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In this episode, we discuss “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. What can we learn from this classic story? How does the conceit of the narration help tell the story? How does the setting and situation impact the story? How can we manipulate point of view to create narrative effects? Should we ever ignore writing advice?

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In this episode, we discuss “The Hunter’s Wife” by Anthony Doerr. What can we learn from a story with a fantastical premise? What do we get from a slow-building, patient story? How do pace and story work together? How can we use our deep familiarity with a setting in our writing?

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In this episode, we discuss “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger. How can a simple presentation provide such a complex story? What’s the effect of a third-person, psychically distant point of view? How do we know what a character is thinking if we never see their thoughts? What should we as writers provide for readers to see the bigger picture?

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In this episode, we discuss “Sweethearts” by Richard Ford. What can we learn from this story? How can a character’s emotions create tension in a story? How can a story’s premise wind up the tension? How can we establish an authoritative voice for the narrator?

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In this episode, we discuss “This is Pleasure” by Mary Gaitskill. What can we learn from a story with two first-person narrators? How can physical description help characterize a character? How do the feelings point-of-view characters have about something frame a story’s overall perspective? What’s the difference between a story and a character sketch?

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In this episode, we discuss “Snow” by Dale Bailey. What can we learn from this action-packed apocalyptic survival story? How much does a story like this rely on our familiarity with the genre? How do we determine what a story should focus on? How can we use refrains or motifs to represent the building pressures on a character’s decision? How can punctuation and line breaks help build the style of a scene?

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In this episode, we discuss “Leaf by Niggle” by J. R. R. Tolkien. What can we learn from this little tale? Is this a religious allegory? How does an allegorical framework limit how we understand or how we might write a story? What are the limitations of interpretive criticism? How is this story so much more than an allegory? What do we want to accomplish with fiction?

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In this episode, we discuss “This is How You Fail to Ghost Him” by Victoria McCurdy. What can we learn from a piece of flash fiction? How can flash fiction satisfy us? What can be accomplished in such limited space? How does flash fiction allow us to try things out, like unusual points of view?

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In this episode, we discuss “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. What can we learn from a paradigm example of a short story? How can we fit an emotionally satisfying character arc into a short story? How can we craft great dialogue? How can we achieve a legitimately moving ending in a story?

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In this episode, we discuss “Ghosts and Empties” by Lauren Groff. What can we learn from a ruminative story with very little plot? How can we turn our own real experiences into fiction? How does a story differ from a personal essay? How does fiction establish a character’s state of mind by paying attention to what they notice and respond to? How does that method contrast with the device of using fictive elements to embody inner conflicts?

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