing...

REFILL: Breaking Terrible Habits

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art reveals his process for spotting and expelling bad habits from his writing process. A delightful example of Art's continued failure is used as an ...

The 9-Step Writing Process

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art unveil their revised 9-Step Writing Process for creating compelling stories. The 9 steps offer a sustainable approach to creative work. Tr...

REFILL: Using Deadlines to Your Advantage

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores the psychology of deadlines, why they work, and how you can use them to boost the productivity of your writing sessions. Tim and Art have...

Do I Really Need That Writing Workshop?

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the show hiatus, Tim participated in a 3-week writing workshop offered by SmokeLong Quarterly. Tim shares his overwhelmingly positive experienc...

Making the Most of Reader Feedback

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss trends in feedback Art has received from his beta readers on his recent stories "V-Hold" and "Donut Fridays." Together they make s...

REFILL: Ethically Using AI in Your Writing Process

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Building off the discussion from the previous episode, Art explores how to ethically use AI to enhance your writing. Art performs a "science experimen...

Constructive Feedback and The Case Against AI

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss how to decode constructive feedback when beta readers react differently to the same text. Feedback helps identify "cracks in the s...

REFILL: Beta Readers vs Editors

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores the difference between beta readers and editors, specifically in how improving communication up front can boost the quality of the feedba...

Lessons Learned and Next Year's Goals

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art close out 2024 with a look back on lessons learned this past year and new goals for 2025. Art discusses his goal to finish the first draft...

Self-Publishing with E.B. Hauk

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome author E.B. Hauk to the corner booth to gain insights into her process of publishing her comic novel Heck McTyre, Neuromanfluencer...

Exploring Self-Publishing with Jeff Giles

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome author Jeff Giles to the corner booth to talk about his process of publishing his first novel Langley Powell and the Society for t...

REFILL: Exploring Self-Publishing Models

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art introduces a two-part series of interviews coming in the next two weeks that focuses on the ins and outs of self-publishing. Tim and Art are invit...

Feedback Session for Art's Short Story "V-Hold"

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art reads his latest short story, "V-Hold," into the record for Tim to critique. Tim and Art then explore how Art's process has changed (for the bette...

Refill: Listening To Your Gut

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim discusses the incredibly fast process from inception to publication on his latest story, and what role the inner editor plays in this process. Tim...

Balancing Narrative and Metaphor

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim reveals his latest publication in one of his aspirational "dream journals." Tim and Art then compare and contrast common styles, focusing in on ho...

REFILL: Making a Writing Plan for 2025

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Success begins with planning. In this Refill episode, Art explores the purpose of our podcast episodes and how they are designed to add tools to your ...

An Interview With Bethany Jarmul

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art are delighted to be joined in the corner booth by acclaimed writer Bethany Jarmul, an Appalachian writer and poet. Her work has been publi...

Gamifying your Writing Process

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss how to use role-playing games and writing activities to gamify your creative process. They also tease an important takeaway from n...

REFILL: Diggin' in the Crates and a Novel Update

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim makes a case for the value in revisiting old work, then gives an update on his novel progress. Tim and Art are here to help, so email the show at ...

Learning Secrets from Your Older Work

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the value of revisiting older drafts to understand your writing journey. Whether it is to mine your past for story prompts, search...

REFILL: Role-Playing to Practice Characterization

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is your creative battery drained or running low? Art describes how using role-playing can help free up your internal editor and create opportunities t...

Putting Your Characters Under Stress

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art return for Season 4 by revisiting the fundamentals. Is your story missing something? Does your main character glide through your story wit...

Prepping for the Next Draft of a Novel

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With Season 4 just around the corner, Tim and Art offer a glimpse into their unscripted conversations about their own work. Up this week, Art responds...

Season 3 Finale - Expanding Your Creativity

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art look back at Season 3 for lessons learned and cast their gaze forward at Season 4. Even during the hiatus, Tim and Art are here to help. E...

REFILL: Identifying Your Ideal Reader

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The "ideal reader" is that one person in the world, whether real or imagined, who really GETS what we are trying to do and who LOVES our take on fict...

Setting Higher Standards

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever been less than satisfied with your work in progress? Your latest drafts have you rethinking fundamental decisions you've made as a write...

REFILL: Critiquing Yourself

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It can be worthwhile to journal about your flaws, whether real or imagined. This is one of the many obstacles we face on our journey to create art. A...

Getting Motivated After Rejections

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss their submission goals and lay out how to mentally bounce back from rejections and stay focused on your fiction.  Tim and Art are...

Getting Inspired to Revise Your Fiction

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss how to get back into the right frame of mind to revise your fiction. When we decide to go back, why does that first draft read so ...

REFILL: Active Reading Can Improve Your Writing

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art discusses the process of "Active Reading" as a way to pan for gold in published stories. Reading authors with intentionality and purpose can help ...

Feedback Session for Art's Short Story

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim provides feedback on Art's story "Donut Fridays" from last week's Refill episode. This unscripted feedback session on Art's story is intended to d...

REFILL: "Donut Fridays" by Arthur Franz IV

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art reads his 825-word short story "Donut Fridays" into the record in preparation for Tim's feedback during next week's episode.  Art is open to your...

On Confidence

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss their experiences in gaining (and losing and regaining) confidence in their writing output. They discuss how they know when a piec...

REFILL: Recharging Your Creativity

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art presents four ways to recharge your creativity when your discipline is high but the quality or quantity of your writing output is just not cutting...

Vignettes and Flashbacks

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art explore how vignettes, brief episodes within your larger narrative, and flashbacks, small stories from a character's past, can help illumi...

BONUS: We're Here To Help

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art are here to help you with your fiction. Yes, yours! E-mail us at [email protected] to inquire about our wrtiting coaching...

REFILL: Where Can I Submit My Fiction?

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim explores some best practices on how to choose where to submit your fiction for publication. Reach out to us with questions at TiffinInnWritingWork...

Honing Your Writing Process (feat. Scott Farrin)

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome guest Scott Farrin to the corner booth to discuss honing your writing process. Scott Farrin has taught writing in varied forms for...

REFILL: Drafting vs Writing

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores how he has shifted his mindset from writing to "drafting" as a clever way to trick his brain into enjoying the rough draft process. Art o...

Finding Your Writing Voice: Playing with Form and Function

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art explore ways you can discover your writing voice through playing with different forms within your early drafts. Adopting new forms (such a...

REFILL: Dispelling Doubt

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art explores how he uses the Refill episodes as a rationale for dispelling doubt and continuing to push forward in improving his craft. Tim and Art ar...

Self Publishing with Guest Kalynn Applewhite

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome guest author Kalynn Applewhite to the corner booth to discuss her process in staying disciplined year-round in writing as well as ...

REFILL: Trying Something New

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim explores how to process constructive feedback and turn that into action on a future draft. Tim and Art are here to help, so email the show at Tif...

Feedback Demo for Tim's Flash Fiction

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art demonstrate best practices of giving and receiving feedback with an unscripted feedback session on Tim's flash fiction! Join us as we hear...

REWIND: Balancing Writing & Full-Time Employment

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art transport you back in time to Season 1 with a new segment we are calling a "REWIND." We plan to release our regularly scheduled REFILL epi...

Giving and Receiving Feedback

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the hallmarks of quality feedback to writers, especially how to sort out good advice from bad. They offer tips on how to deliver h...

REFILL: Heroes and Anti-Heroes

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Art introduces the distinction between Heroes and Anti-Heroes, specifically how their decision-making defines them.   We're here to help, so e-mail ...

Collaborating and Screenwriting - Interview with Cat Hammons

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art welcome the talented Cat Hammons into the corner booth to discuss best practices on collaborating with a writing partner as well as tips o...

REFILL: Narrative Hooks and In Medias Res

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As writers, we all need the right tools in our toolbelts. This season, Tim and I are using the refill episodes to discuss fundamental literary tools. ...

Strategies for Your Next Revision

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art are back with an all-new season of discussions, tips, and ways to progress your stories! In this season 3 opener, Tim and Art discuss prac...

What We Really Learned from NaNoWriMo 2023

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With the end of NaNoWriMo 2023, Tim and Art discuss what they learned about themselves and the process of writing after the month-long sprint, how the...

Season 2 Finale

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss their experience with NaNoWriMo 2023 as they look back on their personal successes and improvements resulting from Season 2. Tim a...

REFILL: A Practical Argument for Subtext

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim recaps using subtext, imagery and symbolism to imply a complementary layer of meaning that enhances the literal story, with emphasis on a practica...

Using Subtext in Your Fiction

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss subtext in fiction, including what it is, why you would want to use it, and some best practices on how to deploy it in your storie...

NaNoWriMo 2023 Pep Talk

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

BONUS: Art kicks off NaNoWriMo 2023 with 1,721 words! Follow along with Art's progress on www.nanowrimo.org by sending a Buddy request to MyCoachArt. ...

REFILL: How Specific Detail Made Me Want To Write

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Art recounts how specific detail in his "gateway" Donald Barthelme story, "The Indian Uprising," lit a fuse that ultimately made him want to become a...

How and Why to Use Specific Detail

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the ways to create meaning in your manuscript through specific detail. Art offers a two-step process to creating memorable specifi...

REFILL: Building a Setting That Sings

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Art recaps the two tips to writing a setting that sings, keeping your setting from feeling "arbitrary" and building your setting from the "inside out....

Designing a Setting with Purpose

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the two biggest takeaways from building a quality setting in your book. Tim and Art make a case for not allowing your setting to b...

REFILL: Spotting Emerging Themes in Later Drafts

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Theme is what your story is (in big capital letters) ABOUT... that central idea, untethered to the plot or characters, that emerges from the descripti...

Exploring Theme in Your Story

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss how themes arrive in your work, whether intentional or accidental. Does the author fully control the themes that are present? Or i...

REFILL: How to Restart Progress in your Draft

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Art comes clean about how little progress he has made on his novel draft. The result is a hard look at why we let the everyday crowd out our writing t...

Overcoming Inertia

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss how they are trying to keep pushing their manuscripts forward, from applying the "Draft Zero" concept to writing out your story's ...

REFILL: Revising and Strengthening Your Dialogue

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Art reviews the five "lenses" we can use to strengthen our first draft dialogue-Melody, Brevity, Plausibility, Tension, and Subtext-and how to use the...

Writing Strong Dialogue

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art discuss the five main filters or "lenses" we can use to examine if our first draft dialogue is working hard enough. Join us for a discussi...

REFILL: Four Questions For Your Exposition

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim recaps the four questions we can ask ourselves when inserting exposition into our narratives that can ensure the exposition is not too long or too...

Pacing Your Story's Exposition

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim and Art explore some best practices in weaving exposition into your narrative, including four essential questions to ask yourself when presenting ...