About this podcast
A podcast for lovers of stories- reading them, hearing them, and writing them. We provide a new prompt every week, then share the stories we have created from that prompt. We discuss the stories and the art of storytelling while encouraging listeners to create their own stories along with us.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 194 episodes
- Furnace Room: Building Tension and Suspense in Your Writing · 1 h 11 min · Season 7 Episode 3In this week's episode, The Crü discuss how writers can use pacing and atmosphere to create tension in their writing. We use our prompt---another card from Betrayal at the House…
- Sacrificial Dagger: Writing Through a Bad Draft · 52 min · Season 7 Episode 2You can't edit a blank page! On this week's episode of our creative writing podcast, The Crü return to a Spooky Season favorite: Betrayal at the House on the Hill. Without…
- Season 7 Premiere: Writing Flash Fiction For Dolly Parton · 1 h 29 min · Season 7 Episode 1Few have done more to create community than Dolly Parton. This week, the Crü lament her loss by singing (not literally; you're welcome) her praises. We explore what inspired…
- Season 5 Finale · 1 h 18 minTo close out Season 5 (that's five, Murph!) The Crü each returned to a different story or poem they wrote throughout the season. We talk about the revision process (and how it…
- Spondulicks: Roland Barthes' Death of the Author: Literary Criticism vs. Authorial Intent · 56 min · Season 5 Episode 29This week, Spud leads The Crü down the winding rabbit hole of Roland Barthes' famous essay, The Death of the Author. We delve into a healthy debate over whether or not authorial…
- Jenkins Ear: The Crü Write Bourdain · 1 h 12 min · Season 5 Episode 28What makes Anthony Bourdain's writing style so magnetic? That's what the Crü aims to discover this week by shamelessly adopting his style as our own. Our author spotlight covers…
- Limehouse: When to Use Profanity in Fiction · 1 h 3 min · Season 5 Episode 27Should writers use profanity in fiction? Does it weaken the story, or add a li'l spice of realism to character dialogue? That's what the Crü explores in this week's workshop on…
- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Part 2: Our Own Stories, Decidedly Not of the End Times · 56 min · Season 5 Episode 26It's Part 2 of our little microseries on the Four Horsemen. Last episode featured listener-submitted stories to our writing prompt; now, you get to hear from the Cru! We discuss…
- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Part 1: Listener Submitted Stories of the End Times · 1 h 7 min · Season 5 Episode 25This episode is all about community submissions! We’re showcasing the creative work of emerging writers, first-time authors, and grizzled veterans of the trade, all responding to…
- Oxymoron: Using Fiction to Process Real Life · 1 h 19 min · Season 5 Episode 24In this episode of Radio FreeWrite, The Cru explores how writing fiction can reveal something real. From writing through family conflict to channeling rage, grief, and even…
- Ginnungagap: Norse Mythology & The Creative Void · 55 min · Season 5 Episode 23This week, the Cru dives into a strange and powerful prompt pulled from Norse mythology: Ginnungagap, the vast, primordial void of fog (that's fog, not frogs, WebEater!) that…
- Gilbertian: Absurdist Flash Fiction & Why Writers Need Creative Partners · 45 min · Season 5 Episode 22In this episode of Radio FreeWrite, The Cru explores the absurd, satirical style of Gilbert and Sullivan and explores how far you can push an idea once you follow it to its most…
- Acheri: What Writers Should Read (Or Listen To), From Frankenstein to Beowulf · 45 min · Season 5 Episode 21This week on Radio FreeWrite, The Cru takes a step back from writing to talk about... reading. What should writers be reading? Does it matter if it’s fiction, nonfiction, or even…
- Bowels of Mercy: The Cru Write Horror à la Shirley Jackson · 1 h 3 min · Season 5 Episode 20In our 151st episode, The Cru dives into the unsettling world of Shirley Jackson, author of the infamous short story The Lottery. We explore what makes Jackson’s writing so…
- 150th Episode Celebration: Mouthbreather · 33 min · Season 5 Episode 19We gathered on a cold, snowy, generally Clevelandwintery evening in January to celebrate our 150th episode at Forest City Brewery! Joined by a few friends and a lot of Spud's…
- 149: Craft Workshop: How Writers Edit Drafts (Their Own and Each Other’s) · 1 h 11 min · Season 5 Episode 18This week on Radio FreeWrite, we do something a little different. Instead of writing to a new prompt, we bring in a finished draft and talk through what happens after the writing…
- 148: Fanfaron: Writing the Pluperfect Tense Without Sounding Forced · 57 min · Season 5 Episode 17The Cru dives deep into one deceptively small word with outsized consequences: had. Before writing from the prompt fanfaron—a swaggering bully or cowardly boaster—we get into a…
- 147: La La Land: A Conversation With The Whisky Type · 1 h 0 min · Season 5 Episode 16The Cru is joined by Carolyn, aka The Whisky Type, to chat all things writing, typewriter, and whisky related. We had a great conversation about the importance of sharing your…
- 146: Hygge: Tips and Tricks for Writing a Vibe · 1 h 12 min · Season 5 Episode 15In our 146th episode, the Cru gather for their annual yuletide retreat to Spliff's Christmas Cabin. There, we discuss hygge: the nordic word for coziness, conviviality, and joy…
- 145: To Take An Ell: Our Writers Hate Marketing (Yet Ironically Announce a Live Ep) · 1 h 0 min · Season 5 Episode 14In this episode, The Cru chat about the frustrating demands of writing in the social media age. Modern authors are increasingly expected to build their own followings and…
