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Episode 42: Building Tension Through Character in The Woman in the Library
Welcome to Story Deep Dive!
In this episode, Dana Pittman and Rachel Arsenault dive into character craft in The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill—how a tight-knit friend group doubles as a suspect pool, why first-person present makes Freddie an unforgettable lens, and how secrets, lies, and interrelationships drive a mystery forward.
Whether you’re a writer, reader, or storyteller, you’ll gain valuable insights on building multidimensional casts, pacing revelations, and weaving characterization directly into plot.
You can also watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube!
Estimate Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome & Context
Dana and Rachel set the stage for Part 3 of their series on The Woman in the Library, explaining how this character discussion dovetails with last episode’s plot analysis. They preview craft lenses they’ll use to examine the cast and stakes.
02:30 – Rachel’s Update: Nuanced Worldbuilding from Games
Rachel shares takeaways from playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: a small team delivering AAA storytelling, innovative mechanics, and a world that feels real because different people respond differently to the same problem. Key insight: “A believable world isn’t made from uniform reactions.” Writers can mirror that variety to deepen setting and character.
14:10 – Dana’s Update: Live Series-Building in Real Time
Dana talks about her live writing sessions, where students watch her design a multi-book series using “story capsules” and shadow-plot connections. She shows that strong series planning blends discovery with strategic anchors, so each book stays connected to the larger arc.
23:45 – The Plot Accordion (Preptober Preview)
Dana previews her upcoming ProWritingAid session on the Plot Accordion—an adaptive framework that helps writers choose the right level of planning before drafting. Takeaway: planning isn’t one-size-fits-all; a little intentional prep can save hours in drafting and revision, even for discovery writers.
33:00 – Quick Story Recap
Rachel recaps the novel’s setup: four strangers—Freddie (writer), Cain (author), Whit (law student), and Marigold (psych student)—bond over a scream in the Boston Public Library. Their friendship thickens into a murder investigation, and one of them may be the killer.
34:30 – Characterization Through Interaction
They explore how Gentill lets characterization emerge inside the case itself. The friends’ choices—how they interpret facts, manage risk, and respond to one another—reveal personality, values, and fault lines while also moving the plot.
40:00 – Freddie’s Lens: First-Person, Present-Tense
Freddie’s writerly POV invites readers into an intimate, moment-to-moment experience. From playful nicknames (“Heroic Chin,” “Freud Girl”) to cultural outsider observations, her voice fuels the book’s meta quality (a writer observing and inventing in real time) and keeps emotional stakes close.
48:30 – Secrets & Suspects: A Contained Cast
Making the friend group the suspect pool narrows scope without shrinking tension. Rachel explains how to design suspects with motives, withheld truths, and interrelationships that generate curiosity. Notable quote: “We’re not just choosing who did it—we’re learning why.”
56:20 – Emotional Complexity: Everyone Feels Possible
Dana highlights how the novel keeps all four feeling both sympathetic and suspicious—“everyone could get it”—so readers keep shifting their theories. Quiet relational suspense outruns adrenaline and maintains investment.
59:30 – Craft Takeaways You Can Use
Rachel’s three big lessons:
Pace revelations (confession, slip, forced reveal).
Map interrelationships to find hidden tension.
Let interactions carry subtext—how characters lie, deflect, or protect others is character.
1:05:40 – Does Every Character Earn Their Place?
A practical edit test: if a side character lifts out cleanly, either integrate them more deeply or cut them. Characters should matter to plot, theme, or emotional stakes.
1:10:00 – Closing Thoughts
They applaud Gentill’s rule-honoring, inventive structure, moral nuance (no one is all good or all bad), and a mystery that makes readers “work for every revelation.” Listeners are invited to catch previous episodes and prep for the finale.
About the Book
Ned Kelly award winning author Sulari Gentill sets this mystery-within-a-mystery in motion with a deceptively simple, Dear Hannah, What are you writing? pulling us into theornate reading room at the Boston Public Library.
In every person’s story, there is something to hide...
The tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning―it just happens that one is a murderer.
Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
Where to Find the Book
The Woman at the Library by Sulari Gentill is available in several formats. It’s also widely available in libraries and online retailers. Details on Amazon.
Next Episode:
In the next episode, Dana and Rachel will explore their Editor’s Takes on The Woman in the Library—what writers can borrow, bend, or avoid, and how to translate those lessons into your own pages. Be sure to tune in!
Join the Conversation:
Like what you heard? Subscribe, leave a review, and share your thoughts. Follow Story Deep Dive on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite platform. Connect with Dana and Rachel on Instagram or visit storydeepdive.com to keep the conversation going!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storydeepdive.substack.com
View all episodes
By Story Deep DiveWelcome to Story Deep Dive!
In this episode, Dana Pittman and Rachel Arsenault dive into character craft in The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill—how a tight-knit friend group doubles as a suspect pool, why first-person present makes Freddie an unforgettable lens, and how secrets, lies, and interrelationships drive a mystery forward.
Whether you’re a writer, reader, or storyteller, you’ll gain valuable insights on building multidimensional casts, pacing revelations, and weaving characterization directly into plot.
You can also watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube!
Estimate Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome & Context
Dana and Rachel set the stage for Part 3 of their series on The Woman in the Library, explaining how this character discussion dovetails with last episode’s plot analysis. They preview craft lenses they’ll use to examine the cast and stakes.
02:30 – Rachel’s Update: Nuanced Worldbuilding from Games
Rachel shares takeaways from playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: a small team delivering AAA storytelling, innovative mechanics, and a world that feels real because different people respond differently to the same problem. Key insight: “A believable world isn’t made from uniform reactions.” Writers can mirror that variety to deepen setting and character.
14:10 – Dana’s Update: Live Series-Building in Real Time
Dana talks about her live writing sessions, where students watch her design a multi-book series using “story capsules” and shadow-plot connections. She shows that strong series planning blends discovery with strategic anchors, so each book stays connected to the larger arc.
23:45 – The Plot Accordion (Preptober Preview)
Dana previews her upcoming ProWritingAid session on the Plot Accordion—an adaptive framework that helps writers choose the right level of planning before drafting. Takeaway: planning isn’t one-size-fits-all; a little intentional prep can save hours in drafting and revision, even for discovery writers.
33:00 – Quick Story Recap
Rachel recaps the novel’s setup: four strangers—Freddie (writer), Cain (author), Whit (law student), and Marigold (psych student)—bond over a scream in the Boston Public Library. Their friendship thickens into a murder investigation, and one of them may be the killer.
34:30 – Characterization Through Interaction
They explore how Gentill lets characterization emerge inside the case itself. The friends’ choices—how they interpret facts, manage risk, and respond to one another—reveal personality, values, and fault lines while also moving the plot.
40:00 – Freddie’s Lens: First-Person, Present-Tense
Freddie’s writerly POV invites readers into an intimate, moment-to-moment experience. From playful nicknames (“Heroic Chin,” “Freud Girl”) to cultural outsider observations, her voice fuels the book’s meta quality (a writer observing and inventing in real time) and keeps emotional stakes close.
48:30 – Secrets & Suspects: A Contained Cast
Making the friend group the suspect pool narrows scope without shrinking tension. Rachel explains how to design suspects with motives, withheld truths, and interrelationships that generate curiosity. Notable quote: “We’re not just choosing who did it—we’re learning why.”
56:20 – Emotional Complexity: Everyone Feels Possible
Dana highlights how the novel keeps all four feeling both sympathetic and suspicious—“everyone could get it”—so readers keep shifting their theories. Quiet relational suspense outruns adrenaline and maintains investment.
59:30 – Craft Takeaways You Can Use
Rachel’s three big lessons:
Pace revelations (confession, slip, forced reveal).
Map interrelationships to find hidden tension.
Let interactions carry subtext—how characters lie, deflect, or protect others is character.
1:05:40 – Does Every Character Earn Their Place?
A practical edit test: if a side character lifts out cleanly, either integrate them more deeply or cut them. Characters should matter to plot, theme, or emotional stakes.
1:10:00 – Closing Thoughts
They applaud Gentill’s rule-honoring, inventive structure, moral nuance (no one is all good or all bad), and a mystery that makes readers “work for every revelation.” Listeners are invited to catch previous episodes and prep for the finale.
About the Book
Ned Kelly award winning author Sulari Gentill sets this mystery-within-a-mystery in motion with a deceptively simple, Dear Hannah, What are you writing? pulling us into theornate reading room at the Boston Public Library.
In every person’s story, there is something to hide...
The tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning―it just happens that one is a murderer.
Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
Where to Find the Book
The Woman at the Library by Sulari Gentill is available in several formats. It’s also widely available in libraries and online retailers. Details on Amazon.
Next Episode:
In the next episode, Dana and Rachel will explore their Editor’s Takes on The Woman in the Library—what writers can borrow, bend, or avoid, and how to translate those lessons into your own pages. Be sure to tune in!
Join the Conversation:
Like what you heard? Subscribe, leave a review, and share your thoughts. Follow Story Deep Dive on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite platform. Connect with Dana and Rachel on Instagram or visit storydeepdive.com to keep the conversation going!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storydeepdive.substack.com