This week’s Write-minded show examines the nuanced and deep exploration at the heart of guest Lissa Soep’s new book, Other People’s Words. A consideration of the ways others’ voices echo in our own, her book and this episode shows us a kaleidoscope of how we conjure and recycle and tap into the words of others.

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Weekly Inspiration for Writers

Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is currently in its fourth year. We are a weekly podcast for writers craving a unique blend of inspiration and real talk about the ups and downs of the writing life. Hosted by Brooke Warner of She Writes and Grant Faulkner, former Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and founder of 100 Word Story, each theme-focused episode of Write-minded features an interview with a writer, author, or publishing industry professional. This year we’re featuring a Book Trend at the end of each episode to keep listeners in the loop about what they need to know about the book industry.  Brooke and Grant bring to this weekly podcast their shared spirit of community, collaboration, and a deeply held belief that everyone is a writer, and everyone’s story matters.

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Latest Episodes

 

Other People’s Words, featuring Lissa Soep

Other People’s Words, featuring Lissa Soep

This week’s Write-minded show examines the nuanced and deep exploration at the heart of guest Lissa Soep’s new book, Other People’s Words. A consideration of the ways others’ voices echo in our own, her book and this episode shows us a kaleidoscope of how we conjure and recycle and tap into the words of others. There’s much to unpack here, too, from how we inner monologue in a way that is really dialogue to honoring the collective legacies we carry and give voice to. It’s easy to get philosophical with this week’s theme and guest, and we do, covering everything from death and loss, to letters written and kept, and even AI.

Light-hearted Writing During Heavy-hearted Times, featuring Neely Tubati-Alexander

Light-hearted Writing During Heavy-hearted Times, featuring Neely Tubati-Alexander

Ready for a reprieve? Join Brooke and Grant and this week’s guest, Neely Tubati-Alexander, for a conversation about whether romance and rom-com writers are having more fun. We dive into questions of the success of the genre, what publishers are looking for, and how a writer gets into romance writing in the first place. A light-hearted episode in celebration of escapism and reading as brain candy and Tubati-Alexander’s latest release, In a Not So Perfect World.

Strategies for Writing About Childhood Trauma, featuring Javier Zamora

Strategies for Writing About Childhood Trauma, featuring Javier Zamora

This week Write-minded wades into the important topic of writing about childhood trauma. Trauma is at the heart of many of our stories, whether you’re writing coming-of-age or only touching upon childhood stories in the context of specific memoir scenes (or raw material for fiction). Javier’s memoir, Solito, is a stunning book about his nine-week journey from El Salvador to the US as an unaccompanied minor when he was just nine years old. The original journey nearly killed him, and in this generous interview he speaks to how the journey of writing about his experience saved him.

Recovering from the Stigma of a “Failed” First Novel, featuring Ethel Rohan

Recovering from the Stigma of a “Failed” First Novel, featuring Ethel Rohan

It’s important to learn from the challenges of a failed book rather than allowing it to define your career. The publishing industry can be harsh and unforgiving to writers in this situation. Unforgiving as in agents abandoning the writer or publishers turning away future work, not because of its quality, but because of the one book that didn’t sell well. This week, we’re joined by guest Ethel Rohan, whose story serves as a reminder that regardless of how brutal this industry can be, perseverance and reinvention can lead to triumph, and Ethel’s story is testament to that truth. This episode is a great reminder to keep moving forward through the challenges.

Journeying into Writerly Aesthetic, featuring K-Ming Chang

Journeying into Writerly Aesthetic, featuring K-Ming Chang

A fun episode about aesthetic, language, and paying attention to style and taste in writing. This week’s guest K-Ming Chang talks about disorientation as a style, language as something that lives in the body, and hating plot. This is a playful interview that focuses on the experiential and reminds us that we all have an existential position on our own writing. Chang’s meditation on language is expansive and inviting, and invites us to consider all the ways we are the stories we’re told.

Breaking Into Ghostwriting and Work-for-Hire Writing, featuring Aubre Andrus

Breaking Into Ghostwriting and Work-for-Hire Writing, featuring Aubre Andrus

Ghostwriting and work-for-hire are great ways to break into the publishing industry and to make a living as a writer. Guest Aubre Andrus shows us a side of the writing and publishing business that can seem a bit elusive. And more and more writers are taking on work for hire projects due to mass media layoffs and greater transparency by celebrities when it comes to writing collaborations. Also, this week’s book trend features Womb House Books, found online at https://www.instagram.com/wombhousebooks.

Want to be a guest on the podcast?

We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at [email protected].

Hang Out with the Hosts

Brooke and Grant interview writers, authors, and publishing industry folks, and bring to this weekly podcast their shared spirit of community, collaboration, and a deeply held belief that everyone is a writer, and everyone’s story matters.

Two Like-Minded Communities

She Writes is the largest platform for women writers. It provides writers with educational articles, expert interviews and group discussions to help them perfect their craft. National Novel Writing Month is a nonprofit literary phenomenon that boasts approximately 400,000 participants who pledge to write a full novel in a month. The platform has launched works including Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

Never miss an episode

Subscribe to Write-minded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, or by email.