Today, we are stepping out of order because it’s February and we’re in the U.S. and we can’t avoid thinking about love. So, we’re bringing you a Valentine’s Day episode. This episode is a little different. Slightly less teac…
We’re talking about stakes. And we don’t mean those slabs of meat you eat if you’re not a vegetarian, but what makes a listener or a reader care about a story. And we’re talking about what we have to lose as storytellers whe…
This episode is about writing humor. Andrea tells a joke only she thinks is funny, then calls our humor expert, Jay Wexler, who confirms just how funny her joke is. Jay is an attorney and the author of five books.
Later in …
We’re interrupting our first semester to give you a taste of who’s to come in our second semester. You’ll meet Frenchy, who took Andrea’s writing class years ago and is now back. Does she get a kiss on New Year’s Eve? You’ll…
How should a story be structured? Start from the very beginning by using the concept of story spine. Story spine, a technique articulated by the playwright Ken Adams, is the backbone of every traditional story. In this episo…
Today we give you Wendi Adelson the way she revealed herself in the first semester. Andrea talks about hot topic, cold prose, a writing technique where the narrator pares down the writing in a difficult moment. The story is …
Danny and Bo reveal the lies they've told, especially to themselves. And then the fallout. Danny falls in love with two women but neither knows about the other. Everyone is happy, until he hears a knock at the door. Bo admit…
Andrea follows Inessa to the fertility clinic early one morning as she goes through the process of harvesting her eggs, an undertaking not entirely of her doing. We heard in the second episode that Mama put down $10,000 towa…
Hear what Inessa, Danny, Bo, Jahn, Allison and Andrea confess about their relationships with their moms and how those relationships have shaped their lives. We all tell stories, including to ourselves. The truth is, you neve…
In our first class of the semester, we got the writing prompt, "How are you? Really?" Danny and Inessa are two students in the class who share exactly how they are. Danny's story involves underwear. Inessa's involves stabbin…
Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz created a podcast of their writing class. On this episode you'll hear what qualifies Andrea to be the teacher. And why Allison insisted the world needs this podcast. We believe that once yo…
