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In this episode, we discuss “Zombie” by Joyce Carol Oates. What can we learn from this portrait of a real-life serial killer? How do we feel about a portrait of a monster? Why do we write fiction in the first place? What creates forward momentum in a story? How can we control the focus of a reader’s empathy? Should writers try to write from perspectives outside their personal experience?

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In this episode, we discuss “The Wind” by Lauren Groff. What can we learn from this tense, action-packed story? How can we make a story so gripping? How can a removed point of view help reveal more depth in a story? How can we enrich a story?

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In this episode, we discuss “These Golden Cities” by K. David Wade. What can we learn from this story about taking an acid trip? How does the story guide us through the character’s experience? How do the character’s thoughts and perspective interact with the narrative point of view? How can a story explore a common yet pivotal life experience? How does a story gain power from being of the current cultural moment?

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In this episode, we discuss “Non-Zero Probabilities” by N. K. Jemisin. What can we learn from this bit of speculative fiction? How can world-building be personal to a character? Can we set up the reader to infer the nature of the world based on details we provide? How can changing the variables in a situation help develop a story?

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In this episode, we discuss “A Telephone Call” by Dorothy Parker. What can we learn from this intense interior monologue story? How does this nearly 100-year-old story still reflect modern reality? How does the representation of a spiraling, fixating mind still produce forward momentum? How can paragraphing and punctuation help guide the reading experience?

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In this episode, we discuss Curtis Sittenfeld vs ChatGPT. What can we learn from this experiment in comparing a literary author with an AI-generated story? How would we critique the ChatGPT story? What makes the Sittenfeld story human? What can we learn from the way the two versions summarize conversations? What about the cliches? How good is ChatGPT’s writing?

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In this episode, we discuss “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado. What can we learn from this exploration of a familiar horror scenario? How can we expand on a common symbol in a story? How can we structure a story that comprises a lifetime? How do we focus such a story?

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On this episode, we discuss “The Celestial Omnibus” by E. M. Forster (starts page 54). What can we learn from this literary version of a fairy-story? How does the story pit pedantry against ingenuousness? Does it pick a winner? How does the story mimic the voices of its literary characters?

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In this episode, we discuss “The Complete” by Gabriel Smith. What can we learn from this story made up of semi-connected snippets? How can disconnected pieces of narrative connect with one another to create interwoven threads? How many first-parson narrators can a story have? How much should a story rely on the reader’s own story-external experience of things?

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In this episode, we discuss “Sour Milk Girls” by Erin Roberts. What can we learn from this story about damaged people? Can a story explore a broken character? How can we present background as part of a scene happening in the moment? How can using a light speculative touch help a story dig into character? Can we write a story asking what a broken character would do as a result of their trauma?

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