The creators of Welcome to Night Vale Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink believe the only bad writing is not writing. Start With This is a podcast gone creativity playground designed to put your ideas in motion. Each episode centers around a writing topic. Then they give listeners two short assignments: something to consume and something to create. Make something—anything. Then make something else.
Latest episodes
-
1 h 01
Perceiving the Audience w/Sarah Maria Griffin
Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing. Guest: Sarah Maria Griffin, https://twitter.com/griffski CONSUME: “AACK C…
-
53 min
The Burnout Cycle w/Janina Matthewson
Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular. Guest: Janina Matthewson, https://twitter.com/j9andif CONSUME: Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! (anime series) CREATE: Think of a s…
-
40 min
Minimal w/Brie Williams
Writing more with less. Guest: Brie Williams, https://twitter.com/briezillionaire CONSUME: Getting on with James Urbaniak (podcast), specifically episode 22 “Status” CREATE: Write…
-
51 min
But How Does It End?
How do you land the ending? CONSUME: Three options: 1)The last three pages of Inherent Vice, starting where the character gets on the freeway. 2) The last four minutes of Six Feet…
-
6 min
Like This But Better
Elevating basic language to something special. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership communit…
-
51 min
How to Like
There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure. CONSUME: Podcast ¡Uy Que Horror! particularly the episode “2012: Kurse a di Xtabai (Belize)” CREATE: Think of your least favorite film o…
-
6 min
Low Barrier to Entry?
They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)…
-
42 min
The Tease
What makes a good tease? Listen and find out. CONSUME: “Lupin” French Crime/Adventure Drama on Netflix CREATE: Write a 200-600 story that follows the line: “I found them/her/him wa…
-
5 min
How to Dislike
It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Me…
-
50 min
Five Easy Rules to Become a Great Writer!
Just follow these simple rules and something something... CONSUME: Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-ru…
-
4 min
Keep It Weird
What makes something weird, and is that a good thing? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the SWT Membership c…
-
32 min
Melodrama
Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest literary peaks! Or… work on your craft. CONSUME: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or its sequel, World Without E…
-
4 min
Borrow or Steal
Good artists borrow; great artists steal. What? Let's break this down. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis) Join the…
-
49 min
Journey Vs. Destination
Getting there is 1/x the fun! CONSUME: “The Sink” a 6-episode podcast by Natasha Hodgson, produced by the BBC CREATE: Write a 200 word murder “mystery” that explains who the murder…
-
42 min
Imposter Syndrome
You’re a writer, because you write. Don’t tell yourself otherwise. CONSUME: “Dead Eyes” a podcast by Connor Ratliff CREATE: Pick a creative idea that you haven’t executed yet. Writ…
-
28 min
As It Happens
Celebrating the act of daily creation with Jonathan Mann. CONSUME: Go listen to more of Jonathan Mann’s podcast “As It Happens” CREATE: Start with the same basic image as Jonathan:…
-
34 min
Hooptedoodle
Stop and describe the roses. CONSUME: Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden CREATE: Write a 200 or so word description of your neighborhood. Give us a texture of the sights an…
-
41 min
Non-Lovecraftian Horror
There's so much more to horror, we couldn’t stop at Lovecraft. CONSUME: Watch any of the movies on Joseph’s horror movie recommendation list: https://twitter.com/PlanetofFinks/stat…
-
43 min
Lovecraftian Horror
Lovecraft was a racist and a bad writer, yet his ideas and his stories live on. So what do we do with them? CONSUME: “The Ballad of Black Tom” (novella) by Victor Lavalle, “Lovecra…
-
41 min
Agency
A character has a problem. As a result of that problem, they make a decision. As a result of that decision, they change. CONSUME: “Schitt’s Creek” on Netflix CREATE: Write a 200-wo…