Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
James Thayer
Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted') and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer's "writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.
- 24 minutes 1 secondEpisode 160 - Should our story have a theme?
Best-selling writers disagree on the importance of a theme in stories. Here are thoughts on whether we should present a theme in our novel or short story. And famous authors on their writing discipline. Plus, mixing genres when telling an agent or publisher about our novel.
11 April 2025, 1:00 pm - 27 minutes 9 secondsEpisode 159 - A surefire way to generate plot, the sidekick.
Putting a sidekick into our story adds many benefits, a main one being that readers love sidekicks. Here are some techniques for creating a sidekick for our novel or short story. Also, a list of catchy, memorable novel titles. And a big question: how do bad novels get published?
4 April 2025, 1:00 pm - 22 minutes 53 secondsEpisode 158 - A lifetime's writing advice reduced to one minute.
Were a young writer to ask me for advice, and only had one minute to listen, here is what I'd say. Plus: how Louisa May Alcott worked. And, avoiding the blahs and self-doubts when writing.
28 March 2025, 1:00 pm - 27 minutes 31 secondsEpisode 157 - How we writers can create a world.
Remember the fabulous worlds that fantasy, sci fi, and historical writers create for us readers? How do they do that? What works so well? I'll talk about world-building, not just for those novels but for all genres. And also: more on the critical craft of character description.
21 March 2025, 1:00 pm - 26 minutes 4 secondsEpisode 156 - How to write the fast start.
Many readers only give a story ten or twenty pages before putting it aside to look for something more interesting. A fast start is the best way to maintain the reader's interest. Here's how to write the fast start. Also, how Alice Munro worked, and Richard Ford's rules of writing.
14 March 2025, 1:00 pm - 24 minutes 54 secondsEpisode 155 - The single most important ingredient in an unforgetable story.
Manon in Paris asked, "Why do some novels move us more than others?" Here is the single best way to make our story unforgettable, a story that moves the reader. Also, have we heard the advice, "Write what you know?" It's bad advice, and here are thoughts on it.
7 March 2025, 2:00 pm - 24 minutes 50 secondsEpisode 154 - Learning from the masterful writer Edna Ferber.
Edna Ferber was a master of character description. Here are a few of her characters, and maybe we can pick up some of her skill. Also, how many words a day do famous writers write, and how many words a day should we write? And showing pain, as opposed to telling about pain.
28 February 2025, 2:00 pm - 24 minutes 58 secondsEpisode 153 - A legendary novelist's lesson for us writers.
Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is a classic of western literature, a novel that endures and still hugely entertains because . . . it's so great. (How that for being profound?) Charlotte Bronte offers an important lesson for today's writers, and I'll talk about her lesson in this episode. Plus, the trouble with prologues.
21 February 2025, 2:00 pm - 28 minutes 32 secondsEpisode 152 - How the masters create their settings.
Why are some novels so good? One of the reasons is that the author is a master at setting descriptions. How did Charlotte Bronte and Edna Ferber make their settings magical? We'll talk about their techniques here. Also, strong verbs versus weak verbs: how and why to choose the stronger action word.
14 February 2025, 2:00 pm - 27 minutes 23 secondsEpisode 151 - Mad Magazine, and techniques for riveting dialogue.
My first encounter with Mad Magazine, a life changer. And dialogue techniques that can help make our characters' conversations fascinating.
7 February 2025, 2:00 pm - 27 minutes 36 secondsEpisode 150 - How to deliver a surprise in the story.
Good stories are filled with surprises for the reader. There are right and wrong ways for us writers to deliver surprises, and I'll talk about them here. Also, the importance of a tie-up-later list.
31 January 2025, 2:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App