Write The Book: Conversations on Craft

Melanie Finn - 5/16/22

Melanie Finn, winner of the Vermont Book Award in Fiction 2021, and author of The Hare (Two Dollar Radio). 

Melanie's favorite recent reads include:

Empireland, by Sathnam Sanghera

On The Black Hill, by Bruce Chatwin

Orlando, by Virginia Woolf

 

This week's Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Melanie Finn, who recommends starting "outside the box" when it comes to building character. For her protagonist Rosie, the sense of smell is a strong guide; she's really aware of how things smell. When you consider your own characters, think about all their senses: color and sound, but also how a character  might feel the sensation of silk or wet grass. Melanie says that sometimes we get caught up with the obvious—what is seen or heard—and forget to convey the world through all the senses.

Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.

Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro

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Kurt and Ellie Johnson - 5/9/22

Kurt Johnson and his daughter, Ellie Johnson, who have collaborated on a new novel titled The Barrens: A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic (Arcade). 

This week I have two Write the Book Prompts to offer, thanks to the generosity of my guests. Kurt Johnson suggests writing a paragraph the beginning and end of which you know ahead of time. Allow the middle to be more stream of consciousness. Ellie suggests writing an adventure. This could be a story, or a scene, or the beginnings of something longer. Pick an area of the world where a character is camping, and write about what goes wrong. 

Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.

Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro

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Maya Rodale - 5/8/22

Maya Rodale, best-selling and award-winning author of funny feminist historical fiction and romance. Her latest novel is Mad Girls of New York (Berkley).

This week’s Write the Book Prompt was suggested by my guest, Maya Rodale, who said it was inspired by our conversation. Take this scenario and write it forward: 

She was in a rush to get downtown–the sooner the better and definitely before it was too late. But when she turned onto Broadway, what she saw shocked her. She would not be getting downtown any time soon …

Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.

Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro

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Michelle Huneven - 5/2/22

Michelle Huneven's latest is Search, a funny novel about a congregational search committee, told as a memoir with recipes (Penguin).

This week’s Write the Book Prompt comes from Michelle Huneven’s book, Search. It’s one that the search committee is offered when they begin working with the consultant named Helen:

IMAGINE YOUR LIFE AS A MOVIE THAT YOU’VE STEPPED OUT OF TO BE HERE TODAY. WHAT’S THE TITLE? THE SETTING? THE PLOT?  

Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.

 

Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro

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