Julia F. Green and Ralph Walker kick off Season 3, which will focus on narrative craft particularly through the lens of shorter works. In this episode, they discuss Kathryn Schultz's 2017 New Yorker piece “Losing Streak.” They explore the personal and academic voices used, how each reveals and deepens the themes of loss and grief, and the structure and specificity choices the author makes.

This episode also includes a writing prompt and information about the 2025 Journey to Jupiter Writing Retreat.

Reading: “Losing Streak” by Kathryn Schulz

Prompt: Write about a thing that you've lost. What was the significance of that thing? How did you feel about losing it?

Now go back and look at your word choices. What is revealed in the specificity of your language choices? Is there a more specific way to describe the same thing?

Join us: 2025 Journey To Jupiter application & info

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Writing in the Dark is co-hosted by Julia F. Green (Substack, Bluesky, website) and Ralph Walker (Twitter, website) and edited by Aaron Fyler, with cover art by Jarmusch.

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