#amwriting With Jess & Kj

The hardest part about writing a book is … all of it. Or, arguably, whichever part you’re doing. For our guest on this episode, listener Emily Henderson, it’s something like “I know what I want to write about, but I don’t know how. Structuring memoir or non-fiction (or, for that matter, fiction) is hard, y’all. And I think it gets talked about less in many ways that other elements of craft. We have this illusion that you come up with an idea and then you write it and it’s the writing that’s hard. But taking that idea and even getting it into a writeable shape is also hard. Are you writing a how-to book? A chronological story? A series of essays? An exploration of a big idea through a smaller lens? You may not know until you try. We talk about exploring all the iterations and then—ironically, since what Emily hopes to do is explore her “Covid project” of running every street in Santa Barbara—we helped Emily build a NaNoWriMo-style “project” around finding her book’s structure and getting some words on th

Hello listeners! Jess here.  I had the chance to interview one of my former students, Will Morey, about his career as a writer. He has always been talented, and even way back when I knew him in high school English class (actually, since he was eight) he has dreamed of working in movies and television. We talk through his entire career, from a high school screenplay about vampires to working in professional theater, to helping create (and this was a new word for me) “Mockbusters,” or close-but-not-quite versions of big Hollywood blockbuster films, to working as a “Conform,” (another new word to me) to breaking through and writing animated features such as Spy Kids: Mission Critical and Dragons: Race to the Edge and Dragons: Rescue Riders. He’s currently querying literary agents for a novel he completed this year and in true #AmWriting fashion, we had to talk about how he selected the agents he has decided to reach out to and why.  At its core, this is a discussion about an education in writing for televi

Querying and submitting is a jungle, campers—and yet if it’s done right, it can not only work out happily in the end, but seem as if it were meant to be. “Meant to be” after a year of additional work, anyway. Mindy Carlson has just signed a 2 book deal with Crooked Lane Books. The first, Her Dying Day, comes out June 7, 2022. I asked her to come on to talk about her road to publication--because she revised and resubmitted her novel not just once but twice before signing with her now agent. Said agent was one of her top choices and among the first she submitted to, but it was a long road to that happy ending. Mindy tells the whole story in this episode, in which we also talk revisions, when editors know what’s wrong—but not necessarily how to fix it, writing conferences, thriller plotting and more. Links from the Pod The Big Thrill (the online magazine of the International Thriller Writers Association) Mindy’s interview with Anthony Horowitz Episode 229 #Interviewing with NPR's Celeste Headl

The whole “am I showing, or am I telling” inner debate can be tough in every part of a novel, memoir or nonfiction-with-elements-of-memoir draft. You don’t want to “tell” about the action. You don’t want to “tell” about the setting. And goodness knows you don’t want to “tell” what the character is feeling. Except when you do. Sometimes a little telling, in the form of inner dialogue, is exactly what the reader needs to feel a part of the story, not just the happenings. Sarina, Jess and KJ are all in for a conversation about how to immerse a reader in emotions, reactions, fears, self-doubt and even self-deception.  Got an inner dialogue question you’re wrestling with? Try sharing it in our Facebook group—and for other burning questions, small and large, email us at amwriting@substack.com. We can’t respond to every email, but we might answer your question on an upcoming show—or even invite you on for a little coaching. All links and quotes from the pod are below—but first, did you know that making a po

Welcome to what I think we’ll designate as a fresh new season of #AmWriting! We are mixing it up a bit this fall. It’s KJ here, and I’ll be doing some great interviews on craft and getting the work done. Jess has some interviews up her sleeve as well, and Sarina will be joining us regularly for what I like to think of as “Masterclass” episodes on craft and process. We’ll also be doing some “coaching calls” with listeners who’ve written in with a burning question that one or more of of can help with—so if you’ve got something on your mind about your writing life, let us know at amwriting@substack.com. We can’t promise to answer every email, but if your question strikes us as something where we can helpfully weigh in, we’ll answer it—and we might just invite you to be a guest on the pod while we do. BUT TODAY, enjoy my interview with Heather Chavez. Heather is the author of one amazing, fast-moving, can’t put it down heck of a ride thriller: No Bad Deed. Listen to this hook: A woman pulls over to help when s

The author I’m interviewing today, Joy Imboden Overstreet, holds the distinction of having procrastinated on writing her first book longer than any previous #AmWriting guest—about 40 years. She is also the writer whose essay on her son’s unusual business venture enabled me, in my role as an editor at the NYT, to publish the paper’s first illustration of a personalized vibrator, and I will forever be grateful to her for that. But wait, I hear you saying. Forty years? Forty? How did Joy manage to make it happen? Don’t worry—that’s exactly what we talk about in the episode. The backstory: Back in 1975, Joy created a workshop program in the San Francisco Bay area on the her book’s topic: finding freedom from obsessing about food, weight and body size. When she sold the business to her partner to go to graduate school in public health in 1980, she fully intended to write a book based on her work, but—spoiler—things happened, and then more things happened (including a pretty thriving freelance career) until s

Stephen King says: Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. In this episode, we dare to ask if maybe that’s not always the case. Does having to put your idea into words and get it into another person’s head weaken it--or force you to make it strong? Links from the pod: The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction by Erik Bork Great Stories Don't Write Themselves: Criteria-Driven Strategies for More Effective Fiction by Larry Brooks Libro.fm #AmReading KJ: The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell Jess has criticisms: A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz And—got a burning question about a writing life issue? Something on your mind you’d love for us to help you with? Email us at amwriting@substack.com. We can’t promise to answer everyone, but if we think we could be useful to you (or know someone who

By popular request, it’s the 2021 The Addiction Inoculation Launch Story! Jess fills us in on the weirdness and craziness that was a mid-pandemic non-fiction book release. Her advice includes: don’t try to do too much, target your energy—and ask for help making choices when you don’t know what to do when. We talk balancing an outside and an inside publicist, working with local booksellers for signed copies and larger orders, the challenges of a world with far fewer speaking opportunities and just generally what went right and what could go better next time. Links from the pod Nicole Dewey Media Mail via Paypal #AmReading Jess: The Guncle by Steven Rowley On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King Horns by Joe Hill Sarina: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall KJ Recommends: Battle Royal by Lucy Parker We are so grateful to our sponsor, Author Accelerator, and the writing community they’ve built! If you’ve considered becoming a book coach as a s

Jess and Sarina are back! After a hard-working summer and an August of anxiety (don’t tell us you didn’t feel that too), we talk about how we got all the things done and all the things we have planned, with a fun diversion into how and where to end a chapter to create the illusion of a break while keeping the reader hooked. Plus, a summer reading review that will absolutely add to your #tbr. Links: Sarina’s new co-author, Lauren Blakely Sarina’s latest best-seller: Waylaid The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction by Erik Bork. KJ thought she’d brought that book up on a Writer’s Bookshelf episode, but it turns out she didn’t—so it may turn up again in a future show. #AmReading Jess:  The Stand-In by Lily Chu, Wilding by Isabella Tree, and Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy  KJ:  The Guncle by Steven Rowley, Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry, and Having and Being Had by Eula Biss Sarina:

For that moment when you’ve hit the finish line—and now you’re going back to the beginning and starting all over again in a different hat. In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative versus Blueprint for a Book.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 10 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads  10. Editing  This special s

Sometimes you just need to spend a few hours with someone who really gets you—without actually having to talk to anyone.  In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s Bird by Bird versus Making a Literary Life. Writer comfort reads from authors who know how we feel and can express it so well. In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 9 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads  10. Editi

Sometimes you find yourself asking—over a draft, or a failed draft, or a sagging outline or just during a really long drive—why exactly you do this thing we do. This week, we turn to some favorites to help answer that question. In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s Start with Why versus How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 8 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doi

Everybody, no matter what box we check or refuse to check on the census, sees life most easily from our own perspective while knowing there are many, many others. How do we write books that reflect the world we live in and all the people we live among—without claiming to speak about experiences we have not and cannot have? In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. There’s no competition this week, because the books we found on this topic are all helpful, whether you’re a white writer working toward change or a writer who identifies in another way, ready to point your colleagues towards some books that will help them evolve—or a writer who fits into any category (that’s all of us) who wants to be sure her charac

Sometimes you just want to make that thing happen. In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s The Essential Guide to Getting Published versus 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why It Just Might (which, KJ insists, is WAY more helpful than it sounds). In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 6 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads  10. Editing  This

Sometimes writing is hard, y’all. Well, mostly it’s hard (and it’s a fun job and we enjoy it)—but sometimes you’re just really stuck and you don’t know why. You need help—and we’ve got books that offer it. In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s The War of Art versus Dear Writer You Need to Quit.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 5 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads 

KJ and Jennie truly go head-to-head in this one, because KJ loves a book Jennie loathes. Can she talk her around? In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, we’re upping our games with The Practice versus The Bestseller Code.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 4 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads  10. Editing  This special season of the #AmWriting podcast is sponsored by A

Who doesn’t want to write more faster and better? And who doesn’t get stuck spinning the old wheels once in a while?  In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, we take on Productivity with Deep Work versus From 2K to 10K.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 3 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads  10. Editing  This special season of the #AmWriting podcast is sponsored by Auth

You CAN write a book without a plot (check out Anne Tyler’s Redhead By the Side of the Road if you doubt me, I swear to you that the most plotty thing that happens in it is the protagonist making a sandwich and yet you still want to keep reading). But if you’re not Anne Tyler (and I’m not), you ‘re going to need a nice plot arc to keep your pages turning—but not at the expense of your character’s emotional journey. How to get to both? How about a little help from a nice book?  In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s Save the Cat Writes a Novel versus The Situation and the Story.  In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 2 HERE. And, for your looking-forwa

Cage match! KJ’s favorite book on finding writerly inspiration versus Jennie Nash’s favorite of same. In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why—until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they’re hard to stop. This week, it’s Big Magic versus The Creative Habit. In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 1 HERE. And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here’s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021. 1. Inspiration 2. Plotting 3. Productivity 4. Up Your Game 5. When You're Stuck 6. Getting Published 7. Writing While White 8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This 9. Writer Comfort Reads 10. Editing This special season of the #AmWriting podcast is sponsored by Author Accelerator, where you can become as a b

Whose summer #TBR looks like yours?  Call it a game, a competition or just an excuse to talk about books: this week we’re doing something new. Each of us will share 6 summer reading recommendations—some we’ve read, some we’re stockpiling for when our own vacations arrive. Your job is to pick whose list looks most like yours—which of us would you let choose the books for YOUR next vacation? (Fellow fans of the Bookriot podcast, yes, this is absolutely blatant theft—ahem, homage. Love you Jeff and Rebecca!) The Lists: KJ Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews  Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie  Embassy Wife by Katie Crouch  The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz  The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner  Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford   Jess A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter  The Weight of Air by David Poses New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan (pronounced Downith),  Dear Ann by Bobbie Ann Mason  Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell  Fox and I by