Episodes

A typical day in prison.

This is the second episode in a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. You will hear stories her former students wrote after taking her class and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world. To help us get this right, Xaire has agreed to co-host the series with us. Xaire is a poet, singer-songwriter, actor, and teacher who teaches writing and poetry to kids in the foster care system and kids caught up in...

Welcome to Season 12. Today, we’re starting a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. We put a call out for stories, so you will hear stories her students have written recently and stories from other incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people around the world.To help us get this right, we asked Xaire, who is a poet, singer-songwriter, actor, and teacher to co-host with us. Xaire teaches writing and poetry to kids in the foster care system. THIS MUST BE SAID: We don’t mean to sensationalize crime or someone who breaks the law. Airing these stories is in no way meant to take anything away from the victims of violent crime. Instead, we want to share stories, because we believe that stories lead to understanding. And if there’s something we need more of these days, it’s understanding. The first story in our series was written by our own Allison Langer. It’s a story about change. A change in the way Allison sees the justice sys…

Amber Petty tells her story about how she's her best self when singing karaoke.

How to frame an essay for publication.

Today on our show, we’re talking about voice in a new way. We always say, write like you speak. That’s one of the most important writing tenets, because if you write like you speak, you’re writing in the most truthful way. If you curse, curse. If you don’t speak in fancy prose, don’t write fancy prose.

Today on our show, we are featuring an essay by former student Sharon Rothberg. Sharon uses a philosophical concept to work out her feelings about the death of her daughter-in-law.  Sharon's use of time and all lingo related to time is masterful. The story structure is also exceptional as is the balanced use of humor and vulnerability.This story really shows how writing helps people figure out things we can’t really understand. Sharon Rothberg lives in Miami, Florida with her husband of 57 years. She was an English major at Tulane University and taught seventh grade English. She loves to read novels, memoirs, and biographies. Sharon came to class on a whim (and because Andrea convinced her), having nothing in particular she wanted to write about. The class pulled up the grief and trauma she’d been holding inside. Writing the story of her daughter-in-law helped Sharon release her feelings and clarify her understanding of time (that we have) on this planet.Writing Class Radio is a…

For the month of August, 2021, we’re bringing back four of our listeners’ favorite episodes. Writing Class Radio brings you personal stories and tips on how to write your own stories. Today on our show, we take a look at bringing an obsession into a story. It’s possible to go deep into an obsession that has almost nothing to do with the story you are trying to tell without being distracting. That obsession can deepen the meaning of the story by giving us a peek into you, the narrator. Editors get a lot of stories about cancer, dead dogs, aging parents, etc. We’re not saying, stay away from these topics. We’re saying, writing about an obsession is a way to write about death (or any of these topics) in a new and interesting way. The story you’ll hear is from listener Jackie Ashton. This story was previously published in the March 2019 issue of Real Simple.We also talk about why it’s important to write and read stories about death, because hiding from feelings is never good. This…

For the month of August, 2021, we’re bringing back four of our listeners’ favorite episodes. Writing Class Radio brings you personal stories and tips on how to write your own stories. In this episode, we examine the popular writing tenet, show DON’T tell. We believe just showing is not only impossible, but detrimental to your story. Telling gives insight into what the narrator is thinking and feeling.To test this theory, we asked our students to just SHOW. We gave the prompt: A fight and instructed them to go directly to scene without explaining. We wanted to see if show without tell would work. After ten minutes, the students were asked to continue where they left off but to move from the scene into exposition, to just TELL. They were instructed to explain what was going on in the story, give background, and tell what the narrator was thinking and feeling. What we found: It’s impossible to show without telling.You will hear short prompt responses from student Misha Mehrel, who …

For the month of August, 2021, we’re bringing back four of our listeners’ favorite episodes. Writing Class Radio brings you personal stories and tips on how to write your own stories. The format for this episode is a little different. Today we’re bringing you a guest teacher, because we think it’s smart to get different perspectives. Joyce Maynard is one of Andrea’s favorite teachers in the world. Joyce has 17 books and has been writing for 50 years. She started when since she was 13. Andrea asked Joyce to read and deconstruct her essay, Letting it Fly which was originally published in 1997 in the New York Times Lives Column. In the interview, Joyce explains what goes into writing a great story and tells us her secrets to making a good essay great.Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little about how to write your own stories. Writing Class Radio is equal parts heart and art. By heart we mean the truth in a story. By art we mea…

For the month of August, 2021, we’re bringing back four of our listeners’ favorite episodes. Writing Class Radio brings you personal stories and tips on how to write your own stories. Allison Langer loves the process of working out her shit and reading it out loud. In class, she can’t hide behind a facade. Andrea Askowitz loves thinking about writing and ways to make stories stronger. She breaks down every sentence and takes out needless words. Andrea loves the craft.Cheryl Strayed, Author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, says writing is equal parts heart and art. Andrea loves the art. Allison loves the heart. That’s what you get on this podcast. Equal parts heart and art.This episode is about connecting through writing. It’s also about the job of storytellers to bring us into their world. Student Nilsa Rivera tells a story about her fear of isolation because she’s hard of hearing. This is especially true and important today, during covid, when people are wearing masks and rea…

How to get a story published, even if the topic is written about often.

This episode is about teaching the reader/listener something they don’t know anything about. Teaching can be done in two ways. One, by taking the reader into a world foreign to most people and two, by relaying information that’s rarely discussed and possibly unknown to the average person. In the story we bring you today, listener and student Danielle Huggins does both. Danielle has Bipolar Disorder and takes us inside her mind while she’s depressed. She also teaches us about Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT). She gives us history and explains the medical process and implications. This is not a reported essay, instead, Danielle relays what she learns from her doctor and her experience. Danielle Huggins is a former middle school math teacher with a Masters Degree in Literacy. She is currently a stay-at-home mom, a student of Writing Class Radio and an avid kickboxer. Danielle has a Facebook page called My Life As a Bipolar Mom. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of 15 years, 14 y…

This episode is about commitment. Not commitment to love, exactly, but commitment to a concept. Listener Lucie Frost writes a satirical essay where sleep is her lover. She never slips from the concept. Humor writing requires committing to an idea and pushing that idea as far as you can go.Lucie Frost is a humor and satire writer in San Antonio, Texas. She recently retired from a lifetime as a human resources/employment lawyer. This story was originally published in Slackjaw. Her work has also been published in Next Tribe, Little Old Lady Comedy, The Haven, Lady Pieces, Points in Case, The Belladonna, and Robot Butt.You can find her on all social media platforms @lucieHfrostThis episode of Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and Virginia LoraTheme music by Justina Shandler. Additional music by Podington Bear.There’s more writing class on our website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get t…

On this episode, we bring you a story that the narrator has returned to and will probably return to all her life. Everyone has their themes and it’s okay to return to them at different points in our lives. Trigger warning…The story you will hear on this episode documents the loss of a child. If this is a sensitive issue for you, please listen to another episode.Our student and listener Emily Henderson writes a beautiful story about the loss of her son to brain cancer. In this essay, she uses her husband to tell her story from a different angle. Her husband has big enough shoulders to carry the weight of their grief. This story is in honor of all the fathers out there.

On this episode, we bring you a story that is not one you hear too often but addresses a very serious situation: breast cancer in men. Kevin Wood shares his essay, A Boyhood Brush with Breast Cancer. This essay was previously published on The Good Men Project.We sat on this story for a few years not because it wasn’t expertly written, but because it lacked an important detail we felt was left out. You'll hear us discuss what happens when a key element seems to be left out of a story. Kevin Wood (kevinewood.me) is a freelance editor, writer and writing coach based in Barcelona. He serves as a contributing editor for The Good Men Project, with a focus on social justice and queer issues. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Witness Magazine, Fast Company, Huffington Post, Litro Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and Thought Catalog, among others. Twitter (@simplifythenow) + Instagram (@simplify.the.now)This episode of Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andre…

This episode is about writing like you speak, which is the best way to tell a true, authentic story. Andrea and Allison discuss why bringing your voice into a written essay makes the story so much better. You will hear an essay by Anthea Rowan, a writer and listener from Tanzania, Africa. Anthea’s story is about social anxiety. She uses her brilliant British vernacular and charms the listener. Allison and Andrea discuss the writing after the story, why writing class has fucked them up for cocktail talk, and their own experiences with social anxiety.Anthea Rowan grew up in Tanzania, Africa. She has three kids and says her writing was born by accident. Crap at most things and feeling empty nestish, a friend suggested she write for a local travel mag. A year later she was published in The Times of London. Rowan says writing saved her life after years of isolation in the African bush. She is working on her first creative non-fiction book. For more Anthea, go to @anthea_rowan on In…

This episode features an extreme mother story by Diana Kupershmit who is honest and vulnerable. Diana tells the truth about a very tough decision she and her husband made when their daughter Emma was born with a severe disability. Diana reads her story and then Andrea and Allison discuss the brilliant writing and why is it important to be gut wrenchingly honest.Diana’s essay was previously published in Still Standing Magazine, June 9, 2020.On this episode, we mention Krista Tippett’s On Being podcast episode with Bryan Doerries. Specifically his public health project, Theater of War, and how it relates to all storytelling. Doerries says, “Ancient stories, and texts that have stood the test of time, can be portals to honest and dignified grappling with present wounds and longings and callings that we aren’t able to muster in our official places now. It’s an embodiment of the good Greek word catharsis — releasing both insight and emotions that have had no place to go, and creating a…

Welcome to Season 11. If you’re new to Writing Class Radio, season 11 was going to be a little different. We started a 10-part series inspired by the people Allison met teaching memoir writing in prison. But last week, Allison was fired by the organization she volunteered for and we were asked to take down the episodes. On this episode, we tell you why.Listen to see how we plan to move forward from here. Just a hint...there is no way we are giving up on our mission to get marginalized and typically unheard voices into the world. We’re re-working our prison series. We won’t be airing the stories written by Allison’s students in class, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reach out to other incarcerated people and give them the opportunity to tell their stories. If you are incarcerated, have been incarcerated, or have a loved one who is/was incarcerated, we want to hear your story. If you work with incarcerated people, please pass this along. View Submission guidelines here.This episo…

This episode is about secrets, a mom/daughter relationship, and donor-conception, a subject that hit both Andrea and Allison in the heart. When Amanda Serenyi’s friend gets pregnant using donor sperm, Amanda freaks out because she herself was donor-conceived and her mother kept this a secret until she was 33. When Amanda first submitted this essay, Allison loved it and Andrea was reluctant to publish it. You will hear why despite great writing and an interesting story, this story was almost rejected.Writing Class Radio is co-hosted by Allison Langer (www.allisonlanger.com) and Andrea Askowitz (www.andreaaskowitz.com). This episode of Writing Class Radio is produced by Matt Cundill of Sound Off Media, Andrea Askowitz, and Allison Langer. Mia Pennekamp is our media specialist.Theme music is by Amadians. Additional music is by Podington Bear.There’s more writing class on our website (www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/), Instagram and…

Get out of your own way and submit your stories already.

Crafting stories well requires both sides of the brain.

Everyone needs an editor or two, so we asked you to send us your unfinished essays for some hard edits.

This episode is about showing a narrator's transformation.