Radio FreeWrite

The Cru was joined by a hefty crowd at Bookhouse Brewing to celebrate their 100th Episode! We celebrated with a live holiday special full of cheer, chaos, and (naturally) terrifying Alpine folklore. Between bites of cookie and clinks of glasses we read stories from those who wrote in from afar (fan-favorites Richard Polt, YYC Typewriter, and JW Surface) and welcomed guests to read their stories at the mic. Most of our guests wrote 100-word stories for our episode; we hope you enjoy them!
Adapted from Wikipedia:

The Krampus is a horned anthropomorphic figure in the central and eastern Alpine folklore of Europe who, during the Advent season, scares children who have misbehaved. Assisting St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 6 December, with St. Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with gifts such as oranges, dried fruits, walnuts, and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods.

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This week we took stock of our writing habits: what it takes to get in the zone, how to make the most of short bursts, and the eternal balance between outlining and leaping headfirst into chaos. There were rituals, routines, and a few suspiciously potato-related metaphors.

Then we read first-draft stories inspired by Potato War, with tales ranging from military mashups to low-stakes food fights that escalated faster than expected.

Potato War:
Depression name for the war of Bavarian succession between 1778 and 1779, because the operations largely revolved around the acquisition or denial to the enemy of supplies.

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The Cru discuss why show vs. tell has particular resonance for a reading public geared toward visual storytelling. Stories begin around the 14:20 mark and include a tale of Cain; a stroll through the mist; and a fantastical rebirth.
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: 
Land of Nod, The. This was the desolate land to which CAIN was exiled after he had slain ABEL (Genesis 4:16). Jonathan Swift, in A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation (1738), said that he was 'going into the land of Nod', meaning that he was going to sleep, which meaning it has retained ever since. 

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The Cru is joined by author KC Woodruff for a chat about her approach to worldbuilding, memes, and all sorts of authorial mayhem. Stories begin around the 24:30 mark and include a plant lady who is overgrown with plants; learning to cope with winter; a love letter; and a guy who hates gardens. You can, and should, follow KC on Instagram, X, and TikTok. 
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The. A square garden (according to Diodorus Siculus (c.40 BC)), 400ft (122m) each way, rising in a series of terraces and provided with earth to a sufficient depth to accommodate trees of a great size. Water was raised from the Euphrates by a screw, and the gardens were irrigated from a reservoir at the top.

These famous gardens, one of the SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, were said to have been built by Queen SEMIRAMIS and by NEBUCHADNEZZAR, to gratify his wife Amytis, who felt weary of the flat plains of Babylon and longed for something to remind her of her native Median hills. They may have been associated with the great ziggurat of Babylon.
 

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The Cru try their hand at writing in the vein of Danielle Steel, the bestselling living author. Since this is as close to cartoon-covered romances as we're likely to get (Spud: "Hold my beer." (I know, I know, she's more of a wine gal.)) we invited the G from Storywars CLE back on to chat about romance, popular fiction,  and how to get a podcast off the rails. Stories begin around the 25 minute mark and include an opening; a doctor, who receives a gift; a meet-cute; a family heirloom; and a girl, living a life that doesn't fit her.
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  
Hallmark. The official mark stamped on gold and silver articles after they have been assayed, so called because the assaying or testing and stamping was done at the Goldsmiths' Hall. The hallmark normally includes four symbols: the standard mark; the assay office or 'hall' mark; the date letter; and the sponsor's or maker's mark. There was also formerly a duty mark abolished in 1890.

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Tonight's prompt is from a new source: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig. We discuss all things related to the prompt, which is:
bareleveling
v. intr. trying to improve yourself without anyone else knowing about it, afraid that they'll think it's silly or grandiose or unnecessary, or that they'll end up calling too much attention to your efforts, transforming a casual tweak into a flashy rebranding campaign.
Armenian punt (barelavvel), to become better. Pronounced "bair-lev-uhl-ing." 
Stories begin around the 16:40 mark and include life as a bookseller; a character having a conversation; a journey; and a poem about vulnerability. 

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The Cru examine tales of one of WebEater's childhood heroes: Zorro. Is pulp a guilty pleasure, or is there literary merit in tales designed only to delight us? Stories begin at the 17:45 mark and include Zorro on the Z; the far future of the rodentverse; a fan of Zorro, who brings a girl back to his apartment; and women showing up for each other. 
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: 
Zorro The black-masked, black-caped master swords- man and avenger of old California was the creation of Johnston McCulley. He first appeared in 1919 in the magazine story 'The Curse of Capistrano'. His 'trademark' is the letter Z, which he slashes on the clothes or skin of his enemies. He soon transferred to the cinema screen, where he has been played by such actors as Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power and Antonio Banderas. His name is Spanish for 'fox', from a word that originally meant 'cunning'.

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Clarice Lispector (1920-1977) was a Brazilian novelist whose bizarre and introspective work enthralls the reader. We take a look at her work and attempt to shamelessly steal her style for the evening. Stories begin around the 23:20 mark and include a woman, walking with her grandson; a goddess without agency; a poem about an apple; and a goddess, bearing witness.
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  
Berchta A goddess of south German mythology akin to the HULDA of north Germany, but after the introduction of Christianity she was degraded into a BOGY to frighten children. In her current form she is the personification of the night before EPIPHANY, and in Alpine districts gifts are placed for her on the roof on this day, which is named after her as Perchtentag.

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The Cru record from their annual Christmas retreat, bringing you tales of a Christmas ghost story; two brothers, bringing home a tree; poems about winter and the holidays; and a first date.
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  
Christmas decorations. The Roman festival of SATURN was held in December and the temples were decorated with greenery. The DRUIDS are associated with MISTLETOE, and the Saxons used HOLLY and IVY. These customs have been transferred to the Christian festival. The holly (popularly associated with 'holy') is called 'Christ's thorn' in Germany and Scandinavia, from its use in church decorations and its berries, which are borne about Christmas time. The early Christians gave an emblematic turn to the custom, referring to the 'righteous branch', and justifying it from Isaiah 60:13: 'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary.'

The decorated Christmas tree was in use among the Romans and was introduced to Britain from Germany soon after Queen Victoria's marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe- Coburg-Gotha in 1840. SANTA CLAUS and his reindeer came to Britain at the same time although RUDOLPH did not join them until much later. 

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PC shares his method for visualizing characters and, crucially, keeping those descriptions consistent and vivid throughout a story or novel. Stories begin around the 25:20 mark and include a condemned judge; a family feud; Minos, after his reward; and a new Greek Myth. 
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:  
Minos. The title of a legendary king and law-giver of Crete. At death, Minos was made supreme judge of the lower world, before whom all the dead appeared to give an account of their stewardship and to receive the reward of their deeds. He was the husband of PASIPHAE and the owner of the LABYRINTH constructed by DAEDALUS. From the name comes the adjective 'Minoan', pertaining to Crete. The Minoan period is the Cretan bronze age, roughly about 2500-1200 BC. 

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

 
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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.