Today on our show we share a story by Sally Schwartz called Divorce Shiva. Sally’s story reveals the importance of ritual in helping us go through love and loss. On the day of her divorce, instead of crying at home alone, her friends gathered around and built a giant bonfire. Sally was reluctant to “celebrate” at first, but as she threw her monogrammed stationery into the flames, she realized she needed the ritual.

This story is a perfect example of equal parts heart and art. Sally tells the full truth about divorce. She also artfully weaves her theme throughout, teaches us a lesson in structure, showing and telling, and the importance of specific details.

For more than nine years, Sally Schwartz has worked as a syndicated columnist for The Chicago Tribune, where, until her divorce, she published under the name Sally Schwartz Higginson. Her work has also been published in The Sun, Herstry, The Sunlight Press, Brevity Blog, and Read650. 

We want to thank Nadine Kenney Johnstone for telling her students about Writing Class Radio. Nadine has a podcast called Heart of the Story. For more Sally Schwartz to sallyschwartz.com and on twitter: @heygalsal.

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill and Evan Surminski at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox. Additional music by Jamie Lee Wilson and sourced through Megatrax. 

There’s more writing class on our website including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our live First Draft weekly writers group. (Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET) Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. For $125/mth, you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Today we bring you a personal essay that includes an abortion story, in hopes that it will prompt men to tell their abortion stories. The story was co-written by Andrea Askowitz and Ida Dupont. 

Ida and Andrea have been in the abortion fight for thirty years. They realize reproductive justice advocates (them included) made a mistake in couching abortion as solely a women’s issue. Men benefit from abortions just as much as women. Men need to tell their stories because stories change minds and laws. Writing Class Radio wants #mensabortionstories. If you agree, please share this episode with #mensabortionstories.

Also on this episode co-hosts Allison Langer, Zorina Frey, and Andrea Askowitz talk about how writing about an experience and a unique take on a subject at the top of the news, is a way to get published.  

Ida Dupont is an Associate Professor at Pace University in the Sociology Department. She researches and teaches about sexuality, social movements, criminology, and reproductive justice. The original story appeared in NBCNews under Andrea’s byline with Ida Dupont contributing. 

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill and Evan Surminski at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox.

There’s more writing class on our website including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. (Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET) Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. For $125/mth, you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. Men, what’s yours?

#mensabortionstories, #abortion, #writingpodcast, #roevwade

Today on our show we share a story by Andrea Askowitz. Andrea’s story was written as speculative memoir during our writing retreat in Guatemala. And if you are like most people, you have never heard of speculative memoir. After you hear this episode, you will be dying to give it a try. But why did she use speculative memoir?

According to author Laraine Herring, who wrote in the Rumpus, speculative memoir explores the truth through the figurative over the literal. She questions why we say “just” before imagination, because isn’t imagination the foundation of everything? Go to the Rumpus to learn more.

On this episode, we have a special guest host: Zorina Frey. Zorina has been taking our classes for years and now she teaches one of our first draft classes on Wednesday night from 6-7pm ET. Click to sign up.

Andrea got the idea for this writing prompt from Beth Kephart, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of 30 books. If you’d like to write your own speculative memoir (essay), follow the steps Andrea did below:

Think of a scene you’ve tried to write, but couldn’t because of lack of information. You can go back to the day of your birth or even conception. Write for 3 minutes to each of the following prompts (in order):

1. Where was this place?

2. Who was there?

3. When did this occur?

4. Who said what?

5. What happened in the end?

6. Why did this happen?

Zorina mentions Andrea’s use of anaphora, which is a rhetorical device in which a word or expression is repeated. An example of anaphora is Lincoln's "We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground." 

You can find Andrea on Twitter @andreaaskowitz, FB @andreaaskowitz, and Instagram @andreaaskowitzandreaaskowitz. Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill and Evan Surminski at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox.

There’s more writing class on our website including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. (Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET) Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. For $125/mth, you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

Today on our show we share a story by Kelly Eden who lives in New Zealand. Kelly brought this essay to 2nd Draft, a class we offer on Zoom. (To sign up click here.) Kelly took the feedback she received from the class then posted on Medium and got lots of traction. Her story shows her struggle with Crohn’s disease while asking herself a question very familiar to our hosts, “Am I doing enough?”

Kelly's essays and short fiction have won several awards. She has been writing for magazines and online for over 13 years and now coaches other writers to do the same. When she's not writing, she loves to watch musicals with her kids and spend time with her sexy-musician husband. You can find Kelly on twitter @eden_writer.

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill and Evan Surminski at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox.

There’s more writing class on our website including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. (Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET) Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. For $125/mth, you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

Today on our show we share a story by Heidi Walker called Coming Home. The essay is under 800 words and finely detailed to emphasize only what the narrator would like us to focus on. We love this essay not only for its sentiment but also because the tightness of the essay proves that keeping it simple can often make the story stronger.

We wanted this story on our show for the heart it expresses. The essay is also artfully crafted. But, the heart hit us hard. The story is about coming home. Which both Allison and Andrea did.  

Heidi Walker was born in Seattle, raised in the farmlands close to the city, and still lives in Seattle today. She is a photographer and writer and says her world was filled with reading and writing. Books were gifts for birthdays and holidays. One year, she received three books titled Heidi. She still has a copy on her bookshelf.  

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill and Evan Surminski at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox. Additional music by Jamie Lee Wilson and sourced through Megatrax.

There’s more writing class on our website including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. (Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET) Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. For $125/mth, you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other Wednesday.

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story.  What’s yours?

Today on our show we bring you another story by Corey Devon Arthur, an inmate at Otisville Correctional Facility in New York. This story is about the demon he battles in his head, which is literally a voice that tries to talk him into continuing the violence he learned on the street, and his attempt to become a better man.

We also have a special guest host. Sarah Holtz is a reporter and audio producer based in Oakland. Her work has aired on Houston Public Media, New Orleans Public Radio, and Northern California Public Media. She received training in audio and writing at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

Sarah Holtz volunteers with Empowerment Ave, an organization created by Emily Nonko and Rahsaan “New York” Thomas. Their mission is to normalize the inclusion of incarcerated artists and writers in mainstream venues. They assist incarcerated writers in getting their work published and compensated for, and contribute creatively to the abolition movement and liberation of incarcerated people.

Sarah is the person who sent us the story written by Corey Devon Arthur which we aired on Episode 120 and was titled, My Pen Uncovers the Real Me. 

Corey has served 25 years on a life sentence for robbery and murder. Corey is an artist and writer who has been published on Writing Class Radio and The Marshall Project.

Writing Class Radio shares stories by men and women on the inside because it is important to give everyone a voice. We all make mistakes, some worse than others, but we feel that everyone can change. And there’s no better way to initiate change than through writing and sharing stories. 

If you’d like to hear more stories from the inside, please listen to the prison series. During the 10-part series, we aired stories written and read (almost all) by the men and women incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. Andrea, Allison, and guest host, Xaire Vii, spoke about why the incarcerated need to be heard and how hearing their stories and getting to know the people society condemns can bring our broken society back together.

On this episode we mentioned Ear Hustle, a podcast featuring Rahsaan Thomas and the men in San Quentin Prison. 

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Clare Mansell at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox. 

 There’s more writing class on our website, writing class radio dot com: including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. You have the option to join Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET. Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re looking to take your writing to the next level, for $125/mth you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio. 

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

This episode is about landing an ending. It’s also about raising the bar on what we write about. In this case, storyteller Jennifer Landau writes something new and important about being a mom. She is afraid for what will happen to her son after she dies. This is especially important because like Allison and Andrea, Jennifer chose to have children on her own using anonymous sperm donation. So, Jennifer does not have a co-parent. The story is beautiful and so honest. This essay was previously published in Literary Mama.

Jennifer Landau lives in Westchester County, NY with her son, who does spot-on impressions of both Johnny Cash and Kermit the frog. She’s a children’s book editor, special education teacher and grant writer, and has published more than a dozen books. Her writing has appeared in Autism Parenting Magazine and Literary Mama. She owns three coffee makers, which is as close to a hobby as she gets.

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Clare Mansell at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox. Additional music by TJ North and Marnino Toussaint. Sound effects by Jacob Thiessan.

There’s more writing class on our website, writingclassradio.com: including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. You have the option to join Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET. Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re looking to take your writing to the next level, for $125/mth you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

Today on our show we’re talking about language. Listener Jamshid Samareh came to the United States from Tehran in 1978. He shares his story, which is about how learning the English language has helped him connect with Americans. Jamshid quotes Nelson Mandela who said, "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

Jamshid lives in Norfolk, VA holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics and is a senior research engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.  

Hosts Andrea and Allison discuss details in Jamshid’s story that could have been slightly embellished to improve the story. We’d love to hear what you think (listener). If you have a strong opinion about rounding up on the truth in personal essays, please send us an email at [email protected].

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Courtney Fox at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Courtney Fox of Amadians.

There’s more writing class on our website, writing class radio dot com: including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. You have the option to join Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET. Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re looking to take your writing to the next level, for $125/mth you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. So look for us. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

Welcome to Season 13. On today’s episode, you’ll hear a story which is less than 600 words and perfectly told. So much so, that we have chosen to use this story to show how to structure an essay. We’ll go over the 5Cs of a well-structured essay and why details are important.

Anthony Askowitz is not a writer. He is a realtor, and he is also Andrea’s older brother. Anthony read this essay during a family dinner after his daughters left for college. Do not miss the bloopers at the end, where Andrea helps Tony record his essay. 

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Courtney Fox at the Sound Off Media Company. Theme music by Amadians.

There’s more writing class on our website, writing class radio dot com: including essays to study, editing resources, video classes, writing retreats, and live online classes. Join our writing community by following us on Patreon. 

For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join our First Draft weekly writers group. You have the option to join Tuesdays 12-1 ET or Wednesdays 6-7pm ET. Write to a prompt and share what you wrote. If you’re looking to take your writing to the next level, for $125/mth you’ll get 1st draft and 2nd Draft. Each week three people bring a second draft for feedback and brainstorming. Join the community that comes together for instruction, an excuse to write, and most importantly, the support from other writers. To learn more, go to www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. So look for us. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

This is the final episode in a 10-part series inspired by the men Allison Langer taught memoir writing, in a men’s prison. This series shared stories written by Allison’s former memoir students as well as formerly incarcerated and currently incarcerated people from around the United States. Their experiences and voices, like those of many incarcerated people, are often marginalized and unheard.

On today’s episode, you will hear a story by Richardson Francois aka Swa, who Allison confesses was one of her favorite students. Swa will read his story, The Hate Hate Creates. Hate, Swa argues, is a sickness. Xaire agrees with Swa who says the easiest and hardest way to eradicate hate is to eradicate hate from the self.

Hosts will also discuss the impact of this series on them. We hope our listeners have taken away at least a part of what we’ve learned. Mainly, that sharing our stories is the best way to understand ourselves and each other and ultimately change the world for the better.

Please join our GoFundMe campaign to raise money for 2-Tall (Clifton Jones), whose story and voice you heard on episode 116. He needs our help to hire an appellate lawyer to get the justice he was promised and deserves.

Writing Class Radio is produced by Allison Langer, Andrea Askowitz, Xaire, and by Matt Cundill, Evan Surminski and Courtney Fox at the Sound Off Media Company. Music by Xaire, Marnino Toussaint and Amadians.

There’s more writing class on our website, writingclassradio.com including video classes, essays to study, and editing resources. 

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series--for $50. Click Video Classes on our website.

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, follow us on Patreon. For $10/month Andrea will answer all your publishing questions. For $25/month you can join Allison’s First Draft weekly writer's group Tuesdays (12-1 ET) or Zorina Frey’s 1st Draft Wednesdays (6-7pm ET), where you can write and share your work. www.Patreon.com/writingclassradio.

A new episode will drop every other WEDNESDAY. So look for us. 

There’s no better way to understand ourselves and each other, than by writing and sharing our stories. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?

This series is dedicated to Luis Aracena. You are missed and loved. May you rest in peace.