In the Season 4 finale, the Radio FreeWrite crew looks back on their writing goals—ranging from dialogue practice to poetic experimentation—and what they’ve learned along the way. Krispy shares how a season of poetry shaped his approach to language, while PC, Spud, and WebEater reflect on growth, discipline, and finding focus as writers.

Then, inspired by the prompt Batrachomyomachia (“the battle of frogs and mice”), they read original first-draft stories: an epic blank-verse poem on anxiety, a dark fantasy battle between spectromancers, and a tender late-night encounter with a mysterious elk.

Perfect for fans of flash fiction, writing craft discussions, and storytelling challenges with a literary twist! Stories start around the 17:45 mark.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

This week we got deep into writing nerd territory, swapping stories about the books that shape our craft—Slaughterhouse‑Five, Catch‑22, and one Nabokov short story WebEater dissected like he was an eager fifth grader who'd just been handed his first owl pellet. We talked about borrowing and adapting structure from other authors, the little lies we tell ourselves to keep writing, and that weird optimism/pessimism dance that happens whenever Vonnegut comes up. And also, cat anuses *.

Then we read first‑draft stories inspired by Propaganda, featuring a secret East German book smuggler, a fantasy bureaucracy obsessed with sacred flames, and a hilariously depressing mini‑monster‑truck rally.

Happy writing everyone! Stories start around 19 minutes in.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

Krispy had wedding #2 out of 3 this year (to the same woman) but still pinched out a story. We talked about making dialogue sound natural, how to write characters who don't sound like, well, you talking to yourself, and why highlighting every line in neon colors might help.

Bam! Pow! Then we read stories for the prompt Queensberry Rules (a set of regulations for boxing matches (that introduced the use of padded gloves in boxing as well as the 10-second count)). Stories feature everything from everything from origin stories in PC’s rodent universe to punchy tales about conflict, conversation, and chaos.

We hope you enjoy this episode's stories, and that they inspire you to write your own!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

We fell straight into the story‑structure void this week—Dan Harmon’s Story Circle (of Community fame, as Murph will be quick to tell you; only casuals know him from Rick and Morty), Joseph Campbell, sitcom plotting, and the eternal “oh god, my draft needs an actual plot” realization. We shared our outlining disasters, surprise rewrites, and that moment when you finally admit the story isn’t done yet.

Afterward, we read stories inspired by U and Non‑U, a very British way of deciding whether you’re classy or common based on whether you say “bike” or “cycle.”

Stories start around 19:05. Happy writing everyone!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

This episode special guest Matt Weinkam joins us! We talk about Literary Cleveland, a nonprofit organization and creative writing center that empowers people to explore other voices and discover their own; Cleveland's own free literary conference the Inkubator; our creative influences; and the paths that lead people back to writing. Then we reflect on early inspirations, experimenting with style, and how community programs make writing more accessible.

Then, stories inspired by the prompt Ganymede—a name meaning either “to shine joyfully” or "shining testicle," depending on whom you ask—explore beauty, pageantry, and unsettling small‑town traditions.

We hope you enjoy this episode! 

Check out Literary Cleveland here: https://www.litcleveland.org/

Or follow them on Instagram @literarycleveland

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

This episode JUST C.O.S. joins us to talk about writing, life, and The Sparrow's Fortune, a poetry collective working to inspire, educate, and encourage our community through arts, entertainment, and creative writing workshops. We discussed the challenge of learning to accept critique without losing your love for the craft, and the sheer joy of watching other people create. There were birds in the walls, Tony Morrison quotes in the air, and a...spirited... discussion about what counts as “armchair criticism.”

Then we shared first‑draft poems and stories inspired by Ephesian: a jolly companion. How fitting.

Check out The Sparrow's Fortune here: https://www.thesparrowsfortune.com/

Or follow them on Instagram @thesparrowsfortune

Follow @just.c.o.s. on Insta, and if you want to book email [email protected]

Happy writing everyone!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

This prompt sent us into the glorious, pulpy world of yellowbacks— sensational novels with wild covers printed on the cheapest paper available. We chatted about book covers as promises to readers, genre tropes we secretly (or not‑so‑secretly) love, and what happens when you just lean into the ridiculous.

After that, we read first‑draft tales of arrogant jungle hunters, rom‑com hijinks, and paperback‑worthy melodrama.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

Special Guest J.W. Surface joins us for this episode!

Check out J.W.'s book Something Dark and Others here: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/something-dark-and-others

And check out Gargoyle Publications here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GargoylePublications

We spent this week talking about the strange joys of revising poetry—line breaks that refuse to cooperate, words that suddenly look wrong, and that drive —it's not a compulsion, I swear!— to tirelessly edit draft after draft. . J.W. Surface joined us to chat about novels a decade in the making, typewritten poems, and how hard it is not to tinker forever.

Then we shifted (see what we did there?) into stories inspired by Proteus, the Greek myth’s shape‑shifting prophet—complete with quests, bargains, and an epic fight with mortality itself.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

Our first all‑in‑person episode in a while! We rambled (anticlockwise, of course) into a big discussion of plot vs. story—architects vs. gardeners, internal vs. external conflict, and how to give structure a story without killing the magic.

Then came stories inspired by Wildcat, featuring everything from ghostly surprises to chaotic encounters that prove plot, as important as it is, isn’t everything.

Stories start at 25:23. 

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

We didn’t plan a topic this week, but PC accidentally pitched us a masterclass on worldbuilding. Cue a cosmic mythology with warring gods (a sentient tree vs... a lake), saltwater corruption, and squirrel crusaders. We talked about how to sneak in just enough lore to make a fantasy world come alive—without writing a thousand‑page slog no one will read.

Then we read first‑draft stories for the prompt Everything Tastes of Porridge, ranging from surreal food magic to grim little tales of survival.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.