In Episode 39, I’m chatting with Whitney French about her novel in verse, Syncopation, a science fiction novel about two women searching for meaning and purpose in a catastrophic world where memory is currency. 

We talk about the musicality of Syncopation, how a random Tumblr post birthed the idea of the book, and what characters can teach us about ourselves. I ask Whitney to don her writing coach cap to share some strategies for achieving writing goals and overcoming popular writing challenges, and we go back in time to find out about Whitney’s Tree Sessions, a writing program she held under trees for writers who wanted to embrace nature while creating art.

This was such a fun conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

1:54 – Tree sessions

6:22 – Describing her year in one word

7:42– How to structure a novel in verse

10:58– Nature eliminating itself in Syncopation 

12:58 – How a Tumblr post became a novel

16:42 – What characters teach us about ourselves

19:57 – Musicality in Syncopation

22:28 – Intersections of migration

25:05– Common challenges among writers

29:58– Strategies to help writers

38:39 – About Hush Harbour Press

43:19 – Secret to staying on the journey of her art

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Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LW5iwa9qvSw

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Guest’s links

Buy Syncopation: https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/products/syncopation

Visit the Hush Harbour website: https://www.hushharbour.com/ 

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Host’s links

Find out more about the show: https://www.journeyoftheart.com/

Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/  

Book a one-on-one with Lola: https://wordcaps.com/coaching/