Every writer's dream is to create a legacy that lives on, informing and inspiring readers for generations after they themselves have perished.

Ireland's most popular historical novelist, Walter Macken, who died in 1967, did just that. This week's show features a conversation between Dublin-based linguist Rafael Guzmán and Father Walter Macken, Jr., the son of Walter Macken, recorded earlier this year to mark the 40th anniversary of Macken's death. In this fascinating talk, Father Walter Macken Jr. candidly discusses his father's life and legacy, motivations, and methods.

This week we present two hilarious stories submitted by Writing Show listeners Eric Pliner ("Santa Baby") and Tim Tucker ("That Day in the Manger").

After each writer reads his story, he joins Writing Show host Paula B. to talk about writing.

This week we present two hilarious stories submitted by Writing Show listeners Eric Pliner ("Santa Baby") and Tim Tucker ("That Day in the Manger").

After each writer reads his story, he joins Writing Show host Paula B. to talk about writing.

In 1998, a medieval prayer book sold for $2 million at a Christie's auction in New York City, to an anonymous bidder. No one could figure out why it went for so much, especially since it was in terrible shape. And everyone wondered what this mysterious buyer knew that they didn't.

Now, almost a decade later, experts at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, to which the manuscript has been entrusted, are learning the full extent of its value. It turns out that the prayers, penned by a Christian monk circa 1200 A.D., were written over an earlier text. But not just any text. The prayers were written over the lost works of Archimedes, the greatest mathematician of antiquity.

What did this ancient manuscript hold? Literally the secrets of the universe. And in The Archimedes Codex, Stanford professor Reviel Netz and Walters Art Museum curator William Noel, who have been on the front lines of its decoding, tell its full story.

Please join Reviel Netz, William Noel, and Paula B. as they delve into:

How they got involved with the codex

What sorts of issues they faced in conserving the artifact

Why Archimedes is so important

What has been discovered about Archimedes through the codex

Why a scribe wrote over Archimedes' texts

Where the codex was hiding over the centuries

How the codex ended up at the Stanford Linear Accelerator

Who's allowed to purchase precious artifacts like the codex, and under what conditions

How they finally cracked the text.

Writers are just different. We face a variety of issues unknown to most people. What do we struggle with, and how can we rise to meet those challenges?

Jurgen Wolff is a writing coach who writes films, plays, television shows, fiction, and nonfiction. He teaches creativity workshops around the world.

Please join Jurgen and host Paula B. as they wrestle with:

Which psychological issues are most common among writers

How writers sabotage themselves

How to keep from falling into bad habits

Why we sometimes feel let down when we achieve a goal

How to handle friends who are envious or disparaging

How to make unpleasant tasks easier to tackle

How to decide when to give up.

We just concluded a big experiment: our 2007 First-Chapter-of-a-Novel Contest. Tune in and find out what went on behind the scenes.

Join Writing Show host Paula B. and contest judge Ann Paden for this look at our 2007 First-Chapter Contest, including:

Why we decided to offer feedback

Why it was difficult to find judges

How we came up with our fee structure

What the role of Literary Market Place was

How I flubbed up on the number of judges I'd need

How the judges felt about writing 750-word critiques

How the judges evaluated your chapters

How one judge, Ann Paden, felt about the entries she read and about the contest itself

What Ann recommends contestants do to improve their work

What was involved in administering the contest.

With the writers' strike in full swing, the timing of this interview with a writer and producer of independent films couldn't be better. Find out why work-for-hire gigs may not be enough for the ambitious screenwriter.

Scott Fivelson co-wrote and was a producer on the film "American Reel," starring David Carradine, Mariel Hemingway, and the distinguished British actor Michael Maloney. He also co-wrote the zombie movie "Route 666."

Please join Scott and host Paula B. as they chew over, among other things:

How Scott got started in Hollywood

How "American Reel" and "Route 666" got made

How he ended up producing as well as writing

How he selects his subjects

What a screenwriter does and doesn't get to do on a film

What he finds difficult about writing

How he comes up with jokes and humorous situations.

Since September of 2006, we've been following Jean as she attempts to find an agent to represent her intergenerational novel Karaoke Nights at the Twilight Lounge. So far, Jean has received a number of rejections, but at least she's heard something. She's also started work on some new projects.

In episode 7, we hear once again from listener T.A. Evans, learn what Jean is going to do about her stalled search for an agent, and get an update on the other projects she's pursuing in the meantime, including her new podcast.

This week's guest may be a debut writer, but to my mind he's one of the best wordsmiths I've ever encountered

Since 1976, Steven M. Reilly has coached baseball in Connecticut's Lower Naugatuck Valley.

Please join Steve Reilly and host Paula B. as they explore:

Why readers should care about a fifteen-year-old high school baseball season

How Steve achieves sparkling description and lively characters

Why he likes the number three

How his commentary spices up the narrative

How he remembered so many minute details

What hyphenated words do for his style

How he achieves a cinematic effect.

We announce the winners of our 2007 First-Chapter-of-a-Novel Contest